Studiefinanciering (student finance) in 2026: can you get it?

Qualification depends on your age, course and residence status

For students who qualify, DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, the Dutch education service) offers grants, travel support and loans you may choose to take. You need to begin before you turn 30, and you must satisfy the rules for your course and for nationality or residence. Where you live affects your basisbeurs (basic grant). Submit your application in Mijn DUO (your DUO account), ideally 8 weeks before your entitlement begins.

The recognised courses discussed here are MBO (secondary vocational education), HBO (higher professional education) and university programmes. DUO reviews your age, your course, your nationality or residence status, and how many months of finance you have already used.

Student finance and integration loans are two different things

Studiefinanciering is meant for recognised study. A different loan can cover inburgering (civic integration) courses and exams. Applications for these two products are made separately. For that loan, use DUO inburgering loan guide.

Are you eligible for student finance?

For your education level, your age and course have to satisfy every condition in that column. The nationality and residence conditions appear below.

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In MBO, if your 18th birthday falls on the first day of a quarter, there is an exception: the grant and loan may begin on that date. Quarters begin on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October.

Can a residence permit make you eligible?

The nationality condition is met by Dutch nationals and by people who hold residence document type II, III, IV or V. If you have type I, consult DUO's residence-permit eligibility assistant. What matters is the purpose stated on your permit. People covered by the Richtlijn Tijdelijke bescherming Oekraïne (Temporary Protection Directive for Ukraine) are not eligible for regular student finance.

When your permit is still pending, DUO advises you to apply in any case. The first decision will be a refusal. Once you receive a permit that qualifies, contact DUO within 6 weeks. If you met the other conditions, DUO can then grant finance for earlier months.

Is eligibility possible through residence or work?

Citizens of the EU (European Union), the EER (European Economic Area) or Switzerland may become eligible through residence or work. For the UK (United Kingdom) route, you or your parent or partner must also hold an Artikel 50-verblijfsvergunning (Dutch Article 50 residence permit). Your age and course still have to meet the requirements.

At least one of the following residence or work conditions has to apply to you:

• You have lived in the Netherlands for 5 consecutive years or longer.
• You work in the Netherlands as a migrerend werknemer (migrant worker). For employees, the requirement is at least 32 paid working hours each month, or net monthly income of at least 50% of the social-assistance norm. In 2026, this means €700.75, or €173 if you are younger than 21.
• Your parent or partner is a migrant worker who has EU, EER, Swiss or UK nationality. They have to satisfy the conditions that apply to their employment type.

DUO uses these figures as guidance in its assessment. Whether you have migrant-worker status also depends on your own circumstances and the evidence you provide.

DUO looks at your work, or at the work of the parent or partner who qualifies you. If there are 24 to 32 paid hours a month, an average of 24 hours may be sufficient after 6 months. In each of those first 6 months, the worker must have worked. After that period, DUO permits 1 month without work per calendar year. If the average is below 24 hours, you can still qualify when you prove migrant-worker status.

For self-employed workers, both the paid-hours condition and the omzet (business revenue) condition must be met. Business revenue has to be at least 50% of the monthly social-assistance norm. DUO also judges whether their economic activity is sufficient. Hours that are unpaid are not counted.

On the employee route, upload the worker's contract with both parties' signatures, the most recent payslip and the bank statement that matches it. When the hours are fewer than 32, DUO requests payslips and statements covering the previous 6 months, for the months worked in the Netherlands. If the employment contract begins after the first day of a month, the finance starts in the next month. For internships, contact DUO.

DUO examines work you did in the past. When DUO's check does not show that you met the work condition, you have to repay the student finance and the costs of the travel product for those months.

In addition, students in higher education cannot receive student finance from a foreign government during the same period.

On the European worker route, if the worker averages at least 32 paid hours per month, DUO allows one month without work in each calendar year. That month is left out when the average is calculated.

What parts can you select?

It is up to you which parts of student finance you request. A prestatiebeurs (performance grant) turns into a gift if you earn a qualifying diploma within 10 years; the exceptions are described below.

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What amounts can you receive in late 2026?

Usually, DUO treats you as uitwonend (living away from your parents) when your registered address differs from your parents' address and you genuinely live at that address.

