NL

Visa and residence permit

What visa and/or residence permit you will need to live and study in the Netherlands depends, in the first place, on your nationality.

Visa and residence permit

Once you have been admitted to a course at HKU University of the Arts Utrecht, you may need to arrange your visa and/or residence permit. Which documents you will need to live and study in the Netherlands depends on your nationality.

Please select your nationality and read the instructions below.

  • Countries
    Austria
    Belgium, Bulgaria
    Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic
    Denmark
    Estonia
    Finland, France
    Germany, Greece
    Hungary
    Iceland, Ireland, Italy
    Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg
    Malta,
    Norway
    Poland, Portugal
    Romania
    Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

    No visa or permit needed
    If you have the nationality of a country in the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland you are permitted to live, work and study in the Netherlands on the basis of international laws. Please be aware, however, that sometimes a residence or work permit is necessary. In some cases, you are required to register with the IND (Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service) upon arrival in the Netherlands. Please check the IND website for more information.
    It is important that you have a valid passport and a health care insurance for the total duration of your stay in the Netherlands.

  • Countries
    Australia
    Canada
    Japan
    Monaco
    New Zealand
    South Korea
    United Kingdom
    United States of America

    Residence permit only
    Students staying for more than three months will need to apply for a residence permit (VVR) for the purpose of study via the procedure of HKU. You need to start the VVR application while you are still in your home country. You do not need an entry visa (MVV), so you can make your travel arrangements as soon as you are admitted to HKU University of the Arts Utrecht. Read more about the application procedure further down on this page.
    Please note that it is important that you have a valid passport and a health care insurance for the total duration of your stay in the Netherlands.

  • Countries
    All other countries

    Entry visa and residence permit
    Students staying for more than three months will need to apply for an entry visa (MVV) as well as a residence permit for study (VVR) via the procedure of HKU. You must apply for both before leaving your home country. The MVV and VVR applications are combined in one procedure. Read more about the application procedure further down on this page.
    Please note that it is important that you have a valid passport and a health care insurance for the total duration of your stay in the Netherlands.

    Short Stay Visa
    If you need to come to the Netherlands for a short period of time (for example for an entrance examination) it might be neccessary to apply for a short stay visa. This type of visa is valid for a maximum of 90 days. For more information please check here for the procedure and the countries for which a short stay visa is required.

    Please note that you will have to leave the Netherlands after you have been admitted and still need to apply for the MVV and VVR for study. You are not allowed to stay in the Netherlands during the application process.

Visa and residence permit

Visa application procedure

Please read carefully about the steps you need to take for your residence permit. When you have checked off each of the four steps you can start your course at HKU University of the Arts Utrecht.

Deadline
The deadline for submitting your completed application for your entry visa and/or residence permit is 1 July.
For second semester exchange students the application deadline is 1 December.

(Please note that we start processing applications no sooner than 1 month before the deadline).

❑ Step 1 - Admission to HKU

You can be admitted if you have passed your entrance examination, have met the language requirement and your prior education is sufficient. Click here to read all about the general enrolment requirements.

(This applies to all students, preparatory courses as well, but not to exchange students.)

❑ Step 2 - Visa finances

You need to arrange your finances. The visa application requires proof of finances to cover costs for one academic year. Please check 'Arrange finances for visa' below to see what amount is applicable for you.

We would like to point out that a solid financial situation is very important for you. There are none to very limited possibilities to work in the Netherlands, and HKU is not allowed to support students financially. You need to be (financially) prepared to sudden changes on which you have to act on immediately.

❑ Step 3 - Visa application documents

Prepare all the MVV/VVR application documents and all required supplements. Scroll down to 'Application documents' to see which documents you need. As of June we will ask all the admitted students to upload all the documents for approval. You will receive the upload instructions by email.

Once we have approved your application digitally and we have received the proof of finances before the deadline, HKU will complete your application and send it to the IND (Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Services).

It will take about 3 weeks for the IND to process your VVR or MVV/VVR application. HKU will inform you via email when your application is approved.

❑ Step 4a - VVR only

Students who applied for a VVR only must visit one of the IND desks to provide their biometrical details. You can do this upon arrival.

❑ Step 4b - MVV/VVR

Students who applied for both an MVV and VVR have to make an appointment with the Dutch diplomatic post in (or closest to) their home country as soon as their MVV/VVR application has been approved. We will send you an email when it is time to do so. Click below to read more about the MVV and how to collect it.

  • Contact diplomatic post
    Contact the Dutch diplomatic post in or nearest to your home country to process your MVV (long term visa). Please take into account that this might be in a neighbouring country. The duration of this procedure varies per diplomatic post and can take a few days or up to two weeks. Please take longer waiting times into account in the summer period. Consult the website of the embassy or consulate general to schedule an MVV appointment. You can find the information via the website netherlandsworldwide.nl.

    We advise you not to book a ticket before you have collected the entry visa!


    What you need
    Bring the following to your appointment at the embassy:

    • the IND approval letter which will be provided by HKU;
    • your passport, valid for at least 6 months after collecting the MVV sticker - with two empty pages for the MVV sticker; photocopy of page with personal details and signature
    • MVV issue form at netherlandsworldwide.nl
    • 2 new original passport sized photo that meets Dutch requirements
    Validity of the MVV

    The MVV (type D visa) is a sticker in your passport. It is valid for a period of three months. Within this time you can enter the Netherlands.

    The MVV allows multiple entry into the Netherlands as long as your visa is valid. You can also travel through the Schengen countries on your way to the Netherlands within the period of its validity.

