Non-EU students need to apply for an MVV entry visa and a VVR residence permit.
Please read the steps carefully on our website to know what you need to do.

Exceptions:

• Nationalities from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Monaco, Vatican City, USA, or South Korea.
• You don’t need an MVV entry visa, but only need to apply for a VVR residence permit, if you have a Schengen residence permit that is valid until at least the start of the academic year/semester (1 September or 1 February).

Citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Monaco, Vatican City, USA, or South Korea can apply for a VVR residence permit and don’t need an MVV entry visa for the Netherlands.
Please note that if you are in possession of a valid Schengen residence permit that is valid until at least the start of the academic year/semester (1 September or 1 February) you are allowed to apply for a VVR residence permit without having to apply for an MVV entry visa as well.

Please read the steps carefully on our website to know what you need to do.

If you already have a Dutch residence permit for another purpose (orientation year, employment, stay with a family member, au pair, etc.) and you need to change it to a residence permit for study, the UvA Immigration team will submit a so-called ‘Change of the purpose of stay’ application to the IND on your behalf.

Please read the steps carefully on our website to know what you need to do.

You will not need an extra permit for the purpose of 'study' if you already have a valid Dutch residence permit that we have had the chance to review. Please note that your current permit needs to be valid until at least the start of your study programme.

If at any point during your degree programme your personal situation changes and you would like to change the purpose of your permit to ‘study’, please send us an email through our contact page so that we can send you an invitation to apply.

If you have a residence permit (VVR) for the purpose of study in the Netherlands at a different Dutch educational institution than the UvA, and you are going to start a study programme at the UvA, you will need to apply for a transfer of your residence permit (VVR).
We will need to send a new application to the Dutch Immigration Service (IND) to advise them of your transfer. This is the so-called ‘Change of educational institution’ application.

It is important to make sure you remain enrolled and that your current educational institution is still you sponsor until your application through us has been approved by the IND. Otherwise your permit application will be revoked by the IND before we can request the change of sponsor. This means that the current expiration date of your permit will remain the same and that you will therefore not receive a new residence permit card, even though the UvA will have become your legal sponsor.

Please note that when you will have to extend your permit, you will be able to do so through our website from 3 months before its expiry date. You will then receive a new residence permit card from the IND.

If you have a residence permit (VVR) for the purpose of study in the Netherlands at a different Dutch educational institution than the UvA, and you are going to start a study programme at the UvA, you will need to apply for a transfer of your residence permit (VVR).
We will need to send a new application to the Dutch Immigration Service (IND) to advise them of your transfer. This is the so-called ‘Change of educational institution’ application.

It is important to make sure you remain enrolled and that your current educational institution is still you sponsor until your application through us approved by the IND. Otherwise your permit application will be revoked by the IND before we can request the change of sponsor.

Please note that we will request an extension of your residence permit at the IND at the same time as that we will request a switch of educational institution if your current residence permit expires within 3 months of the start of your study programme.

A Working Holiday Scheme (WHS) is a cultural exchange programme and is meant for students who would like to study in the Netherlands for a shorter period of time.

The UvA will provide students with the necessary application forms but it is the responsibility of the student to apply for the WHS directly at the IND. Please visit the IND-website for more information.

If you have a residence permit for the purpose of study, with the UvA as your sponsor, you can submit an extension within 3 months of its expiration date.

Please note that you will not be automatically invited to this process and will need to start the application yourself through our website. All required documents are mentioned on the page.

Students who have obtained a degree in the Netherlands can choose to apply for an orientation year residence permit after graduation.

The orientation year residence permit allows you to stay in the Netherlands for one year after graduation to look for a job and/or to study. Check the IND website for the conditions and more information on applying for the orientation residence permit. Please note that you have to apply for this permit directly at the IND and not through the UvA.

You will have to wait until you have received either your degree certificate or have your faculty fill out the IND's completion of study form which can be found on the IND website.

If you already actively study at another university in Europe and if you have a residence permit for that country with the purpose of study, then in some cases you can follow a part of your studies for a maximum of 360 days in the Netherlands within the context of intra EU-mobility. This application is free of charge.

