How do I apply for Dutch student finance and choose its components?
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Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
Apply yourself through Mijn DUO. Check your course, age, residence status and starting month; select grants, travel and any borrowing separately. This preparation submits nothing.
On this page
1. Check course and status
This concerns Dutch student finance for recognised mbo-bol and full-time or dual higher education. Bbl and part-time courses are excluded. Start before thirty; after stopping at thirty or older you cannot restart. Check DUO nationality/residence requirements: EU residence alone is insufficient; Ukrainian temporary protection gives no entitlement.
2. Identify the starting month
For mbo, grants/loans normally start in the quarter after turning eighteen, or on the birthday if it is the first day of a quarter. Travel can start earlier. Higher education has no minimum age. Enrolment after the first of a month shifts commencement to the next month. Previously used entitlement can limit duration.
3. Choose components
Distinguish the basic grant, supplementary grant, student travel product and interest-bearing loan. Tuition-fee credit is only for higher education. Apply for the supplementary grant too; DUO assesses entitlement. Do not automatically borrow the maximum: a ceiling is not your awarded grant.
4. Separate grants from loans
For mbo 1/2, grants and travel are gifts. For mbo 3/4 and higher education, normally obtain a qualifying diploma within ten years; the diploma determines the years converted. Supplementary grant received during the first twelve months of student finance for mbo 3/4, or the first five months for higher education, remains a gift even without a diploma. Loans remain repayable with interest. Illness or stopping in the first year may allow exceptions.
5. Prepare the calculation and application
Use the official DUO calculator with education level, living situation, parental income and your budget. Check its year; the calculator read uses 2026. Apply preferably eight weeks ahead using DigiD in Mijn DUO. Financial components may be backdated within the current academic year: from August for mbo, September for higher education. Travel cannot be backdated.
6. Check confirmation and changes
Keep confirmation, chosen components and starting month; promptly report a different course or not starting. Applications from the Caribbean follow a separate route. Check appeal instructions after refusal; our help request is not a DUO application. Without regular entitlement, investigate levenlanglerenkrediet separately: a loan, not a replacement grant. Do not wait for examination/admission results: apply for the intended course and amend if unsuccessful or changing course. DUO says a DigiD application produces a letter within three working days. For past months, in Mijn studiefinanciering under ‘Geldt dit voor u?’ choose ‘Ik wil mijn studiefinanciering eerder laten ingaan’. Apply for the supplementary grant once; DUO reassesses yearly.
Is the maximum DUO amount my grant?
No. A maximum may include borrowing capacity. Check each component, conditions and calculation year. The official calculator estimates; DUO decides.
Documents to prepare
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- Course, level and enrolment date
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DUO · Voorwaarden ↗DUO · Aanvragen ↗DUO · Onderdelen en start ↗DUO · Gift of terugbetalen ↗DUO · Rekenhulp 2026 ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.