Studying in Netherlands

What a year costs

EU/EEA students pay the statutory fee, set nationally: €2,694 for 2026-27, identical at every government-funded institution, bachelor or master. Note you lose this rate for a second degree at the same level.

Non-EU students pay an institutional fee set by each institution: €9,000-20,000 for a bachelor's, €12,000-30,000 for a master's. Universities of applied sciences sit at the bottom of those ranges: The Hague University of Applied Sciences charges €10,528 for a non-EU bachelor's, and research universities at the top. There is no national table; check the programme page.

Some institutions charge a non-refundable application fee of €75-100.

Living costs: €1,000-1,500 a month. The official breakdown gives rent €561, groceries €244, study materials €41, transport €67, leisure €239, and Dutch basic health insurance €133 once you take a job.

Amsterdam is the clear outlier: realistically €1,400-1,800+, with rooms commonly €800-1,000. Groningen, Enschede, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Tilburg and Wageningen are materially cheaper and €1,000-1,200 is achievable.

The residence permit

You cannot apply yourself. Only your institution can, and only if it is an IND-recognised sponsor. In practice you send documents and money to the international office and they file with the IND.

Fee €254. The legal decision period is 60 days, but because applications come through a recognised sponsor the working target is about two weeks. Add time for the MVV appointment at the embassy afterwards.

Nationals of the EU/EEA, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK, the US and Vatican City do not need the MVV entry visa, but still need the residence permit.

The money: €1,130.77 a month, about €13,569 for a year, valid through 2026. This resets every 1 January: it rose 4.4% for 2026, so an application spanning a year boundary can be assessed against a figure you did not budget for. The 2027 amounts appear around late December 2026.

A condition that catches people out: you must earn at least 50% of your credits each academic year. Your institution is legally obliged to report underperformance to the IND, which can withdraw the permit. This sits alongside the binding study advice most institutions apply in year one. Failing a semester is not a private matter between you and your tutor.

Working while you study

16 hours a week during the academic year, OR full time in June, July and August, not both. You choose one regime.

Your employer must obtain a work permit (TWV) from the UWV. This is a real barrier: many small employers will not do the paperwork, which is why student jobs are harder to get than for EU classmates. No TWV is needed for self-employment or for an internship that is a required part of your programme.

Taking any paid job, including a paid internship: makes you liable for compulsory Dutch basic health insurance at around €133 a month, replacing cheap private student cover. Failing to switch attracts fines.

After you graduate

The orientation year (zoekjaar): one year, not extendable, applied for within three years of graduating. During it you have free access to the labour market, no work permit needed, and there is no income requirement. Fee €254.

If you find a job during the year you can switch to a highly skilled migrant permit at a reduced salary threshold for recent graduates, but only if the switch happens while the orientation year is still valid. Act before it expires.

Language and the policy question

Check this carefully, because the position has moved in students' favour and most guidance online is out of date.

The restrictive bill, the Wet internationalisering in balans, has not passed, and has been progressively stripped down. Its central instrument, a test of necessity that could have forced existing English-taught programmes into Dutch, was removed for existing programmes in May 2025 and, by May 2026, removed altogether including for new programmes. What survives is modest: a mandatory institutional language policy, promotion of Dutch proficiency, and optional enrolment caps.

In its place, on 15 July 2026 the Ministry signed a binding administrative agreement with the universities committing them to a "controlled and targeted" intake focused on shortage sectors, limiting places on English-taught programmes "where necessary," and investing in Dutch-language teaching. First evaluation February 2027.

Separately, universities self-regulated from 2025-26: most psychology bachelor's programmes including all in the Randstad moved to Dutch, and several economics and business bachelor's converted or capped their English track.

What this means for you: English-taught provision is being trimmed selectively at bachelor level in high-demand social science and business fields, not dismantled. Master's programmes are essentially unaffected, and existing English-taught programmes are now protected. The real risk is that a specific popular English-taught bachelor becomes capped or Dutch-only, so verify the language of instruction for your exact programme and intake year on the institution's own page.

Test requirements are set per institution. Groningen's master's minimum is IELTS 6.5 with no component below 6.0, rising to 7.0 for research programmes. TOEFL iBT moved to a 1-6 scale on 21 January 2026, check your university has published its new-scale equivalents before assuming your score qualifies.

When to apply

Main intake September; a limited February intake exists, mostly at master's level.

All bachelor applications and most master applications go through Studielink, but Studielink alone is not an application; you must also complete a separate application with the institution.

Hard national deadlines: 15 January, 23:59 for numerus fixus (capped, selection-based) programmes, and it is absolute: no extensions, a maximum of two at a time, results in April. 1 May, 23:59 for other bachelor programmes.

For non-EU students the 1 May date is a statutory floor, not your real deadline. Institutions set much earlier ones for applicants needing an MVV, commonly December to April, and some master's programmes as early as October. Apply 9 to 12 months ahead.

What to watch out for

Housing is the single biggest risk and it is not an exaggeration. The national shortage stands at 20,200 student rooms, down only 1,300 in a year despite nearly 5,000 new units built annually, because the private rented sector is shrinking faster than new stock arrives as landlords sell up. Projections run to a shortage of 26,000-63,200 rooms by 2032-33. The shortage has only stopped growing because fewer students live independently at all, which mostly means Dutch students staying with parents, not an option you have.

Most institutions do not guarantee housing, and the government's own July 2026 agreement includes a commitment to warn international students not to arrive without it. Amsterdam, Utrecht and Groningen are worst. Expect €800-1,000+ for a room in Amsterdam, waiting lists in months, and a high volume of rental scams aimed at exactly your situation. Never pay a deposit for a property you or someone you trust has not physically seen.

Research university versus university of applied sciences: the distinction students most often get wrong. A universiteit (WO) offers a 3-year research-oriented bachelor's feeding into a 1-2 year master's; there are 13, and these appear in international rankings. A hogeschool (HBO) offers a 4-year practice-oriented bachelor's including a placement year; there are dozens, they are accredited and often excellent for professional fields, and their non-EU fees are markedly lower. The trap: an HBO bachelor's does not give automatic access to a WO master's. You will normally need a bridging pre-master of 30-60 ECTS, and admission is not guaranteed. Both translate into English as "university" in marketing material.

Proof of funds must be genuinely available. The IND requires the money to be demonstrably at your disposal, typically a blocked account with the institution, or a bank statement in your own name. Money that appeared the week before you applied invites refusal.

Where these numbers come from

Rules change, sometimes at short notice. Every figure above carries the date we checked it. Check the official source before you rely on it, and note the proof-of-funds figure resets every 1 January.