    Residence card
    The biometric details that you supplied at the diplomatic post, photo and fingerprints, will be recorded in a central chip on the residence card. You have to collect the residence card after your arrival in the Netherlands. HKU will inform you by email when the card is ready.

    Please note that you must collect the residence card at the IND desk in the Netherlands within the 90 days the MVV sticker is valid. Make sure you travel to the Netherlands in time in order to collect your residence card.

Visa and residence permit

Arrange finances for visa

As a student you need to be able to prove that you dispose of sufficient funds to cover your stay in the Netherlands for one academic year. The amount you need to transfer to HKU consists of three parts:
  • Visa fee: €228 (for students with the nationality of Israel or San Marino there is no fee).
  • Living fee: €1,230 per month (academic year 2024-2025), to be proven at once. For bachelor/master students and preparatory course/pre-master students this means 12x €1,230 is €14,760 in total (for one year). For exchange students this depends on the length of their exchange period. For instance, if you stay for 5 months, the amount will be 5x €1,230 is €6,150. This will be refunded to you once you have opened a Dutch bank account.
  • Tuition fee: the amount depends on your programme: bachelor/master, preparatory course/pre-master or exchange, and where you are from.

Tuition fee

For bachelor and master students the tuition fee is €11,512 (for the academic year 2024-2025). If you have no prior Dutch bachelor or master degree you are entitled to the HKU Talent grant of €3,500. The total amount for the tuition is then €11,512 - €3,500 = €8,012.

Students with the Surinamese nationality will pay the statutory tuition fee of €2,530.

For the pre-master HKU Utrechts Conservatorium the tuition fee is €1,280.
For the preparatory year HKU Utrechts Conservatorium the tuition fee is €1,420

Exchange students do not pay tuition to HKU.

Proof via payment or grant/scholarship

There are two options for proving your finances: via payment (a direct transfer to HKU) or via a grant or scholarship. Please read the information below carefully.

Please note: do NOT submit your payment details in Studielink.

  • You can transfer the total amount needed for one academic year to the bank account of HKU University of the Arts Utrecht before the deadline, but not earlier than June (November for the second semester). See the transfer and reference information further down this page. For your first year, it is not possible to pay in installments.

    Please note: if the money is transferred from a bank account of a third person (such as family, friend or partner) we need a declaration from your sponsor in which they declare that the money is transferred on behalf of you and can be used for the payment of the tuition fee, the visa fee and your living expenses. The sponsor must also include a copy of their passport; the pages with the personal details and signature.

    Declaration transfer third person (pdf)

    Your tuition fee, visa fee and bank transfer costs will be deducted from the amount received and the remainder will be transferred back to you once you have opened a Dutch bank account.

    Please note that it can take several weeks before you can open a bank account. Make sure you have enough money for your living expenses for the first month (rent + deposit, study material, bike, food etc.). Please also check that you have a bank card that you can use in Europe.

  • If you have a student grant you can ask the organisation supplying the grant to fill out the form below. The grant must be sufficient to cover your costs of living and tuition fees during your period of study at HKU. We retain the right to evaluate the organisation and the grant. The grant must be awarded by an official scholarship organisation like a governmental organisation or educational institute. Sponsorship via a family business will not be accepted.

    Scholarship certficate (pdf)

    Students with a full student grant/scholarship need to pay only the visa application fee to the bank account of HKU University of the Arts Utrecht before the deadline. If your grant/scholarship does not cover the whole amount you must transfer the remaining amount to the HKU bank account yourself.

Transfer and reference information

Account information
Stichting Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht
Account number: 21.84.65.998
Iban code: NL70abna0218465998
Bic code: ABNANL2A
ABN/AMRO Bank
Daalsesingel 71, Utrecht
The Netherlands

Reference = your name, student number and 'for MVV/VVR'

You are responsible for all bank fees. Make sure you pay for any additional fees your bank may charge for international transfer.

Make your payment only through a reliable bank.

Please note that to maintain your VVR during your whole study period you will need to prove that you have sufficient funds every time you re-enrol for a new academic year. Please check Maintain your VVR for more information (not applicable for exchange students).

Visa and residence permit

Application documents

The application for MVV and VVR comprises several forms/declarations and other documents. We need all these documents in order to process your application.

Complete the application documents

Please download the following forms below. Complete and sign all documents with a black or blue pen. The documents should not be dated earlier than June. (November for the second semester)

Important: your personal details and signature on the documents must match with your passport!

1. VVR Conditions declaration
Conditions VVR ba, ma, premaster, preparatory students (pdf)
Conditions VVR exchange students (pdf)

2. Antecedents declaration
Antecedents declaration (pdf)

3. Tuberculosis (TB) test intention declaration*
TB intention declaration (pdf)

*The obligation to undergo the test does not apply when you are a national of one of the countries on the exemption list.
If your country is not on the list; one of the conditions for a residence permit is that you take a tuberculosis (TB) test after arrival in the Netherlands. With the TB declaration form you register your intention to take the TB test within 3 months after the residence permit has been issued.

4. Copy valid passport
Please make a colour copy of the pages with:

  • your personal details
  • your picture
  • your signature
  • the expiration date
  • all pages with customs stamps on it
  • two empty pages in the passport for the MVV sticker (only for students applying for MVV)

Your passport must be valid until at least 6 months after the start of the academic year (1 September), but we recommend that your passport will be valid for at least the first year or for the duration of your complete study period.

For exchange students: your passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in the Netherlands.

5. Document concerning proof of finances (if applicable)
Please check the information about arranging your finances above to see if you need one of these documents.

Visa and residence permit

More information