DUO permits certain exceptions to the living-away registration rule, among them some internships and a full eligible course abroad. A landlord's refusal by itself is not grounds for an exception. If you have registration problems, report them to your gemeente (municipality).

The figures are maximum monthly amounts from DUO's student-finance tables. The size of your supplementary grant depends on your parents' income. Both loan rows represent optional debt, and the periods are different for MBO and higher education.

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For HBO and university, the amounts below are valid from September through December 2026. The total includes a tuition-fee loan charged at the statutory fee.

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The ordinary-loan rows are based on your receiving the maximum supplementary grant. Should your grant be lower, you may borrow the difference as an additional loan. That additional amount counts as debt. During the loan-only phase after your grant years, the ordinary-loan ceiling for 2026 is €1,213.95 per month; a tuition-fee loan for higher education may be added.

If you are an MBO student and do not owe lesgeld (course fees), your supplementary grant for August–December 2026 is €125.92 lower. The maximum becomes €316.58 when you live with your parents, or €344.90 when you live away.

In 2026–2027, the statutory tuition for HBO and university is €2,694. If you were 18 or older on 1 August 2026, MBO BOL lesgeld is €1,511. From September 2026, the tuition-fee loan at the statutory fee is €224.50 each month. Should your institution charge a higher fee, you may borrow more—up to the actual fee or €1,122.50 per month. This borrowing stays optional debt.

Worked example: you are an HBO student, meet the living-away condition and get the maximum supplementary grant in October 2026. If both loans are set to €0, your monthly payment is €324.52 + €491.08 = €815.60. The travel product is not part of that cash payment.

When does DUO pay in 2026?

DUO makes payments at the end of every month. The exact time varies by your bank and account; the money may arrive in the evening. These are the remaining DUO payment dates for 2026.

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The payment date does not decide whether you are entitled. In Mijn DUO, look under 'Mijn producten' (My products) to see the amount DUO has granted you.

When do grants turn into gifts?

For MBO 1–2, the basic grant, supplementary grant and travel product are gifts. For MBO 3–4, HBO and university, they are a performance grant. They become gifts once you earn a qualifying diploma within 10 years of the first month in which you received student finance or the travel product.

In higher education, how many years turn into a gift depends on your diploma and the official length of your course. An associate degree converts 2 grant years; a university bachelor converts 3; an HBO bachelor converts 4. Bachelor-plus-master routes differ. In Mijn DUO, check your remaining months and your diploma deadline.

The following exceptions and debt rules also apply:

• For MBO 3–4, any supplementary grant paid in your first 12 months of student finance is a gift.
• For HBO or university, any supplementary grant paid in your first 5 months of student finance is a gift.
• The ordinary loan and the tuition-fee loan stay debts, even after you graduate.
• If you do not obtain a qualifying diploma in time, you must repay the remaining performance grant and the travel-product value, with interest.

The eerstejaarsregeling (first-year rule) can cancel repayment of a first-year performance grant. The deadline for stopping it and the limits on restarting depend on your route. After you complete an MBO course, a student's first HBO year may have a different deadline. Before you rely on it, use DUO's first-year-rule checker.

When you move from MBO to HBO, you receive new finance and travel entitlement. Both your 10-year period for using it and your 10-year diploma period begin again. Ordinary loans remain debts. For MBO 3–4, travel entitlement lasts at most 84 months, including any use before you turned 18. A standard 4-year higher-education course normally provides 5 travel years. Check your personal balance in Mijn DUO.

How do you apply?

DUO advises applying at least 8 weeks before your entitlement begins. You may apply while you are waiting for exam, admission or residence-permit results. Take these steps:

1. If you still need a BSN (burgerservicenummer, citizen service number), register with your gemeente.
2. Arrange DigiD (your government login). For setup, follow Get and use DigiD.
3. To apply, log in to Mijn DUO.
4. Choose the components you want. DUO advises always requesting the supplementary grant.
5. Upload the evidence required for your route. For the European route, upload it with your application or within 4 weeks.

Mijn DUO also accepts a European eIDAS (cross-border electronic identification) login. If you cannot use Mijn DUO, paper forms are available. Set up a payment account for the money you receive.

