Application procedure

The Infographic shown below gives you an overview of the immigration procedure.

In order to make sure that your visa and/or residence permit is submitted at the IND in time, please make sure to submit your application file before the application deadline.

This means that the ISD needs your documents and financial proof before this deadline date in order to make sure that your visa and/or residence permit are ready before the start of your programme. This is necessary to finalize your enrolment.

Please be informed that your application can be withdrawn when you do not meet the visa and/or residence permit application deadline.

For a personalized overview of what is required in your specific situation, please check our Student Journey Tool.

This student journey tool has been produced for new students to check what they need to do in order to arrange immigration matters. The results of this form are a mere check and not the official results.

Important: The advice is not legally binding and does not represent a legal statement to be presented to the University of Groningen.

Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after the starting date of your degree programme; make sure to renew your passport on time, if necessary.

You sign an antecedents certificate, hereby providing information on your criminal record. You state if you have a criminal record or not. We will submit this certificate to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

You will find a link to the antecedents certificate in the immigration package.

The application fee needs to be transferred to our bank account. Without this transfer, we cannot handle your application. The IND collects the application fees directly from our bank account.

At this moment, the application fee is EUR 228. The application fee generally changes twice a year, based on inflation.

No rights can be derived from the amount mentioned on this webpage.

Tuition fees need to be paid in full in order to be enrolled in a degree programme. Tuition fees differ per faculty and programme.

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Paying tuition fees

Tuition fees need to be paid directly to the Central Student Administration (CSA). Please be aware that CSA will send you a separate email with the instructions on how to pay the tuition fee.

Do not add the tuition fees to the total amount of sufficient funds and application fees as tuition fees need to be paid to another bank account. Doing so will result in a delay of your application. The tuition fees need to be transferred to the CSA before we apply for your visa and/or residence permit.

Two transfers

This means that you will make two transfers, one to the ISD for the application fees and proof of sufficient funds and one to the CSA for your tuition fees.

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Degree programme starts in February

If your programme starts in February, you will only need to pay the tuition fees for the remaining 7 months of the academic year. This amount is therefore sufficient for your mvv and/or residence permit application.

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Exchange students

Exchange students pay tuition fees to their home university and not to the University of Groningen.

You need to show that you have sufficient money to live and study in the Netherlands. The amount you need to show is called the study norm.

The sufficient funds should correspond with the duration of your programme (with a maximum of 12 months equals EUR 15,000, also if you enrol for a programme of more than one year). Use our Student Journey Tool for an overview of your sufficient funds.

Sufficient funds do not include tuition fees. The IND maintains a study norm amount of EUR 1250,00 per month (2024) and changes every January. We have gradually raised the amount of the study norm so that there is enough margin when the funds are transferred to us, for instance for bank charges or exchange rates. The amount of EUR 1250,00 is non-negotiable.

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How to prove finances

As a degree or exchange student, you need to prove your finances to the Immigration Service Desk (ISD) of the University of Groningen. The ISD accepts three ways in which you can prove your finances.

You can also use a combination of these options. In almost all cases, you have to pay the application fee to the ISD. Maybe you have a scholarship and/or a loan that (partially) covers the proof of sufficient funds, so you do not need to transfer the whole amount.

Please read the options carefully for the requirements.

Transfer the application fee and sufficient funds to the University of Groningen. You are allowed to make multiple transfers, but to transfer the whole amount at once is preferred since this is more cost efficient for all parties involved. If you need an invoice, please fill in the invoice request form.

Please add your student number and surname to the bank description in order for us to link your transfer. In addition, we advise you to add the proof of sufficient funds and application fee as a transfer receipt.

A scholarship can cover your tuition fee, proof of sufficient funds and/or the application fee for your residence permit. If it only covers a part of this, you have to make an additional transfer to meet the financial requirements. You have to upload your scholarship letter in the online application form as proof and the ISD will determine if your scholarship letter is sufficient.  

The application fee for your residence permit for the IND are hardly ever covered by the scholarship letter. This means that a possible transfer of these application costs is necessary. It is also possible that your scholarship does not cover the full sufficient funds, in which case it is also necessary for you to transfer the remaining of the sufficient funds to the ISD. If your scholarship letter explicitly mentions that the application fee is covered, you do not have to make a transfer for this.

