EU/EEA students who are not entitled to full study grants (in Dutch: studiefinanciering) for a Dutch course in higher education can apply for a loan to pay their tuition fees. This loan is known as `loan tuition fees’ (in Dutch: collegegeldkrediet) and is paid monthly. You repay the sum you borrowed after your studies.

Students from EU/EEA countries and Switzerland who are under 30 pay the legal tuition fees for a full-time study at an institute of higher education or university funded by the Dutch government. For the 2008-2009 academic year, this amounts to € 1,565,-. However, the full-time study must be an accredited course, i.e., the study must be recognised by the Dutch-Flemish accreditation organization (NVAO) on the basis of a set criteria.

Students from EU/EEA countries and Switzerland who are under the age of 30 and follow full-time studies at an institute of higher education or a university which is not funded by the Dutch government must pay the so-called ‘institute’s tuition fees’. Usually these are higher than the legal tuition fees.

If you comply with the conditions for loan tuition fees (see below), you can always borrow the sum of the legal college fees in the form of a loan tuition fees. If you want a higher loan tuition fees, this is possible if you pay an institute’s tuition fees which are higher than the legal fees. In that case you can apply for loan tuition fees for the amount of tuition fees that you pay, up to a maximum of five times the sum of legal tuition fees. If you want a lower loan tuition fees, this is also possible. You indicate on the application form how much you want to borrow per month. 

You must: 

• be under the age of 30 when you apply for loan tuition fees for the first time
• be enrolled as a full-time student for an accredited course at a funded or recognized institute of higher education or university be enrolled as a full-time student for an accredited course at a funded or recognized institute of higher education or university 
• have a citizen service number in the Netherlands 
• have a bank account, other than a savings account, in the Netherlands                        

In order to apply for a loan tuition fees, you must complete the form Application for loan tuition fees for students from EU/EEA countries and send it to DUO together with the documents requested. Make your application in time. Note: you cannot apply for the loan tution fees if you do not have a Dutch citizen service number (in Dutch: burgerservicenummer). You will automatically obtain a citizen service number, when you are coming to live in the Netherlands and when you register yourself with the municipal authorities (the Municipal Personal Records Database).