Award for past months is possible only within the current academic year: from 1 August for MBO and from 1 September for HBO or university. The travel product cannot be awarded for past months. Report a failed exam, a different course or other changes promptly in Mijn DUO.

Warning

Report where you actually live

Update your living situation in Mijn DUO. DUO may check your claim. If DUO determines that you do not qualify as living away, it can withdraw the higher grant. You must repay the extra amount you received.

How does DUO use your parents' income?

For a 2026 supplementary grant, DUO usually uses your parents' 2024 income. If their combined income has dropped by at least 15%, they can ask DUO to use 2025 or 2026 instead. DUO later compares estimates with final tax data. An adjustment can result in an extra payment or a debt.

Request the supplementary grant once, even if you expect €0. DUO will then check your eligibility every year.

Parents who have foreign income must report gross annual income and give DUO the evidence it requests. Start early, because processing can take longer.

If a parent cannot or will not cooperate, first apply for student finance and the supplementary grant. DUO can disregard a parent's income only for a listed reason that is supported by evidence. Examples are a parent who has not legally recognised you or whose whereabouts are unknown. Other grounds are a serious lasting conflict that is not about money, or maintenance that was formally set and has been uncollectible for at least 12 consecutive months.

Your parents’ foreign-income statements and supporting documents must be in Dutch or English. You may translate them yourself. Translate the whole document and submit the translation together with a copy of the original.

How do you change or stop student finance?

To lower or stop an ordinary loan, do it by the first day of the month when the change should take effect. You can increase it for past months within the same academic year.

When you finish or leave your course, stop finance and the travel product separately. Follow this order:

1. Confirm your deregistration date with your MBO school or Studielink (higher-education enrolment service).
2. Stop student finance in Mijn DUO by the first day of the first month without entitlement.
3. Cancel the travel product at a pick-up machine by the 10th day of that month.

From the first day of a month when you no longer have entitlement, you have to stop using the travel product. Cancelling your enrolment or your finance will not take the product off your card. If you never picked up the product, no cancellation is needed. When your card is lost, damaged or past its expiry date, follow the customer-service path at DUO’s travel-product cancellation page.

Using the product after your entitlement has ended creates an ov-schuld (public-transport debt). The 2026 charge is €96.09 for each half-calendar-month in the first month, then €192.21 for each half-calendar-month after that.

If you pause your study and want to keep unused entitlement, you must stop all finance components and the travel product by the first day of the month. For MBO 3–4, HBO and university, the remaining months must be used within your 10-year period. MBO 1–2 does not have a 10-year use limit. You must restart before you turn 30. After you are 30, stopping all finance means you cannot restart.

How is a student debt repaid?

Ordinary loans, tuition-fee loans and any performance grant that was not turned into a gift must be repaid. For a regular study debt, a 2-year preliminary phase begins on 1 January after your finance ends. After that phase, required monthly repayments begin.

Normally, the repayment period lasts up to 15 or 35 years. The rules that apply to you depend on your course and on when you first received student finance. In Mijn DUO you can see which rules apply, for example SF15 (15-year repayment rules), SF35 (35-year repayment rules) or SF15-oud (older 15-year repayment rules). With SF15-oud, leaving out partner income can make the repayment period longer than 15 years.

Students who receive finance in 2026 pay 2.33% interest under SF35 and 2.29% under SF15. People already repaying may have a different rate that is fixed for 5 years. Look in Mijn DUO to find your rate and the date when that fixed period ends.

For SF35 in 2026, DUO calculates payment capacity as 4% of annual income above an exemption. If you are single and have no children, the exemption is €26,819.42. If you have a partner or meet DUO’s single-parent conditions, the exemption is €38,351.77. Partner income counts as well. When payment capacity is under €5 per month, the required payment is €0.

To qualify for the single-parent exemption, you must care for a child under 18 for at least 6 months of the year. That child must be registered at your address. If care is shared, you must provide at least 50% of it. No other adult who counts as a partner may be registered at that address. Check DUO’s repayment calculation for your situation.

What can you do if illness delays your study or you cannot get finance?