Please note that you will have to apply for it yourself directly at the IND. You can check the requirements on the IND website of Intra-EU mobility.

If you want to reside and study in a member state of the European Union (excluding Denmark and Ireland) for a maximum of 360 days, you do not need a separate residence permit of that country if you choose to apply for outbound intra EU-mobility at the IND. Please note that you will have to apply for it yourself directly at the IND. One of the conditions is that your Dutch residence permit card will have to be valid during the whole duration of your stay abroad.

Please contact the IND for more information.

Please visit our website for an overview of all our deadlines.

When at least conditionally admitted to your study programme, it is important that you reply to the invitation to apply for a residence permit before your deadline.

Please note, however, that your application dossier doesn’t need to be complete yet by that deadline date, although it is preferable of course, but that we do need to have it in our system on time so that we can start reviewing it. Please do not delay submitting your application because you are missing an item or think it is incomplete. We will let you know what is still required through our review.

You will have met the deadline from the moment we have your dossier in our system, even if it is incomplete.

No, you cannot start your application before we send you the invitation mail. The IND does not allow  educational institutions to send in applications earlier than 3 months prior to the start of a student’s degree programme.

We start sending the invitation mails to start the application 3 months prior to the start of each semester (May for study programmes staring in September and November for study programmes starting in February).

For study programmes starting in September, we will start sending invitations to MVV students in the first half of May and to VVR students in the second half of May. We will continue sending invitations on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the whole month of June as well. Do not worry if you have not received one yet, as it is most likely that your information has not been forwarded to us by your faculty yet. If you haven’t received after that period of time, please contact your admissions department to see whether they have forwarded your details to the Immigration team.

For study programmes starting in February, we will start sending invitations to MVV students and to VVR students in November. We will continue sending invitations on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the whole month of December as well. Do not worry if you have not received one yet, as it is most likely that your information has not been forwarded to us by your faculty yet. If you haven’t received after that period of time, please contact your admissions department to see whether they have forwarded your details to the Immigration team.

For us to be able to send your application to the IND, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the start of your programme. If your passport expires within the next 6 months from the moment you apply for your permit, we advise you to start an extension application through your home country. Once your new passport is approved, you will be able to upload it to your application in MyInfo. Please note that your passport scan should be in PDF-format and not exceed 20MB.

Yes, a sponsor can be a relative, partner or friend. It doesn’t matter what your relation is to your sponsor but it should always be a person, never a company, who can legally fulfil the requirements for sponsorship.

Please visit our website for an overview of the required documents for financial proof. The documents need to meet the requirements stated on the website.

A bank statement, either from yourself or a sponsor, should meet certain requirements. Please visit our website for a detailed overview of the IND’s criteria for submitting a correct bank statement.

Yes, you can, although you need to reside and be registered for at least 3 months in the country in which you wish to collect your MVV.

This is only possible in very exceptional situations and never for the reason that it would simply be more convenient for you to collect it at another location, because of a holiday trip to another country for example.

You will have to contact the Dutch embassy or consulate that you initially chose as MVV pick-up location in your application as well as the new Dutch embassy or consulate where you want to collect your MVV, and arrange with both parties to collect your MVV at the new location. Only then can you send us their approvals in writing so that we can ask the IND if they can change the pick-up location.

You can find the contact details of all Dutch embassies and consulates on this website.

Chinese students can change their MVV pick-up location directly through this link.

If there is no Dutch embassy in your home country, please find the one closest to you by using this link to the Dutch government’s embassy website.

Once your MVV (entry visa) has been approved by the IND, along with your residence permit, you have 90 days to collect your MVV at the Dutch embassy you chose in your application. From the day your collect your MVV, you have 90 days to travel to the Netherlands.

If your MVV expires before you have travelled to the Netherlands, you will lose your right to residency and will have to to apply for an MVV (entry visa) + VVR (residence permit) a second time.

Yes, an MVV (entry visa) is a multiple-entry visa that allows you to travel to the Netherlands and the Schengen countries from outside the Schengen area more than once as long as your MVV (entry visa) is valid (90 days).

As an international student, you must register as a resident of your municipality if you plan to stay in the Netherlands for longer than 4 months. You have to register at the municipality of the town or city where you are going to live.

