I live abroad. When do I have to start repaying my student loans to DUO?
You do not have to repay your student loans immediately after you have ended your studies, but you may do so if you wish. You have a grace period of two years, starting on 1 January following the year in which your student finance stopped. In this period, you do not have to repay your loans. After this grace period, you will be obliged to make repayments.
Repaying student loans
If you are no longer enrolled at a university or school, you are no longer entitled to student finance. You will have to repay your student loans, with interest. You do not have to start repaying your loans immediately after you have ended your studies, but you may if you wish. The grace period starts on 1 January following the year in which your student finance stopped.
The 2-year grace period starts on 1 January following the year in which your student finance stopped. In this period you do not have to repay your loans, but you may do so if you wish.
You can suspend the grace period if you resume your studies during that time.
After the grace period, you will have to make monthly repayments. DUO will inform you how much you need to repay.
The repayment period lasts for a maximum of either 15 or 35 years. How long it will take you to repay your loans will depend on your repayment rules.
Find out more about the rules for repaying student loans (DUO)
If the repayment period has ended, but have not you been able to repay your loans in full, the remaining debt will be written off. DUO will inform you about this.
Repaying student loans in full, or making extra repayments
You can repay your student loans before you are obliged to. This will mean making repayments earlier. And you can always make extra repayments during the repayment period.
There may be advantages to reducing your debt faster in this way:
- You will pay less interest.
- Your monthly repayments will be lower during the repayment period.
- You will be finished repaying your loans earlier.
Find out how to repay your student loans if you live abroad
Repaying student loans in full
If you wish, you may repay the full amount of all your student loans at once. There is no fine for doing this. But you will need to know the total amount that you owe. If you are already repaying your loans or will start next year, find out how to see your student loan balance.
Contact
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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