Your performance grant can be affected by medical or other exceptional circumstances. As soon as those circumstances delay your study, contact your studentendecaan (student counsellor) or studiebegeleider (study adviser). DUO may extend your grant period or diploma period, convert a grant, or provide new entitlement. Every scheme has its own conditions. If you apply through your student counsellor or study adviser, medical and institution statements are required.

When a disability stops you from having a side job even though you can still study, ask your gemeente about studietoeslag (study allowance). You cannot get studietoeslag if you already receive Wajong (benefit for people disabled from a young age).

If during your diploma period you become fully and permanently unable to work, and this means you cannot get your diploma in time, you can ask DUO to turn your performance grant into a gift. You must be entitled to Wajong. You can apply without an adviser. For Wajong, use the evidence list in DUO’s Wajong conversion form. DUO needs a benefit decision that was issued within your diploma period. Include a copy of your first benefit decision.

Levenlanglerenkrediet (lifelong learning credit) is a separate loan that can be used only for tuition. You must satisfy its nationality and course conditions and must not have a right to regular student finance. On the usual route, you must be at least 30 and under 57 when the credit begins. If you turn 57 while receiving the credit, you can keep receiving it as long as you stay enrolled in the course. You can use it for recognised full-time, part-time or dual higher education, or for full-time MBO BOL study in the Netherlands.

If you are under 30, you can qualify for a second higher-education course after you have earned an HBO bachelor or a university master. Part-time higher education is another way to qualify. If someone else pays your tuition in full, you cannot get the credit. If they pay part of it, you can borrow only the remaining amount.

In 2026–2027, the usual yearly ceilings are €2,694 for HBO or university and €1,511 for MBO. The higher ceilings for institutional fees are €13,470 and €7,555 respectively. You can never borrow more than the fee you owe.

For regular study, you must apply before the course begins and then again every academic year. The loan is not given for months that have already passed. For modular study, you can apply while you are enrolled in the module.

The interest rate for 2026 is 2.33%. Repayment follows SF15-lllk (15-year lifelong-learning-credit repayment rules). The repayment phase starts on 1 January after the credit ends. Payments begin on 1 May. The longest repayment term is 15 years.

What can you do if you receive a refusal or a formal DUO decision that orders repayment?

Contact DUO about the decision; DUO may be able to solve the problem. If documents were missing, ask if you can still send them. For a formal DUO decision, you have 6 weeks from the date on the decision to file a bezwaar (objection). That deadline still applies even if you are discussing the problem with DUO. You cannot use this objection procedure to challenge reminders, other payment requests or bailiff documents.

While the objection is being handled, the original decision remains in force. Making an objection does not stop repayments. If this creates financial problems, you can ask the court for a voorlopige voorziening (temporary court order). If DUO turns down your objection, you can appeal to the court within 6 weeks of the date that decision was sent.

If you are not sure about your European work status, call DUO at +31 50 599 77 11. Keep every decision and every request for documents.

Which action suits your situation?

When you are starting a study, check DUO's eligibility assistant, your course registration, the purpose of your permit and your start date. Apply before you need the payments. If you are deciding on a loan, first look in Mijn DUO for your remaining finance months, your diploma deadline and your repayment rules.

If you are stopping your study, mark both deadlines in your calendar: the first-day finance deadline and the 10th-day travel cancellation deadline. A refusal or a formal DUO decision that orders repayment has its own 6-week objection deadline.

