Information regarding immigration procedures for VU students

Information regarding immigration procedures

• Residence Permit (VVR) Procedure

  Relevant for students from one of the following countries: Australia / Canada / Japan / Monaco / New Zealand / South Korea / United Kingdom / United States of America / Vatican City State.

  OR: students from a non-EU country not listed above but in possession of a valid residence permit of another Schengen country. The Schengen permit should be valid until at least the end of August so that it can be used to enter the Netherlands on time.

  Students who are eligible for this procedure are only required to apply for a residence permit (VVR) but not a long stay entry visa (MVV). This means that they can enter the Netherlands with just their passport (and their Schengen permit, if applicable). Students need to apply for the residence permit in advance and it will be collected in the Netherlands.

  Please note that possession of a Schengen permit in most cases does not exempt students from requiring a Dutch residence permit!  The only exception is when students have a permit for study from another Schengen country, and for more information about this please refer to the section ‘Intra-EU mobility’ below.

  How to apply

  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam will apply for a residence permit when students have been (conditionally) admitted. To apply for a residence permit, please follow the steps below. The required documents must be uploaded before 1 June when starting in September (before 1 December when starting in February). From 1 April onwards, it is possible to upload the required documents to our immigration portal called VisaCare.

  Please note that if students have not been (conditionally) admitted yet or still have deficiencies, it won't be possible to start the immigration process.

  Step 1: Confirm your participation

  On the VU Dashboard students can confirm their participation in the “complete application” section. Once this has been completed, the visa form will become available. Please be aware that it is only possible to complete this step once there is (conditional) admittance to a programme.

  Step 2: Submit the online visa form in your VU Dashboard

  Now that participation has been confirmed, the visa section will become available, and an introductory visa questionnaire needs to be completed. For students who are re-enrolling, or if this visa questionnaire does not appear, please contact the student immigration team as soon as possible.

  Step 3: Pay the visa fee

  The residence permit needs to be paid for using the online payment tool in the VU dashboard. The fee must be received before the application can be submitted (to the IND). The online payment tool can take several days to be activated in the VU Dashboard after completion of the visa questionnaire. If the online payment tool does not work, it is possible to transfer the old-fashioned way, using the following bank details:

  Account name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  Name of bank: Deutsche Bank
  Address of bank: De Entree 99-197, 1101 HE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  IBAN: NL49DEUT0488004470
  BIC: DEUTNL2A

  When transferring this way, the student's full name and student number (e.g S1234567) must be stated. When paying from abroad, all banking costs are paid by the applicant. Paying both the visa and housing fee in one transaction is possible and recommended.

  Step 4: Complete the application in VisaCare

  After submitting the visa questionnaire and paying the visa fee, there will be information sent via email regarding access to VisaCare. Log in to VisaCare, check your personal information and if there are any discrepancies, contact the student immigration team. Once the application has been started there will be a To Do page on the VisaCare website which will include more detailed information and is where documents must be uploaded.

  The following documents need to be uploaded to complete the residence permit procedure:

  • Passport: including signature and any stamped pages. There must be at least 6 months of validity on the passport from the date of application.
  • If applicable, a copy of the Schengen residence permit (both front and back side)
  • Antecedents certificate signed by hand, on paper. We cannot accept digital signatures.
  • TB Statement: not all students need to fill in this form, it is dependent on nationality. Note: the TB test is not taken in your home country, but in the Netherlands within 3 months of arrival in the country. Further information will be provided by email in September (for those starting in the 1^st semester) and February (students starting in the 2^nd semester). The TB test costs €54 (as of 1/1/24, subject to change).
  • Proof of financial means. In this manual, detailed information of the requirements from the IND can be found. Please be aware that the current monthly minimum for living expenses is €1400 (as of 1/1/24, subject to change).
  • The International Student Advisor needs to have verified the English language test results or confirm exemption from the test. For any queries regarding English language testing, please contact the International Student Advisor. Without this verification, VU Amsterdam cannot submit the residence permit application to the IND. VU Amsterdam must have received the English language test results by 1 June.