Please note that even if you expect that you will be residing in the Netherlands for less than 4 months, it is the expiry date on your residence permit card that is leading for the municipality and the IND (this is always for a period longer than 4 months). If you fail to register at a Dutch municipality within 3 months of your arrival, you will run the risk of losing your residence permit.

It is only possible to register in person and only on or after the start date of your rental contract, never before this date.

The municipality of Amsterdam organises special registration days for students so that they can register without making an appointment. You will need to pre-register first, however. You can check the dates and details on the Upon arrival website.

Please visit our Upon arrival website with information on how to register at your Dutch municipality.

Please note that the information below is the standard procedure for registering in Amsterdam. Every February and September, however, the municipality of Amsterdam will organise special registration days for international students to register at the municipality. For more information, please visit our Upon Arrival website.

No, you don’t have to. However, and only when the special registration days for students have passed, you will need to make an appointment to register at the municipality as soon as possible. Please note that, by law, you are required to have registered at the municipality within 3 months of your arrival in Amsterdam. If you fail to do so, you will run the risk of losing your residence permit.

No, there is no order in which you need to follow the steps shown on the checklist of our Upon Arrival page. This means you can collect your residence permit first or register at the municipality first, or the other way around. It doesn’t matter in which order you do it.

Once you've registered at the municipality, you'll be given a citizen service number (burgerservicenummer, BSN).  This is a unique personal number allocated to everyone who is registered in the Personal Records Database (BRP) of the Netherlands.

A BSN is similar to a social security or tax identifier number in other countries and is required for many things in the Netherlands, including opening a bank account, visiting a doctor or getting hospital treatment. It also allows you to open a DigiD-account, through which you can open a MyIND-account where you can check the status of your residence permit card before making an appointment to collect it at the IND.

If you leave the Netherlands and deregister at the municipality, your details will be entered into the Non-residents Records Database (RNI). The RNI is part of the BRP. Therefore, if at any moment you return to live in the Netherlands, you will have the same citizen service number/BSN.

Please note that the information below is the regular procedure for collecting a residence permit in Amsterdam. For students who are starting/returning to their studies in September, however, the IND will organize special residence permit collection days in Utrecht. For more information, please visit our Upon arrival website.

You can collect your residence permit card at the IND-desk in Amsterdam approximately 3 weeks after having submitted your biometric details, which you provided either at the embassy when you collected your MVV (entry visa) or at the IND-desk in Amsterdam. For more information, please visit our Upon arrival website.

If your residence permit card was lost or stolen, you can apply for a new residence permit directly at the IND. You can read about all the necessary details on the IND-website.

You will first need to make sure you have a copy of a police report before you can start the process with the IND.

One of the criteria students must meet while holding a residence permit for study is sufficient study progress. Sufficient study progress means that you must obtain at least 50% of the required ECTS credits each academic year. As this is a strict annual requirement, the UvA Immigration Office will check your progress 3 times a year, in March, June, and July. If you have not obtained sufficient ECTS by 31 August, the Immigration Office will have to inform the IND about it.

Please note that in addition to reaching the minimum amount of credits, students are also required to be actively studying. This means that a student with a study permit must be following courses, attending lectures, and taking exams.

If you have questions about this requirement, please contact the UvA Immigration Office.

For more information of this process, please consult this page.

You will need to start the application for an extension yourself. The UvA Immigration team will not automatically invite you for this process. You can find more information on the Extension page.

You will need to submit your biometrics again when applying for a new permit or extending your current permit if you submitted your biometrics less than 6 months ago at an IND-desk or a Dutch embassy. To check your personal situation, we recommend you visit the MyIND website. You will know for certain whether you need to submit your biometrics again.

Yes, by law you must have a health insurance covering all health costs for the duration of your stay in the Netherlands. This doesn’t need to be a Dutch health insurance if you do not work in the Netherlands next to your studies, a international health insurance will suffice in that case.

Please note that although it is mandatory for you to have valid health insurance, we will not check your situation. Please visit our website for more information on the health insurance requirement.

Please consult your insurance company to check if your insurance policy covers all health costs for the duration of your stay in the Netherlands.

