Our International Office will apply for your visa and/or residence permit.
If you are officially admitted (or admitted under condition) for a study at Saxion, it is time to look at your immigration procedures. We will handle all immigration-related matters for you, but we understand you would like to know the process and what you need to do to successfully start your study in the Netherlands. (We strongly recommend no travel plans are made or costs are incurred until a decision regarding your visa application is made and the visa has been issued by the Dutch embassy)
Take the following steps so that we can apply for your visa or residence permit:
- Besides the documents mentioned under ‘categories’, we also require students to upload a copy of their passport including copies of all stamped pages.
- You can upload the documents via sis.saxion.nl with the following names:
- Immigration Application form
- Antecedents form
- Copy passport
- Please make sure of the following:
- Your passport contains a signature, which is equal to the signature on the immigration application form and antecedents form.
- Your passport should be valid for at least 3 more months after collecting your MVV entry visa/ travelling to the Netherlands.
- The documents you have uploaded cannot have a date which is 3 months prio.
After you have completed steps 1, 2 and 3, Saxion will apply for your visa and/or residence permit around June or July. We cannot give the exact date of application for your visa / residence permit.
Saxion University of Applied Sciences is only allowed to submit visa/residence permit applications to the IND 3 months prior to start of the study programme. For the September intake, the start date is 1 September. Saxion is only able to start with the visa/residence permit applications if a student is unconditionally admitted to the study programme. Please be aware that Saxion is not able to prioritise certain applications and cannot accelerate the application process for the visa and or residence permit.
From the moment we applied for the visa / residence permit it will approximately take 3 weeks before you will receive the approval e-mail from Saxion.
Students who need an entry visa: The official letter you need for your appointment at the Dutch Embassy will arrive within 2 weeks after your received the approval. This letter will be sent by the IND via postal to Saxion which takes some more time.
The IND will organize central residence permit pick-up days in Utrecht city, where international students must collect their residence permits. As soon as your residence permit is ready, you will receive an email from Saxion with more detailed information about the pick-up day.
Please note: you cannot make a pick-up appointment via the regular IND website, if you do so the IND will cancel this appointment and refer you to Saxion, because you can only collect your residence permit during the pick-up days. Saxion will inform you about around mid-August.
You do not have to worry about residing in the Netherlands without a physical residence permit card. Based on your approval letter/entry visa, you are legally in the Netherlands, waiting for your residence permit card to be ready. Nevertheless, it is mandatory to attend one of the central pick-up days.
Disclaimer:
- Saxion University of Applied Sciences retains the right to refuse to apply for a student visa/residence permit if there are significant concerns about the applicant's intended purpose of stay in the Netherlands.
- Saxion International Office acts as an intermediary and has no influence whatsoever on the outcome or duration of the visa application process
Start of application process
Saxion University of Applied Sciences is only allowed to submit visa/residence permit applications to the IND 3 months prior to start of the study programme. For the September intake, the start date is 1 September. Saxion is only able to start with the visa/residence permit applications if a student is unconditionally admitted to the study programme. Please be aware that Saxion is not able to prioritise certain applications and cannot accelerate the application process for the visa and or residence permit.
Insurance
Non-EU students for whom Saxion has applied for an AON insurance, please be aware of the start date of 15 August. If you enter the Netherlands before this date, you may not be insured and must arrange this yourself.
Proof of financial means:
The IND requires that you have sufficient financial means to cover your stay in the Netherlands. If you receive a scholarship from your home country or an international scholarship fund (not STS/NLS) which (partly) covers the living costs, you can subtract the scholarship amount from the financial means amount on your invoice. In this case you need to upload the scholarship declaration in the Saxion portal (under ‘Proof of finances’). The declaration must show:
- the date;
- the institution granting the scholarship;
- your personal details (initials, surname and date of birth)
- the start and finish of the scholarship (exact start and end date);
- the amount you receive;
- optional: the name of the scholarship programme.
Read more about the proof of financial means via the link below:
How much do you need to prove?
To calculate the sufficient financial means, you should multiply the monthly amount (set by the IND) by the number of months you’ll be living in the Netherlands. If you’ll stay longer than 12 months you should multiply the monthly amount by 12 months. You may deduct the insurance fee and housing fee (only in case Saxion will arrange your housing, excl. deposit fee) from the total amount to prove.
Payment financial means
You can find the bank details on the invoice for payment of the amount to Saxion. You may transfer the amount in one payment with the other fees or in a separate payment if you prefer. Please mention your student number and date of birth on the transfer. Saxion will refund the amount of the financial means after your arrival in the Netherlands and have a Dutch bank account. Please be aware that this process can take several weeks, so please make sure you have sufficient funds in the meantime to pay for food, supplies etc.
What category applies to you?
Categories overview
Nationals of EU/EEA states are not required by law to apply for a residence permit. Nor are they required to register with the Dutch immigration authorities. However, there may be some benefits to applying for a residence permit for the purpose of studying. For example, banks, employers or government institutions may require a valid residence document in certain circumstances (for example: to claim (housing) benefits).
The study term determines the residence document you would be eligible for. You are required to apply for the residence permit yourself at the IND. You can find more information on this website.
To be able to study in the Netherlands for a period over three (3) months, you need a residence permit (VVR) for the purpose of study. Saxion will process your application after receiving payment of your total package fee and the required documents.
Files to download
You need an entry visa (MVV) and a residence permit (VVR) for the purpose of study. Saxion will process your visa application after receiving payment of your total package fee and the required visa documents.
Files to download:
Prospective students with a NON-European Union nationality already living in the Netherlands with a valid residence permit for the purpose of:
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Privileged card from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
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Au-pair;
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Study.
As a new student Saxion University of Applied Sciences has the obligation to inform the Dutch Immigration Service (IND) about your study at Saxion. If applicable we will also apply for the extension of your residence permit.