  The documents which are uploaded need to meet the strict requirements of the IND. If documents do not meet these requirements, the Student Immigration team will have to reject these documents, and this will slow down the immigration procedure.

  Please use this checklist to check if documents are correct.

  Step 5: Application sent to the IND

  Once all the required documents have been uploaded, reviewed and approved by the immigration team, the application will be sent to the IND. The IND usually takes 2-3 weeks to approve an application. Once VU Amsterdam has received a decision on the application from the IND, we will notify the student of this by email. We will also forward a copy of the official IND approval letter by email as well, which we usually receive around two weeks after the application has been approved.

  Step 6: Providing biometrics

  Once the residence permit (VVR) application has been approved, an appointment needs to be scheduled at an IND desk to provide biometric information (fingerprint and photo). An appointment can be scheduled using the link to the IND appointment tool, which can be found within the relevant section in the VisaCare To Do list.

  VU Amsterdam recommends scheduling an appointment as soon as possible, as time slots can fill up quickly, particularly in the summer period.

  Step 7: Collection of the residence permit

  VU Amsterdam will send students a notification once their residence permit is ready to be collected, and this email will contain further information regarding collection location and how to schedule an appointment.

  At the end of summer, the IND organises central collection days spread over multiple weekends for all students to collect their residence permit cards. More information about this will be sent directly to the applicable students. Please be aware that it is not allowed for students to schedule separate appointments with the IND to collect their permits in this period. The IND will cancel these appointments.

  For students enrolling in February, the residence permit will have to be collected at the IND desk chosen by the student during the initial application process.

  Deadline

  The deadline for applying for your residence permit is 1 June for the fall intake, and 1 December for the spring intake. Please be aware that the application procedure takes about 6-8 weeks, so ensure documents are uploaded in time. Failure to upload documents on time will impact the immigration procedure and could lead to students not being start at VU Amsterdam at the desired time.

  Whilst the immigration team submits the application to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), it is always the responsibility of the student to complete the procedure before the deadline and to ensure that documentation provided is correct. Please note that VU Amsterdam cannot guarantee that a residence permit is granted by a certain date, or at all. The procedure cannot be expedited as the IND already prioritises student applications.

  Strict requirements of the IND

  As an educational institution, VU Amsterdam needs to apply for residence permits for study purposes on behalf of all non-EU students (if they don't have a valid Dutch residence permit already). The university acts as the legal sponsor as soon as the IND has approved the residence permit application. As such, VU Amsterdam is liable and bound by the strict and specific requirements set by the IND. Not meeting these requirements means that VU Amsterdam will not submit the application.

• Long Stay Entry Visa (MVV) and Residence Permit (VVR) Procedure

  Applicable to students who are not nationals from Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States of America or Vatican City State. The student also doesn’t hold a valid residence permit from another Schengen country.

  The MVV is an entry visa into the Netherlands and will need to be collected from a Dutch embassy/consulate, either in the country of citizenship or the country where the student holds long term (i.e. more than three months) residency. If that country does not have Dutch diplomatic representation or the embassy/consulate does not process MVV applications, the student will have to travel to one in a country recommended by the Dutch government to collect the MVV. Please note that you won't be able to collect your MVV anywhere else in this case. For example, if you are a citizen of Mauritius, you will have to collect your MVV in Tanzania.

  If there are multiple embassy options in your country, you can choose the location most convenient to you.

  An MVV is valid for 90 days from the date of collection, and students have those 90 days to enter the Netherlands. VU Amsterdam organises the MVV/residence permit (VVR) procedure in such a way that entry will be possible before the academic year starts, to collect the residence permit.   

  How to apply

  VU Amsterdam will apply for a residence permit when students have been (conditionally) admitted. To apply for a visa and residence permit, please follow the steps below. The required documents must be uploaded before 1 June when starting in September (before 1 December when starting in February). From 1 April onwards, it is possible to upload the required documents to our immigration portal called VisaCare.

  Please note that if students have not been (conditionally) admitted yet or still have deficiencies, it won't be possible to start the immigration process.