• Get and use DigiD
• Free and subsidised legal help in the Netherlands

Official Sources

• DUO: Student finance overview - the five components, start dates, monthly payments and non-Dutch eligibility
• DUO: Student finance eligibility - age, course, residence-document and pending-permit conditions
• DUO: EU, EER, Swiss and UK eligibility - residence, migrant-worker, family, UK and individual-assessment rules
• DUO: EU-route supporting documents and checks - employment evidence, self-employment and retrospective checks
• DUO: Student finance amounts - the exact August–December and September–December 2026 monthly amounts
• DUO: Tuition fees - 2026–2027 statutory tuition and tuition-fee loan limits
• DUO: Gift or repayment - performance-grant conversion, diploma timing and the first supplementary-grant months
• DUO: Eligible for how long - course-dependent entitlement, separate 10-year use and diploma periods, and both MBO-to-HBO resets
• DUO: Supplementary grant and parents' income - reference years, income drops, estimates and foreign income
• DUO: Problems with parents - when DUO may leave a parent's income out and the evidence required
• DUO: Apply for student finance - DigiD, eIDAS, forms, timing and backdating
• DUO: Living on your own - registration, actual residence, checks, withdrawal and recovery of the living-away grant
• DUO: Stop student finance - first-day deadlines, pausing entitlement and the age-30 restart rule
• DUO: Stop the student travel product - the separate cancellation step and 10th-day deadline
• DUO: Student travel debt - 2026 debt amounts when you use the travel product after entitlement ends
• DUO: How loan repayments work - regular-debt and lifelong-learning-credit repayment timetables
• DUO: Repayment rules - SF15, SF35 and SF15-lllk terms
• DUO: Monthly-instalment calculation - 2026 SF35 capacity thresholds and the €5 rule
• DUO: 2026 interest rates - the 2026 SF35 and SF15 rates and fixed-period caveat
• DUO: Study-delay schemes - conditional extensions, conversion, new entitlement and municipal study allowance
• DUO: Lifelong learning credit conditions - English overview of course and nationality conditions; the Dutch conditions below confirm eligibility from age 30
• DUO: Lifelong learning credit amounts - 2026–2027 tuition-only borrowing ceilings
• DUO: Objecting to a decision - formal decisions, excluded payment requests, the 6-week objection deadline and effect of the original decision
• DUO: Appealing an objection decision - the court route and 6-week appeal deadline
• DUO: Student finance conditions in Dutch - course enrolment, age, permits and the pending-permit procedure
• DUO: European and UK conditions in Dutch - net income, work-hour assessment and the applicant-or-family Article 50 condition
• DUO: Type I residence-permit assistant - eligibility depends on the type I permit category and family circumstances
• DUO: Applying for student finance in Dutch - 8-week recommendation, component choice, annual grant assessment and backdating
• DUO: Applying through the European route - municipal registration, BSN and supporting documents within 4 weeks of application
• DUO: Payment dates - 2026 payment dates, bank timing and the account view for awarded amounts
• DUO: Student travel-product value - week or weekend choice and the 2026 performance-grant value of €110.95 per month
• DUO: Student travel entitlement - 84-month MBO limit, use before age 18, higher-education travel years and the MBO-to-HBO reset
• DUO: Gift and repayment conditions in Dutch - qualifying diplomas, conversion years and the supplementary-grant exception measured from the start of student finance
• DUO: Stopping in your first year - route-dependent first-year deadlines and conditions on restarting
• DUO: MBO course fees - 2026–2027 lesgeld of €1,511 and the age-at-1-August condition
• DUO: Changing or stopping an ordinary loan - first-day deadline for reductions and increases for past months in the current academic year
• DUO: Repayment calculation in Dutch - 2026 annual SF35 exemptions, partner income and single-parent care and registration conditions
• DUO: Applying for help with study delay - medical and institution statements for adviser applications and the separate Wajong evidence route
• DUO: Wajong and the performance grant - conversion conditions: full and permanent incapacity during the diploma period, no timely diploma as a result, Wajong entitlement and the adviser exception
• DUO: Lifelong learning credit conditions in Dutch - age 30 or older and under 57 at commencement, under-30 exceptions, nationality and tuition reimbursement conditions
• DUO: Lifelong learning credit overview in Dutch - continuation at age 57 while enrolled, the 2026 interest rate of 2.33% and tuition-only borrowing
• DUO: Applying for lifelong learning credit - apply before regular study starts, annual applications, no backdating and the modular-course exception
• DUO: Integration loans - the separate loan and application for civic integration courses and exams
• DigiD: Government login - the official government login service used to access Mijn DUO
• Studielink: Enrolment service - the official service for arranging higher-education enrolment
• DUO: European work evidence in Dutch - signed contracts, work-hour evidence, self-employed work and retrospective checks
• DUO: Repayment rules in Dutch - official SF15-oud and SF15-lllk names, repayment terms and the older-scheme partner-income exception
• DUO: Logging in to Mijn DUO - the official account login page, DigiD and European electronic identification access
• DUO: Wajong performance-grant conversion form - application-date-dependent evidence, a copy of the first benefit decision and a benefit decision issued within the diploma period