Dutch student finance (DUO)

As a non-Dutch student, you may qualify for some components of Dutch student finance if you fall into one of the following categories: 

• you, your partner or parent are a national of an EU/EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom 
• you have a Dutch residence permit type I, II, III, IV or V 

Additional residency or employment conditions apply. Please check the specific eligibility requirements on the DUO website

If you are a qualifying student from the U/EEA, Switzerland or the UK, you are not eligible for a basic grant. Instead, you can opt for a supplementary grant or a loan with a repayment period of up to 35 years. If you graduate within 10 years, you do not have to repay the costs of the supplementary grant and travel product. 

The basic grant does not have to be repaid, but the student finance loans must be repaid after your studies. The student travel product and the supplementary grant (also referred to as ‘performance-related grants’) do not have to be repaid if you obtain your diploma within ten years of the first month in which your student finance begins. If you do not obtain your diploma within this time you will need to repay everything, with the exception of the first five months of the supplementary grant, which remains a grant regardless.  

You’re eligible for student finance for up to seven years if your regular education programme lasts four years (three-year bachelor’s programme + one-year master’s programme). In this case, you will get the supplementary grant, if you qualify, only for the first four years. For the following three years, you will be able to borrow money as a loan. You are eligible for the student travel product for five years.  

If your regular education programme is longer than four years (three-year bachelor’s programme + two-year research master’s programme), you can receive the student finance for a longer period. More about the duration of your eligibility.  

You can calculate your student finance using DUO's student finance calculator. This calculator helps to estimate: 

• total student finance requirement 
• potential supplementary funding 
• maximum loan amount 
• expected debt and monthly repayment amount 

You will not always receive student finance for a pre-master's programme ('schakelprogramma') or a preparatory year. Check your student finance options for a pre-master’s programme with DUO.