  Step 1: Confirm your participation

  On the VU Dashboard students can confirm their participation in the “complete application” section. Once this has been completed, the visa form will become available. Please be aware that it is only possible to complete this step once there is (conditional) admittance to a programme.

  Step 2: Submit the online visa form in your VU Dashboard

  Now that participation has been confirmed, the visa section will become available and an introductory visa questionnaire needs to be completed. For students who are re-enrolling, or if this visa questionnaire does not appear, please contact the student immigration team as soon as possible.

  Step 3: Pay the visa fee

  The immigration application needs to be paid for using the online payment tool in the VU dashboard. The fee must be received before the application can be submitted (to the IND). The online payment tool can take several days to be activated in the VU Dashboard after completion of the visa questionnaire. If the online payment tool does not work, it is possible to transfer the old-fashioned way, using the following bank details:

  Account name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  Name of bank: Deutsche Bank
  Address of bank: De Entree 99-197, 1101 HE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  IBAN: NL49DEUT0488004470
  BIC: DEUTNL2A

  When transferring this way, the student's full name and student number (e.g S1234567) must be stated. When paying from abroad, all banking costs are paid by the applicant. Paying both the visa and housing fee in one transaction is possible and recommended.

  Step 4: Complete the application in VisaCare

  After submitting the visa questionnaire and paying the visa fee, there will be information sent via email regarding access to VisaCare. Log in to VisaCare, check your personal information and if there are any discrepancies, contact the student immigration team. Once the application has been started there will be a To Do page on the VisaCare website which will include more detailed information and is where documents must be uploaded.

  The following documents need to be uploaded to complete the residence permit procedure:

  • Passport: including signature and any stamped pages. There must be at least 6 months of validity on the passport from the date of application.
  • If the MVV will be collected in a country which is not one’s native country, include proof of residency of the country where the MVV will be collected. This is not necessary for those who do not have Dutch representation in their native country.
  • Antecedents certificate signed by hand, on paper. We cannot accept digital signatures.
  • TB Statement: not all students need to fill in this form, it is dependent on nationality. Note: the TB test is not taken in your home country, but in the Netherlands within 3 months of arrival in the country. Further information will be provided by email in September (for those starting in the 1^st semester) and February (students starting in the 2^nd semester). The TB test costs €54 (as of 1/1/24, subject to change).
  • Proof of financial means. In this manual, detailed information of the requirements from the IND can be found. Please be aware that the current monthly minimum for living expenses is €1400 (as of 1/1/24, subject to change).
  • The International Student Advisor needs to have verified the English language test results or confirm exemption from the test. For any queries regarding English language testing, please contact the International Student Advisor. Without this verification, VU Amsterdam cannot submit the residence permit application to the IND. VU Amsterdam must have received the English language test results by 1 June.

  The documents which are uploaded need to meet the strict requirements of the IND. If documents do not meet these requirements, the student immigration team will have to reject these documents, and this will slow down the immigration procedure.

  Please use this checklist to check if documents are correct.

  Step 5: Application sent to the IND

  Once all the required documents have been uploaded, reviewed and approved by the immigration team, the application will be sent to the IND. The IND usually takes 2-3 weeks to approve an application. Once VU Amsterdam has received a decision on the application from the IND, we will notify the student of this by email. We will also forward a copy of the official IND approval letter by email as well, which we usually receive around two weeks after the application has been approved.

  Step 6: Collection of the MVV (long stay entry visa)

  Once the MVV/VVR application has been approved, students must schedule an appointment with the Dutch embassy or consulate that was chosen at the start of their application for collection of the MVV. Students will require their v-number for this, which is included in both the approval email we send and the IND approval letter they receive a few weeks after. The embassy often requires students to bring their IND approval letter with them, so they should keep this in mind when scheduling their appointment. Students will provide their biometric information during the appointment (photo and fingerprint). More information about visiting the embassy can be found under step 1 in the To Do list in VisaCare.

  Students will have to hand in their passport and the MVV will be placed inside it within 10 working days.

  Step 7: Collection of the residence permit

  VU Amsterdam will send students a notification once their residence permit is ready to be collected, and this email will contain further information regarding collection location and how to schedule an appointment.

