PREPARE YOUR STUDY IN

10 steps

©Ovedco's 10 steps

2020

AUGUST
1. Do an English language test

SEPTEMBER
2. Choose a study + university

OCTOBER
3. Calculate finances + scholarship

OCTOBER
4. Check admission requirements

NOVEMBER
5. Collect required documents

2021

JANUARY
6. Start application at the university

JANUARY - MARCH
7a. Apply for a scholarship

JANUARY - MARCH
7b. Look for housing

MAY
8. Preparations in your home country

JUNE
9. Pay your tuition fee

JULY - AUGUST
10. Preparations in Holland

01.

AUGUST

Do an English language test

Do this test before choosing a study to find out whether you can handle a study abroad
Do it as early as possible, preferably by August, because registering and waiting for the results sometimes take several months!
IELTS & TOEFL test results may not be older than two years, otherwise your application will be rejected
Ensure you do the test at a genuine test center and watch out for fraudulent ones!

Choose between the following tests:

IELTS = International English Language Testing System
TOEFL = Test Of English as a Foreign Language (iBT=internet Based Test)
CAE = Cambridge Assessment English

Main differences
between the tests

Find more info:

How to do a test? Scoring requirements

02.

SEPTEMBER

Choose a study + university

Visit online open days, education fairs or webinars.

Choose between:

HBO or WO?
English or Dutch programmes?
What university rankings to check?
How to compare universities?

LEARN MORE

Find more info:

Study programmes
in English World ranking lists Compare universities

Wanna know more tips?

MAKE THINGS EASY!

Subscribe and receive our free monthly bulletin, which contains useful tips and important deadline alerts for the preparation and planning of your study in the Netherlands.

03.

OCTOBER

Calculate finances
or scholarship eligibility

If you want to get a visa, it is required that you first prove that you can cover all of the first year's tuition fees plus living costs by bank transfer.

Total costs:

Living costs
Tuition fees
Other institutional fees (application, housing, etc.)
Other costs (visa, flight ticket etc.)

Cost indication table

Scholarship options:

From governments
From educational institutions

Find more info:

Scholarship overview
for BSc, MSc, PhD

04.

OCTOBER

Check admission requirements
and deadlines

Most Dutch academic universities have put their deadlines on 1st of April.

But earlier deadlines apply in case of:

Numerus fixus programmes: generally 15th of January. This means you better arrange for your Letter of recommendation before the December holidays start.
Scholarship applications: varying between March-April. Before applying you must first prove you are admitted to the institution. This means you need to apply at the institution in time!

Requirements in general:

Academic: pre-university education + 1-2 years university in your home country
Language: generally IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 90 or C1 180
Programme-specific: e.g. specific school subjects

Required documents may be:

Diploma
Language certificate
Proof of identity
Transcript/list of grades
Curriculum vitae
Letter of recommendation
Motivation letter

Check the admission requirements:

Visit the university's own website
or find it quickly via Studyfinder:

STUDYFINDER

05.

NOVEMBER

Collect the required documents

December is a busy month for everybody, so better start collecting in November.

Required documents may be:

Diploma
Language certificate
Proof of identity
Transcript/list of grades
Curriculum vitae
Letter of recommendation
Motivation letter

Find more info:

How to write a
motivation letter

06.

JANUARY

Start your application
at the university

Most universities open for registration in October till April. But if you want to apply for a scholarship, you must ensure you don't wait till the last minute. Because closing dates for scholarship applications generally vary between February till April.

Application process in general:

Enrol via Studielink
Upload required documents
Receive feedback from the university
Send your confirmation
Pay your tuition fees
Receive statement of enrolment

Legislation & translation
of required documents

If you qualify for a scholarship, you can immediately start up the application for it after you have been accepted to the university, to make sure the scholarship has been arranged before you are requested to complete a bank transfer by the university.

After receipt of a conditional Letter of Acceptance (LoA):

The university will start up the immigration procedure to arrange a visa for you.
You must upload information through their digital student system.
You must complete a bank transfer to prove to the Dutch Immigration Service (IND) that you are able to cover all of the first year's finances (tuition fee + living costs deposit + visa handling fee).
The IND will approve your documents and bank transfer and will give official approval within 6 weeks.

Visa procedure

07.

JANUARY
- MARCH

Apply for a scholarship
and look for housing

Shortly after arrival in the Netherlands, the local municipality requires you to register under an official home address, so better start looking for housing early (preferably 3 months in advance).

Scholarship options:

Bachelor: Orange Tulip Scholarship (OTS), Holland Scholarship
Master: StuNed, Orange Tulip Scholarship, Holland Scholarship, Erasmus+
PhD: Erasmus+

LEARN MORE

Housing options:

Via the university is the safest option
Via social housing providers that are supervised by the government
Stay with friends or family

LEARN MORE

08.

MAY

Preparations in your home country

Waiting for a decision for a visa by the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation services may take up a maximum of 60 days.

Things to prepare:

Student housing: see Step-7
Legislation/translation of documents
Visa
Health insurance: compulsory by Dutch law!
Other insurances
Flight ticket: don't book before you get official approval and an appointment for collecting your entry visa!

Find more info:

Legislation & translation
of required documents Visa procedure How to arrange
(health) insurance

09.

JUNE

Pay your tuition fees

Pay two weeks before the deadline. In case problems occur, these can be solved in time.
This way you avoid the risk of being rejected at the very last minute.

Payment options:

Bank transfer
Via Studielink: digital authorisation is required

After a successful bank transfer, the institution will set out a request for a visa at the Dutch Immigration Service (IND).

10.

JULY
- AUGUST

Preparations in Holland

There are quite some formal matters you need to arrange once you have arrived in the Netherlands. Learn how to do these things in a practical order.

Things to prepare:

Residence permit collection
BRP registration and BSN application
Bank account
Local mobile phone subscription
Tuberculosis test (TB)
Health insurance (in case you want to work next to your study)
Dokter, dentist, pharmacy
DigiD
Legal obligations
Register at the Indonesian Embassy

Find more info:

How to arrange
(health) insurance

PREPARE YOUR STUDY IN

10 steps

©Ovedco's 10 steps

01.

AUGUST

Do an English language test

Choose between the following tests:

Find more info:

02.

SEPTEMBER

Choose a study + university

Choose between:

Find more info:

Wanna know more tips?

MAKE THINGS EASY!

Subscribe and receive our free monthly bulletin, which contains useful tips and important deadline alerts for the preparation and planning of your study in the Netherlands.

03.

OCTOBER

Calculate financesor scholarship eligibility

Total costs:

Scholarship options:

Find more info:

04.

OCTOBER

Check admission requirements and deadlines

Requirements in general:

Required documents may be:

Check the admission requirements:

05.

NOVEMBER

Collect the required documents

Required documents may be:

Find more info:

06.

JANUARY

Start your application at the university

Application process in general:

After receipt of a conditional Letter of Acceptance (LoA):

07.

JANUARY- MARCH

Apply for a scholarship and look for housing

Scholarship options:

Housing options:

08.

MAY

Preparations in your home country

Things to prepare:

Find more info:

09.

JUNE

Pay your tuition fees

Payment options:

10.

JULY- AUGUST

Preparations in Holland

Things to prepare:

Find more info:

Cookies & Privacy

Calculate finances
or scholarship eligibility

Check admission requirements
and deadlines

Start your application
at the university

JANUARY
- MARCH

Apply for a scholarship
and look for housing

JULY
- AUGUST