For specific questions on health insurance, we would recommend you to contact SKGZ: please visit SKGZ or (if you are in the Netherlands) call 0800 64 64 644 (week days 09:00-17:00). From abroad, you can call +31 88 900 6960.

Yes, you are allowed to work next to your studies but please bear in mind that there are strict rules to abide to for students from non-EU/EEA countries who want to work under a residence permit on the basis of ‘study’. As a student, the number of hours you are allowed to work in the Netherlands is restricted and you will need a work permit, that your employer or employment agency will need to apply for you on your behalf.

You can find more information about work and internships during your studies at our website.

The number of hours you are allowed to work in the Netherlands as a non-EU/EEA student with a residence permit on the basis of ‘study’ is restricted. Every calendar year, you must choose between part-time work throughout the year of no more than 16 hours per week, or full-time seasonal work in June, July, and August. You cannot do both.

Yes, as a non-EU/EEA student with a residence permit on the basis of ‘study’ you are allowed to follow an internship according to strict IND and UvA regulations. Please visit our website for more information.

No, as a non-EU/EEA students with a residence permit on the basis of ‘study’, it is only possible to extend your residence permit to follow an internship if it is part of your study programme (mandatory/elective or voluntary) and the UvA internship agreement for Academic education has been signed by your employer, the UvA and you yourself.

Please note that you are not allowed to artificially extend your residence permit when you have finished your study programme and are all set to graduate.

If you choose to de-enrol from the UvA, we are legally required to inform the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) about so that they can revoke your residence permit.

Once we have notified the IND, they will send an official confirmation letter to your Dutch address stating that you have 28 days to leave the Netherlands. Please visit our page on discontinuing your study programe for more detailed information.

If you plan on returning to the UvA for a later academic year, we will be happy to send you a new invitation to apply for another residence permit.

Please note that you will have to send us an email 3 months before the start of the semester to ask for an invitation to start the immigration process. You will not be sent the invitation automatically this time if you interrupted your studies.

A residence gap is a period when you live in the Netherlands without holding a valid residence permit. It may have consequences for future applications through the IND. However, this is not something the UvA can influence. You can avoid a residence gap by ensuring that you hold a valid permit for the duration of your studies at the UvA.

To be allowed to switch study programmes or continue following the same study programme when not having obtained at least 50% of your ECTS in your academic year, you will need to make sure to de-enroll before May 1^st. We will subsequently ask the IND to revoke your permit. Please note that you will have to leave the Netherlands within 28 days of your de-enrollment date.

In order to apply for a new permit, and only once you have been at least conditionally admitted to your (new) study programme, please make sure to send us an e-mail at the beginning of May so that we can send you an invitation to apply. Invitations will not been sent automatically to you this time.

Yes, once you have collected your residence permit card at the IND, you are allowed to travel with it to and within the Schengen area every time for a maximum of 90 days within a period of 180 days.

As a general rule, the IND allows you to stay abroad for a maximum of 6 months, as long as you remain registered at a Dutch municipality during that period of time. Beyond that period of time, the IND will revoke your residence permit.

In all cases where your residence permit was revoked by the IND, please contact the UvA Immigration team for more information on what to do next.

The municipality allows you to stay abroad for a certain period of time during your studies. Please visit the website of the Municipality of Amsterdam for information. Please note that you will have to stay registered at the municipality during your stay abroad if you want to keep your residence permit!

For extra information about staying abroad during your studies, please contact the UvA Immigration team.

Yes, if you deregister from your address, the IND will automatically receive a notification about your deregistration from the municipality. The IND will subsequently revoke your residence permit. Therefore, in order to keep your residence permit, it is very important to stay registered at the municipality during your stay abroad.

If you have not yet collected your residence permit and cannot do so before traveling outside of the Netherlands, then you will have to request a return visa before you leave. You can do so through the IND-website. This only applies to students with a nationality that require an MVV (entry visa) to travel to and within the Schengen Area.

Yes, you can travel with your residence permit card when your residence permit is in the process of being extended as long as your card is still valid. In case the validity of your residence permit card expires while abroad and if you are not exempt from requiring an entry visa to travel to and within the Schengen area, you will need to apply for a return visa at the IND before you leave or at a Dutch embassy when already abroad (the latter also applies when you residence permit card was lost or stolen while abroad).