  At the end of summer, the IND organises central collection days spread over multiple weekends for all students to collect their residence permit cards. More information about this will be sent directly to the applicable students. Please be aware that it is not allowed for students to schedule separate appointments with the IND to collect their permits in this period. The IND will cancel these appointments.

  For students enrolling in February, the residence permit will have to be collected at the IND desk chosen by the student during the initial application process.

  Deadline

  The deadline for completing steps 1-4 above is 1 June for the fall intake, and 1 December for the spring intake. Please be aware that the application procedure takes about 6-8 weeks, so ensure documents are uploaded in time. Failure to upload documents on time will impact the immigration procedure and could lead to students not being able to start at VU Amsterdam at the desired time, and we might have to ask students to defer their enrolment.

  Whilst the immigration team submits the application to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), it is always the responsibility of the student to complete the procedure before the deadline and to ensure that documentation provided is correct. Please note that VU Amsterdam cannot guarantee that a residence permit is granted by a certain date, or at all. The procedure cannot be expedited as the IND already prioritises student applications. 

  Strict requirements of the IND

  As an educational institution, VU Amsterdam needs to apply for residence permits for study purposes on behalf of all non-EU students (if they don't have a valid Dutch residence permit already). The university acts as the legal sponsor as soon as the IND has approved the residence permit application. As such, VU Amsterdam is liable and bound by the strict and specific requirements set by the IND. Not meeting these requirements means that VU Amsterdam will not submit the application.

• Change of Sponsor ('Wijziging Referent')

  For individuals already holding a valid residence permit for study purposes but who are transferring from another educational institution to the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, a change of sponsor application is necessary. Through this process, VU Amsterdam will take over the sponsorship of the residence permit from the previous educational institution and become the legal sponsor.

  Students should not unenroll or cancel their current residence permit straight away as it is imperative that the permit remains valid until step 5 of this process has been completed.

  This procedure is free of charge (unless the permit also needs to be extended).

  Although VU Amsterdam will take over sponsorship, the physical residence permit card remains the same. In the case that the residence permit is expiring in the period of study at VU Amsterdam, an extension procedure will take place at a later date.

  Please keep in mind that the extension is only possible once the current permit is valid for 3 months or less. Therefore, the change of sponsor procedure often takes place first. Once VU Amsterdam becomes the sponsor and the extension procedure is possible, the immigration team will contact students and provide further instruction regarding the extension procedure.

  Step 1: Confirm your participation

  On the VU Dashboard students can confirm their participation in the “complete application” section. Once this has been completed, the visa form will become available. Please be aware that it is only possible to complete this step once there is (conditional) admittance to a programme.

  Step 2: Submit the online visa form in your VU Dashboard 

  Now that participation has been confirmed, the visa section will become available and an introductory visa questionnaire needs to be completed. For students who are re-enrolling, or if this visa questionnaire does not appear, please contact the student immigration team as soon as possible.

  There may be an option here to pay the visa fee, but this is unnecessary (unless your permit also needs to be extended). If no email is received with VisaCare information and further steps within 5 days, please contact the student immigration team.

  Step 3: Complete the application in VisaCare

  After submitting the visa questionnaire, there will be information sent via email regarding access to VisaCare. Students are to log in to VisaCare, check their personal information and if there are any discrepancies, contact the student immigration team. Once the application has been started there will be a To Do page on the VisaCare website which will include more detailed information and is where documents must be uploaded.

  The following documents need to be uploaded to complete the change of sponsor procedure:

  • Passport: including signature and any stamped pages. There must be at least 6 months of validity on the passport from the date of application.
  • A copy of the current Dutch residence permit for study (front and back side).
  • Antecedents certificate signed by hand, on paper. We cannot accept digital signatures.
  • Proof of financial means. In this manual, detailed information of the requirements from the IND can be found. Please be aware that the current monthly minimum for living expenses is €1400 (as of 1/1/24, subject to change).
  • The International Student Advisor needs to have verified the English language test results or confirm exemption from the test. For any queries regarding English language testing, please contact the International Student Advisor. Without this verification, VU Amsterdam cannot submit the residence permit application to the IND. VU Amsterdam must have received the English language test results by 1 June.

