Information for international students who need to apply for an entry visa to Holland and a provisional residence permit for study purposes in The Hague.

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

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
  

Please check this link which procedure applies to your situation.

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

The Royal Academy of Art takes care of the application. Please keep in mind that this procedure may take about 4-6 weeks in total. It is not allowed to travel to The Netherlands without having this entry visa sticker! You will need this sticker for the application for the residence permit as well after your arrival in The Hague. For the application of the entry visa you need to send the following documents to the attention of
Mrs Nettie Aben of the student administration:

• A copy of your passport
  
• An original bank statement* proofing that the required amount of money is available for the period of study in The Netherlands and if applicable a financial statement of a family member. Sufficient financial means to pay for the study and the cost of living (situation as of January 2010): € 794,69 per month/€ 9536,28 per year, including tuition. For a preparatory year or those on the Erasmus LLP Programme (European exchange programme for students and teachers): € 659,69 per month/€ 7916,28 per year*.
  
• A copy of adequate medical cover.

The fee to apply and obtain the entry visa is € 250,- which is on your own account. You will receive an invoice for this amount after your arrival in Holland.

* The easiest way to prove that you have the required amount of money available is to send an original bank statement of your own bank account. The bank statement should include clearly the following information:

• your full name and address
  
• your date of birth
  
• your bank account number (a saving or investment account is not allowed)
  
• the currency
  
• the name address and telephone number of the bank in English
  
• a signature and stamp of the bank
  
• all information should be printed on the original stationary of the bank.
  
  

In case for example family members will sponsor the required amount of money they should fill in the enclosed financial statement as well.

Provisional residence permit
All non-EU/EEA students who wish to stay in the Netherlands for a period longer than three months will need a temporary residence permit (VVR) for study purposes , which is valid for one year. The application for the provisional residence permit will be done by the Royal Academy of Art after your arrival in The Hague. The fee to apply and obtain the permit is € 183,- which is on your own account. An invoice will be sent to you after your arrival here. The requirements and necessary documents for this residence permit are:

• A valid national passport.
  
  
• A colour passport photograph.
  
  
• Proof of (provisional) registration at the Royal Academy of Art as a student.
  
  
• Sufficient financial means to pay for the study and the cost of living (situation as of January 2010): € 794,69 per month/€ 9536,28 per year, including tuition. For a preparatory year or those on the Erasmus LLP Programme (European exchange programme for students and teachers): € 659,69 per month/€ 7916,28 per year*.
  
  
• Adequate medical cover: applicants from most countries are required to take out health insurance that covers all risks in the Netherlands.
  
  
• Students must not suffer from tuberculosis. Once students have arrived in the Netherlands, they have to undergo a tuberculosis examination. This examination is not required if students come from a European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) member state, or from Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Surinam, Switzerland or the USA.
  
  
• Students have to sign a declaration of temporary residence, enclosed with the residence permit application form. In this 'study declaration', students state that they are staying in the Netherlands exclusively to study, and that they will leave the country on the termination of their studies.
  
  
• Students must not have a criminal record. They are required to sign a statement about their past (included in the residence permit application form) to confirm this.
  
  

All international students who stay longer than four months in the Netherlands need to be registered in the population records of the municipality (Gemeentelijke Basis Administratie/GBA) in which they will be living. EU students can make an appointment theirselves. Call telephone number 14070 and explain that you would like to make an appointment for the GBA desk. They will tell you what you should bring with you. Non EU students are invited to register at the GBA automatically by the immigration office after they have applied for their residence permit (VVR).
In The Hague, the Municipal Registry Office for foreigners is located in the Immigration Office (Immigratiekantoor).

Necessary documents to bring with you are:

• A valid passport or National Identity Card of a EU/EEA country.
  
• An original birth certificate (plus official translation). In many cases it must be legalised, in some cases verified as well (see below).
  
• Some proof of where the student lives: for instance, a sale or tenancy contract, or a written statement from the main resident confirming that they allow the student to live there. In this case, a passport or identity card of that resident is also needed as a check on the signature.
  
  

Immigratiekantoor (Immigration Office)
Gemeentelijke Basis Administratie (Municipal Registry Office)
Stadhoudersplantsoen 24
2517 JL DEN HAAG
Telephone +31 70 424 1293 (08.00-12.00 hrs)
Office hours:
Monday-Friday, 08.00-14.00 hrs


After you have been registered at the municipality registration desk (GBA) it is possible to make an appointment with the immigration office to get a sticker in your passport. This sticker proves that you have legal status in The Netherlands as a EU-student. It can be helpful on some official occasions, like getting study-finance, a loan, a job etc. but is not compulsory! If you would like to get this sticker please call 0900-1234561 and ask for the ‘afsprakenlijn’. Registration is free of charge.

How to go to the Immigration Office?
Take tram no 17 direction “Statenkwartier” or bus no 24 direction “Kijkduin” and leave the bus or tram at stop “Gemeentemuseum/Museon”

The Dutch authorities are unfortunately often confronted with falsified documents. As a consequence of this, they have become very strict in demanding certification that the document is genuine and says what the student claims.

Legalisation
As a rule, the signature or seal placed on a birth certificate, marriage certificate or certificate of marriage annulment ('decree absolute') must be checked by two relevant authorities and declared to be genuine. This is known as 'legalisation'. The two relevant authorities are:

• The body to which the body that issued the certificate is accountable. Usually this will be the Ministry of International Affairs in the country where the certificate was issued.
• The Dutch embassy or diplomatic representative in the country where the certificate was issued. The cost of legalisation is €10 per document.
  
  

Verification
Birth certificates from some countries have to be both legalised and 'verified'. This means that the Dutch embassy in the country in question must check the document and declare it valid. The cost of verification is €136.13 per document. The countries to which this applies are the Dominican Republic, Ghana, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Apostille
Some birth certificates, marriage certificates and certificates of marriage annulment do not need to be legalised, but a so-called 'apostille'-stamp will be enough. This means that a central authority checks the signature of the person who signed the document and declares it to be genuine. The apostille-stamp is proof of this.