UM Cares - Students
Information for students with caring responsibilities:
Rights and duties
If you are combining your studies at Maastricht University with caring responsibilities, you may be eligible for preferred scheduling and an extra exam opportunity, depending on your circumstances. Please get in touch with the study advisor to discuss the options and support available. You furthermore have the same rights as all students to study guidance and the services of a student advisor, career counsellor, and UM psychologist. You can find further information about the support available on the website of the Student Services Centre.
If you are pregnant or studying with special circumstances (such as family circumstances), you may be eligible for services (such as an adjusted exam location due to pregnancy). You also have the right to use the lactation- and resting rooms at UM. Please get in touch with your study advisor or the student deans as soon as possible, they are there to help you.
For more information about facilities or accommodations for studying mothers at UM please see the webpage.
Make sure to report special circumstances to your study advisor or a student dean in a timely manner, follow the recommendations of the study advisor or student dean closely, and try your best to keep the study delay to a minimum.
Financial support
If you are a Dutch student, or from an EEA country or Switzerland and working in The Netherlands at least 56 hours per month, you are entitled to financial support if you incur a study delay due to special circumstances (such as pregnancy, childbirth, or special family circumstances). Please check the regulations of the ‘profileringsfonds’ for further information about your rights and obligations. For other nationals, and for EEA/Swiss nationals who do not meet the work requirement, this financial support is unfortunately not available.
Pregnancy and parenthood
If you are expecting a child, it is important to be aware that students in the Netherlands do not have the right to formal maternity/parental leave. Please inform the study advisor or student deans about the pregnancy in a timely manner, in order to discuss how to proceed with your study programme. Below is a list of useful resources regarding pregnancy and childcare:
- Xpat.nl provides an overview of how pregnancy and childbirth are dealt with in the Netherlands.
- Stichting Steunpunt Studerende Moeders has a wealth of information and advice available for students (only in Dutch)
- There are different types of childcare available in the Netherlands. From the age of 3 months your child can attend a daycare; some daycares may also accept children younger than this. Please note that many daycares in Maastricht currently have waiting lists, so it’s important that you register for a space on time. Via the tax authorities you can apply for a subsidy for childcare costs, please see here (in English) and here (in Dutch). You must be national of an EEA country or Switzerland, or have a valid residence or work permit in the Netherlands;
- You may be eligible for child benefit in some situations; please check the conditions here (in both English and Dutch). If you receive child benefit, the tax authorities will inform you if you on top of that are eligible for child budget. This is the case if your income is under a certain level; see here (in both English and Dutch).
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