If your scholarship letter is missing one of the mentioned criteria, the ISD will not accept the letter in any case, no exceptions possible! Please make sure that your letter meets all the criteria for a fast and smooth application process.

Use the Student Journey Tool to discover what you need to pay and/or proof!

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Criteria of a scholarship letter

A scholarship letter must meet all the following criteria:

1. Must be provided in English, Dutch, French or German. If the letter is not provided in one of these languages, you must have it translated by a sworn translator.
2. Must explicitly mention that at least EUR 1,250 per month is available as sufficient funds (living expenses). Money that is available for books, allocation, insurance, plane tickets etc. will not count as proof of sufficient funds.
3. If your scholarship includes your tuition fee this must be explicitly mentioned.
4. The scholarship letter must definitely contain:
   1. Date of issue
   2. Your personal details (initials, surname, date of birth)
   3. The institution granting the scholarship
   4. Start and finish of the scholarship (start and end date)
   5. The amount you receive and the purpose of this amount
   6. Currency of the money (euro, dollar etc.)

A loan can cover your tuition fee and/or proof of sufficient funds. If it only covers a part of this, you have to make an additional transfer to meet the financial requirements.

A loan never covers the application fee, so you need to transfer this amount to the ISD. You have to send a loan statement to the ISD as proof and the staff members of the ISD will determine if your loan statement is sufficient.

If you have the money of the loan already in your own bank account, we prefer you to transfer all fees into the bank account of the ISD, for a fast and smooth application process.

You will need to transfer the tuition fee to the Central Student Administration (CSA) department as soon as possible.

Use the Student Journey Tool to discover what you need to pay and/or proof.

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Criteria of a loan statement

A loan statement must meet all the following criteria:

1. Must be provided in English, Dutch, French or German. If the statement is not provided in one of these languages, you must have it translated by a sworn translator.
2. The loan statement must at least contain:
   1. Date of issue (not older than 3 months, calculated on the day the application will be send to the ISD)
   2. Name, address & contact details of the loan provider
   3. Your personal details
   4. Start and end date of the loan
   5. Amount of money the loan provider pays out monthly and/or yearly
   6. Currency of the money (euro, dollar etc.)
   7. The loan statement can only be provided by an official financial institution.
3. Accompanied by the terms and conditions under which the loan has been granted. In the terms and conditions it has to state when (a date) you will need to repay your loan and it cannot be repaid during your studies at the University of Groningen. This includes repayment of the interest.

If your loan statement is missing one of the abovementioned criteria, the ISD will not accept the statement in any case, no exceptions possible! Please make sure that your loan statement meets all the criteria for a fast and smooth application process.

As of 2018 the Board of the University of Groningen decided that we are no longer permitted to accept foreign bank statements as proof of sufficient funds for immigration applications.

This is applicable to all non-EU/EEA guests of the University (students, researchers, employees) who will be staying for more than 4 months and whose residence permits are arranged by the Immigration Service Desk (ISD).

It is only possible to prove your finances by means of a transfer, a scholarship letter and/or a loan.

If you wish to switch from another university or educational institution to the University of Groningen, the ISD has to notify the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) of your switch.This is called a change of guarantor.

This means that the University of Groningen will become your legal guarantor regarding your residence permit, while your current residence permit remains valid or we will apply for an extension.

Please fill in the contact form to inform about the procedure and required documents.

If you are going to study at the University of Groningen and you are in the possession of a Dutch residence permit with a purpose other than study, we can apply for a change of purpose.

This means that the University of Groningen will become your legal guarantor and changes the purpose of your residence permit into study.

Please fill in the contact form to inform about the procedure and required documents.

If your residence permit is about to expire before the completion of your studies, we will contact you about the extension procedure. Residence permits for the purpose of study are issued for a specific period of time.

We can only extend your residence permit if you have an active enrolment at the UG and meet the conditions of the Modern Migration (MoMi) policy.

We can apply for an extension with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) 3 months before the expiry date of your current residence permit card. Around that time you will receive an email with more information.

Please fill in the contact form to inform about the procedure and required documents.