To enter the Netherlands for study purposes, nationals from most countries need a visa. Once in the Netherlands, a residence permit is often required. In some cases a work permit is also required. Here you can find out which requirements apply to you and how you go about arranging things.

An entry visa is a sticker placed in your passport at the Dutch embassy or consulate in your own country (or the country in which you legally reside), but it must be applied for well in advance. If you will be staying for longer than three months, you might need a provisional residence permit (Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf, or MVV). These requirements do not apply to citizens of the EU/EEA and Switzerland, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Vatican City, Monaco or South Korea.

We advise you to fill in the student visa wizard first before reading on. This way, you can find out which procedures apply to you on account of your nationality and the duration of your stay.

Go to the student visa wizard.

WHAT ABOUT THE RESIDENCE PERMIT?

A residence permit looks like a credit card and proves that you are residing legally in the Netherlands. You are obliged to obtain a residence permit if you are a citizen of a non-EU/EEA country or Switzerland and you would like to stay in the Netherlands for a period of more than three months. Your school will apply for it, no need to do this by yourself! A residence permit will generally be issued for a period of one year. Depending on the purpose of your stay, the validity may be for a longer or shorter period of time.

If you are staying here as a student for longer than one year, you have to extend your residence permit before the expiry date. If your purpose of stay in the Netherlands changes your residence permit has to be changed accordingly.

A lot more valuable information you will find at the website of the NUFFIC, the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education.