Can I get student finance if I study outside the Netherlands?
If you are going to study or do an internship outside the Netherlands, your eligibility for student finance from DUO depends on your situation and whether you meet the conditions.
General conditions for student finance
To receive student finance, a number of general conditions apply:
- You are between 18 and 30 years old. There are 2 exceptions to this:
- There is no minimum age if you are doing a higher education (HBO or university) course.
- If you are doing a vocational education (MBO) course and are not yet 18, you can only apply for a public transport allowance.
- You are doing or are going to do school-based vocational training (MBO BOL) or a course in higher education (HBO or university). You cannot get student finance if you are doing block or day release apprenticeship training (MBO BBL).
- Your course takes at least 1 year.
- You are enrolled as a full-time student, or in a course combining study and work experience. You cannot get student finance if you are studying part-time.
- You have Dutch nationality or a type II, III, IV or V residence permit. If you have a type I residence permit or you, your partner or your parents come from another EU/EEA member state, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, go to the DUO website to see whether you are eligible for student finance.
If you do not meet these conditions, see whether you are eligible for another DUO scheme.
Extra conditions for courses outside the Netherlands
Besides the general conditions, extra conditions apply if you are planning to study or do an internship outside the Netherlands. See whether you are eligible for student finance in your situation.
What are you going to do outside the Netherlands?
To get student finance, both you and the course you want to take must satisfy extra conditions.
Extra conditions you must satisfy
- You are not receiving student finance from a country other than the Netherlands.
- You have lived legally in the Netherlands for 3 of the past 6 years.
There are a few exceptions to this requirement. See the exceptions to this extra requirement (DUO) (information in Dutch).
Extra conditions your higher education course abroad must satisfy
You can apply for student finance for a higher education course anywhere in the world, provided the course you want to do is recognised in the Netherlands. Nuffic (the Netherlands organisation for internationalisation in education) will assess your course. If it is recognised, you will get the same student finance as you would for a similar course in the Netherlands.
You can find out whether your course abroad Netherlands entitles you to student finance by looking at:
- Nuffic’s criteria for your course
- the foreign courses and diplomas currently recognised by Nuffic
- the extra conditions if you plan to study in Belgium.
Find out whether your course abroad will entitle you to student finance (DUO) (information in Dutch)
If you are not sure whether your course abroad satisfies the extra conditions, you can still apply for student finance. DUO will then tell you whether you can get student finance.
Find out how to apply for student finance
Find out about the arrangements you need to make before you leave
You can get student finance if you are doing a full course of vocational training in:
- Belgium
- France
- Germany
- Spain
- Sweden
- United Kingdom.
Your course abroad must be recognised in the Netherlands. The school you plan to attend can tell you whether this is the case.
You can also get student finance for a number of unique vocational education courses in other EU member states. Contact DUO to ask whether this applies to the course you want to do.
If you are not sure whether your course abroad satisfies the extra conditions, you can still apply for student finance. DUO will then tell you whether you can get student finance.
Find out how to apply for student finance or a public transport allowance
Find out what arrangements you need to make before you leave
If you are already receiving student finance and you are going abroad for a period of study or an internship, you can keep your student finance for the period you are away. It does not matter which country you go to. But the course or internship must be part of your course in the Netherlands and you must be enrolled as a full-time student in the Netherlands during the entire period you are studying abroad.
Before you go abroad, you will need to make a number of arrangements.
Find out what arrangements you need to make before you leave
If you are already receiving student finance and you are going abroad for a period of study, you can keep your student finance for the period you are away. It does not matter which country you go to. But the course must be part of your course in the Netherlands and you must be enrolled as a full-time student in the Netherlands during the entire period you are studying abroad.
Before you go abroad you will need to make a number of arrangements.
Find out what arrangements you need to make before you leave
Turning 18
If you turn 18 in the period that you are studying or doing an internship abroad, you can apply for other forms of student finance in addition to the public transport allowance. Apply 3 months before your 18th birthday. Before you go abroad, you will need to make a number of arrangements.
Find out how to apply for student finance
Find out what arrangements you need to make before you leave
Find out what you are entitled to and what arrangements you need to make when you turn 18 (Rijksoverheid.nl) (information in Dutch)
What you also need to arrange if you’re going abroad to study or do an internship
Check what else you need to arrange if you are going to:
Contact
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.