Visas and permits

To enter the Netherlands for study purposes, nationals from most countries need a visa. Once in the Netherlands, a residence permit is often required. In some cases a work permit is also required. Here you can find out which requirements apply to you and how you go about arranging things.

An entry visa is a sticker placed in your passport at the Dutch embassy or consulate in your own country (or the country in which you legally reside), but it must be applied for well in advance.

For a stay of up to three months, you might need a ‘short stay visa’ (Visum Kort Verblijf), depending on your nationality. If you will be staying for longer than three months, you might need a ‘provisional residence permit’ (Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf, or MVV). This requirement does not apply to citizens of the EU/EEA and Switzerland, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Vatican City, Monaco or South Korea.
 

Short or long stay

There are three elements which are important to find out which procedures apply to you:

  • your nationality
  • the length of your stay
  • your purpose of stay

The starting point on this website is your nationality. The second step is the length of your stay. If you are staying for three months or less, different rules apply than when you will be in the Netherlands for longer than three months.

Student Visa Wizard

We advise you to fill in the Student Visa Wizard first before reading on. This way, you can find out which procedures apply to you on account of your nationality and the duration of your stay.

There are currently no criteria on which to search. Please add them using the 'criteria' tab.

Also in this section

Student Visa Wizard

Which set of procedures you should use depends on what nationality you have. Choose your country of origin. In case your country of origin is not mentioned in the list, please scroll down to 'other countries' where you will find which procedures...

A long stay

If you will be staying for longer than three months (90 days), you might need a ‘provisional residence permit’ ('Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf or MVV') to enter the Netherlands. This is a sticker placed in your passport at the Dutch...

A short stay visa

For a stay for up to three months (90 days), you might need a ‘short stay visa’ (Visum Kort Verblijf, VKV), depending on your nationality. This visa is also called a ‘Schengen visa’.
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