The UvA only applies for residence permits on behalf of our students. We cannot apply for residence permits on behalf of partners of students if they are not enrolling at the UvA to study as well. Partners of students will need to do this themselves through the IND.

You can find all the information relating to a partner visa here.

If you have further questions about the partner visa, please contact the IND.

The UVA does not assist in the application for residence permits for partners of our students if they are not enrolling at the UvA themselves to study as well. We do assist in the application for children of our students, however. Importantly, please note that the IND recommends when students are applying for permits for a partner and a child that they submit both applications themselves at the IND so that they will be processed at the same time and the IND remains aware of both applications.

You can find all the information relating to a partner residence permit here and child residence permit here.

The UvA Immigration team would be happy to assist you in applying for a Dutch residence permit for your child when only your child comes with you to the Netherlands. If your partner comes as well, please refer to our “Can you arrange a visa and/or residence permit for my partner?” frequently asked question.

An application for a student's child is an exceptional case. The entire application process for your own and your child's permit takes longer than a normal residence permit application for students.

Before you can start the application for your child, we have to have reviewed your own application and submitted it to the IND. When the IND has received your application for a residence permit as a student, you will receive a v-number. With this v-number you can start the application for your child.

When applying for your child's permit (and MVV entry visa if necessary), please fill in the attached forms and submit the following documents:

• A copy of your child's passport, or a copy of the parent's passport with whom the child is registered
• A copy of your child’s birth certificate, or if the parent's name is not on the birth certificate, other documentation, such as an adoption document
• Proof that the parent has custody of the child
• A copy of your marriage certificate
• A copy of the passports of both parents
• Proof of sufficient financial means
• In the event that more than one person has guardianship, but not both parents or guardians are coming to the Netherlands:
  • Hand-signed statement from another parent or guardian that the child is allowed to go to the Netherlands
  • Passport of another parent or guardian (to check authenticity of signature)

Please prepare all the documents and send them as attachments to our email address once you have received your v-number.

Your residence permit remains valid for another 3 months after your graduation date. If you do not apply for another type of residence permit in the Netherlands in the meantime, you will have to leave the country within the 3 months.

If you wish to stay in the Netherlands to look for work or another study, you can apply for the orientation year residence permit. More information can be found here.

As long as you apply for another type of residence permit before the expiration date of your current residence permit, you will continue to reside legally in the Netherlands until the IND has made a decision on your new application.

Students who have obtained a degree in the Netherlands can choose to apply for an orientation year residence permit after graduation.

The orientation year residence permit allows you to stay in the Netherlands for one year after graduation to look for a job. Please visit the IND-website for the conditions and more information on how to apply for the orientation year residence permit. Please note that you have to apply for this permit directly at the IND and not through the UvA.

You will have to wait until you have received either your degree certificate or have your faculty fill out the IND's completion of study form before you can apply for the orientation year permit.

If you are no longer enrolled at the UvA, your residence permit for the purpose of ‘study’ will be revoked. Once you have de-enrolled from the UvA, we will automatically inform the IND of your de-enrolment. Please note that you will have 28 days from your date of de-enrolment to leave the Netherlands.

Yes, you must deregister from the municipality when you leave the Netherlands. You can do this from 5 days before your departure until the day of departure at the latest. Saturday, Sunday and public holidays also count towards the 5 day period.

How to deregister varies from one municipality to another. For more information, contact the municipality where you want to deregister.

Your residence permit card is property of the Dutch government and therefore always needs to be returned to the IND. It can be returned either by post or at an IND-desk. Please follow the instructions mentioned on the IND-website for more information on the return process.

One of the requirements for applying for a permanent Dutch residence permit with the IND later on is that the individual must have held a valid Dutch residence permit for at least five years at the time of application.

It is important to note that residence permits issued for the purpose of 'study' always only count for half the time towards this five-year requirement.

In addition, after holding a residence permit for 'study', the individual must first obtain a residence permit with a non-temporary purpose before they are eligible to apply for a permanent Dutch residence permit.