As a student you are exempted from the EU travel ban and you are allowed to travel to the Netherlands if you have received the IND decision letter stating that you will receive a residence permit for study. You will receive this IND decision letter from the immigration office of the UvA. You have to carry this with you while you travel.

You must bring the letter stating that you will receive a residence permit (kennisgeving) when you travel to the Netherlands. If a family member is accompanying, they must have a copy of your IND letter as well.

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 three months prior to the start of a student’s degree programme.

We start sending the invitation mails to start the application three months prior to the start of each semester. If you haven’t received it in that period of time, please contact your Admissions department to see whether they have forwarded your details to the Immigration team.

This is only possible in very exceptional situations (for example, a trip to another country is not a valid reason). Please note that you have to arrange the change in locations by contacting both embassies yourself. Once both embassies have agreed to the change, please inform us so that we can notify the IND accordingly. Then the IND needs to decide whether your reason is exceptional enough.

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, 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. 

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

Unfortunately not, we can only assist UvA students (and in some cases, their children) with their application for a Dutch residence permit. 

Yes, we can assist with the residence permit application of your child if you are a UvA student, but only when just your child comes with you to the Netherlands. Please let us know if you need us to assist you with applying for a residence permit for your child. If you are moving to the Netherlands with both your child and your partner, you will need to apply for their permits through the IND yourself.

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.

The IND allows you to stay abroad for a maximum of 6 months as a general rule. 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.

A BSN number is your personal number assigned to you by the Dutch government. It is a unique number that never changes and will remain linked to you even if you leave the Netherlands and come back later. A BSN number is similar to a social security or tac identifier number in other countries.

No, you don’t. However, you do need to make an appointment to register at the municipality within 5 days of your arrival in the Netherlands. By law you are required to have registered at the municipality within 3 months of your arrival in Amsterdam.

Please follow the steps as shown on the Checklist on our Upon Arrival page.

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

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 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.

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

Yes, you can travel on your residence permit when it is extended as long as it is still valid. However, are you not exempt from requiring an MVV-entry visa and need to travel back to the Netherlands after your residence permit card expiry date? Then you will have to apply for a return visa at the IND or a Dutch embassy.

No, in that case, you will have to apply for a new permit as soon as possible as you currently have a residence gap. Please contact us so that we can send a new invitation to the immigration process.

This depends. To check your personal situation, we recommend visiting the MyIND website as it will be shown there whether or not your biometrics are needed again.

Yes, this will have consequences for your residence permit. As this may impact your residency status in the Netherlands, please visit our page about Discontinuing your study for more detailed information.