Student finance and student travel product

If you are eligible, you are qualified for the basic grant for the official length of your study programme. For a bachelor's programme, this is usually 4 years. The amount of the basic grant depends on your living situation. If you live away from home, you receive a higher amount than when you live with your parent(s).

The basic grant is a performance‑related grant. It becomes a gift if you complete your diploma within 10 years. If you do not finish your diploma in time, you must pay back the full amount, including interest.

Please note: The basic grant was reintroduced in the 2023–2024 academic year. This means you may have already studied for two years under the loan system and still have two years of entitlement to the basic grant left.

If you are eligible, you will receive the supplementary grant for the official duration of your study programme. For a bachelor's programme, this is usually 4 years.

Don’t miss out on any money. Always apply for the supplementary grant if you are eligible. You only need to do it once. DUO calculates if you meet the financial requirements annually.

The amount of supplementary grant

The amount of the supplementary grant depends on:

Parental income out of consideration

Have you lost touch with one or both parents? Or do you have a serious dispute with one of them or both? Then you can ask DUO to leave the parental income out of consideration. This means you could get a (higher) supplementary grant. You can only do this if you have already applied for student finance with a supplementary grant.

If you need extra money for your education, you can borrow from DUO as part of your student finance. You do not need to borrow the maximum amount, it is also possible to borrow less. You are free to decide this yourself. You can adjust or cancel your loan monthly. You are always required to repay the loan with interest after completing your education.

If you are eligible, you can travel for free or with a discount on trains, trams, buses, and the metro throughout the Netherlands with the Student travel product. You can choose a week or weekend subscription. You arrange the student travel product at the same time as your student finance.

If you have questions about your student finance, you can contact DUO in several ways:

If you are in your first year of study, and you receive student finance, and you stop your course before 1 February, DUO's first‑year rule applies.This means you usually do not have to pay back (the full amount of) the basic grant, the supplementary grant, or the student travel product you have received.

If you are studying at higher vocational education (hbo) or university, you can apply for a tuition fees loan. This is even possible if you fail to meet the nationality requirements for student finance.

You always have to pay back the tuition fees loan, with interest.

Yes, it’s possible if you are a student from an EU/EEA country, or from Switzerland or the United Kingdom, but it depends on whether you meet DUO’s conditions. You can get Dutch student finance if you have lived in the Netherlands for more than five years in a row, or if DUO sees you as a migrant worker. This means that:

Do you want to know exactly what you are eligible for? Check DUO's conditions.

If you have no contact with one or both of your parents, or if there is a serious conflict, you can ask DUO to not count that parent’s income for your supplementary grant.This means you could get a (higher) supplementary grant. You can only do this if you have already applied for student finance with a supplementary grant.

DUO looks at situations such as:

Would you like to discuss whether this applies to you?

Schedule an appointment with a student counsellor to discuss your situation. The student counsellor can also provide an expert statement for you.