Do you need a visa?
Your passport decides whether you need an MVV, the entry sticker. Whatever your passport, you file nothing yourself: your institution does.
| Your passport | To enter and study |
|---|---|
| Passport of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland | No MVV and no residence permit. You register with your municipality within 5 days of arriving.Government of the Netherlands — Applying for an authorisation for temporary stay (MVV); Government of the Netherlands — When should I register with the Personal Records Database |
| Passport of Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States or the Vatican | No MVV: your institution still files your residence permit. The IND assesses each exemption case by case.IND — MVV exemptions |
| Valid residence permit from another Schengen country, or a Dutch permit held in the last 2 years | Other exemptions exist for you: the IND assesses each case.IND — MVV exemptions |
| Any other passport | An MVV and a residence permit for studies, filed together by your institution, which must be a sponsor recognised by the IND. You file nothing yourself.IND — Student residence permit for university or higher professional education; IND — Provisional residence permit (MVV) |
Check the register before you enrol: an institution that is not a recognised sponsor cannot request your permit.
IND — Public register of recognised sponsors (study); IND — Student residence permit for university or higher professional education
The means to show are for twelve months, even for a shorter stay, and the rate changes every 1 January: the 1 January 2026 rate does not apply to the next intake.
Not verified
One institution mentions €1,150 a month against the IND’s €1,130.77: we keep the IND’s figure. Whether your institution passes the €254 on to you is not stated on the pages read. For the passports exempt from the MVV, no page read says how long you can stay while the permit is processed. The Dutch embassy or consulate that covers you, and its local requirements, are not covered. The Aliens Act and its circular have not been read at the source.
The residence permit
The MVV lets you enter. The residence permit is issued by the IND, and your institution keeps filing it for you.
- Validity
- up to 5 years
- IND — Student residence permit for university or higher professional education
- 3 months longer than your studies
- Preparatory year
- 1 year
- IND — Student residence permit for university or higher professional education
- the same permit usually covers extra courses, a language test or a pre-master
The conditions of the permit require at least 50% of the credits each year of study.
IND — Student residence permit for university or higher professional education
Not verified
The IND’s renewal page and the conditions of permanent residence have not been read: the renewal dates above come from the renewal form.
Getting a place
The place comes first, through Studielink; the permit follows. Your institution then files for you.
- Where to apply
- Studielink
- Studielink — Make sure you are on time
- the national portal; some institutions use another route for international students, so check first
- Bachelor, first enrolment
- before 1 May
- Studielink — Make sure you are on time
- national date, for programmes without a fixed number of places and the September intake
Not verified
The national date is 1 May, but public universities set 1 April for bachelor applicants who need a visa: follow the date your institution gives you. The list of diplomas exempt from a language test has not been read.
From place to permit
- Choose the programme and the institution
- Get your qualification evaluated
- Apply through Studielink
- Gather your means
- Prepare the documents
- Your institution files the permit, with the MVV if you need one
- Collect your MVV
- Collect your residence permit
- Register with your municipality
- Sort out your health insurance
- Renew the permit
Not verified
No official page read gives the total time from application to the permit in hand, beyond the IND’s 60-day decision period.
Costs
Tuition is the biggest cost outside the EU. The permit fee is paid by your institution.
The amount the IND sets leaves tuition out: you pay it on top, whatever proof of means you show.
Not verified
Institutions’ pages say “tuition fee” without saying which kind: the statutory fee or the institution’s own. Ask your institution which one applies to your passport. Whether the €254 is passed on to you, the cost of certified translations and the price of insurance are not published on an official page read. No amount is shown for them.
Health
| Your situation | Insurance |
|---|---|
| You come only to study | You cannot take the Dutch public basic insurance. You keep your insurance from home or take a private cover that is sufficient. With an EU or EEA passport, you carry your European Health Insurance Card.Study in NL — Healthcare insurance; EU Immigration Portal — Student in the Netherlands |
Your insurance depends on whether you work, not on your visa: take a job and the public insurance becomes compulsory. A letter from the CAK left unanswered for 3 months costs €529.72.
Not verified
The portal for EU immigration says the ban on the public insurance targets students under 30; Study in NL gives no age. The government’s general rule gives 4 months from arrival to anyone who lives or works in the Netherlands. For a student without a job, the student rule applies. The premium, the deductible and the price of a private student insurance are not published on an official page read, and no insurer is named.
Working while you study
- Salaried work
- 16 hours a week
- IND — Student residence permit for university or higher professional education
- or full time in June, July and August: one or the other; your employer needs a work permit (TWV)
- Self-employed work
- no limit on hours
- IND — Student residence permit for university or higher professional education
- registered with the KvK and taxes paid, as long as the permit conditions stay met
- Internship required by your programme
- no work permit needed
- IND — Student residence permit for university or higher professional education
The back of your permit reads “TWV vereist voor arbeid van bijkomende aard, andere arbeid in loondienst niet toegestaan”: an employer without a work permit cannot hire you.
IND — Student residence permit for university or higher professional education
Not verified
Tax rules for a student’s earnings have not been read on the tax authority’s pages. The care allowance (zorgtoeslag) is only open with the public insurance.
Bringing family
Your institution can also request the residence permits of your family members. They cannot work.
Source: IND — Student residence permit for university or higher professional education
Not verified
The conditions and amounts for a family permit have not been read: ask your institution.
The companies and registers for your file
For each need of your file: the official rule, the register that lists the approved providers, and the companies that serve students.
After the degree
A graduate can stay to look for work or start a business.
| Your situation | What comes next |
|---|---|
| Bachelor’s, master’s, post-master’s of at least 10 months or doctorate from a Dutch institution | Orientation year: 1 year, not extendable, €254. You apply within 3 years of the degree, and your employer needs no work permit during that year.IND — Residence permit for the orientation year; business.gov.nl — Residence permit for orientation year; IND — Fees and costs of an application |
| Master’s or doctorate from a designated foreign institution | The same permit, if the institution ranks in the top 200 of two of the THE, QS and ShanghaiRanking tables. You also need IELTS 6.0 or an equivalent test, or a programme taught in English or Dutch.IND — Residence permit for the orientation year |
During the orientation year without a job, the public insurance is not allowed: take an international insurance.
Not verified
The conditions of permanent residence and the salary thresholds of the follow-on permits are not covered in this guide.