  The documents which are uploaded need to meet the strict requirements of the IND. If documents do not meet these requirements, the student immigration team will have to reject these documents, and this will slow down the immigration procedure.

  Please use this checklist to check if documents are correct.

  Step 4: Application sent to the IND

  Once all the required documents have been uploaded, reviewed and approved by the immigration team, the application will be sent to the IND. The IND usually takes up to 6 weeks to approve this type of application. Once VU Amsterdam has received a decision on the application from the IND, we will notify the student of this by email.

  At this stage unenrollment from the educational institution who are the current sponsor can take place; please contact that institution’s international office for further information regarding canceling your enrollment.

  Deadline

  The deadline for completing steps 1-4 above is 15 July for fall intake, and 1 December for the spring intake. Please be aware that the application procedure takes about 6-8 weeks, so ensure documents are uploaded in time. Failure to upload documents on time will impact the immigration procedure and could lead to students not being start at the VU at the desired time.

  Whilst the immigration team submits the application to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), it is at all times the responsibility of the student to complete the procedure before the deadline and to ensure that documentation provided is correct. Please note that VU Amsterdam cannot guarantee that the change of sponsor procedure will be completed by a certain date. The procedure cannot be expedited.

  Strict requirements of the IND

  As an educational institution, VU Amsterdam needs to apply for residence permits for study purposes on behalf of all non-EU students. The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam acts as the legal sponsor as soon as the IND has approved the residence permit application. As such, VU Amsterdam is liable and bound by the strict and specific requirements set by the IND. Not meeting these requirements means that VU Amsterdam will not submit the application.

• Change of Purpose of Stay ('Wijziging Beperking')

  For individuals who already hold a Dutch residence permit for another purpose (such as highly skilled migrant, stay with family member or au pair, etc.) but wish to change to a residence permit for study purposes, please follow the procedure outlined below.

  For those who do not need or wish to change the purpose of their residence permit, please upload a copy of the current residence permit (front and back side) in the VU Dashboard so that the Student Desk can verify the permit. Alternatively, a copy of the residence permit (front and back side) can be emailed to studentdesk@vu.nl.

  For those for whom a change of purpose procedure is required and the current permit expiry (or revocation) is before the start of the academic year, please ensure to complete the application before the date of expiry in order to prevent a residency gap.

  If the permit is expiring during the academic year and the purpose of stay has to be changed to study, please contact the student immigration team at least 3 months before the expiry of the permit.

  How to apply

  Step 1: Confirm your participation

  On the VU Dashboard students can confirm their participation in the “complete application” section. Once this has been completed, the visa form will become available. Please be aware that it is only possible to complete this step once there is (conditional) admittance to a programme. 

  Step 2: Submit the online visa form in VU Dashboard

  Now that participation has been confirmed, the visa section will become available and an introductory visa questionnaire needs to be completed. For students who are re-enrolling, or if this visa questionnaire does not appear, please contact the student immigration team as soon as possible.

  Students in possession of a valid Dutch residence permit will need to indicate as such, as well as the date of expiry of the permit. It is then possible to specify whether a change of purpose is to be carried out, or if the current residence permit will be used. If the latter is the case, you won’t need the student immigration team’s services and the Student Desk will verify and process your permit.

  Step 3: Pay the visa fee

  The residence permit needs to be paid for using the online payment tool in the VU dashboard. The residence permit procedure costs €275 (as of 1/1/24 and subject to change). The fee must be received before the application can be submitted (to the IND). The online payment tool can take several days to be activated in the VU dashboard after the residence permit procedure has been started. If the online payment tool does not work, it is possible to transfer the old-fashioned way, using the following bank details:

  Account name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  Name of bank: Deutsche Bank
  Address of bank: De Entree 99-197, 1101 HE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  IBAN: NL49DEUT0488004470
  BIC: DEUTNL2A

  When transferring this way, full name and student number (e.g S1234567) must be stated. When paying from abroad, any and all banking costs are to be paid by the applicant. Paying both the visa and housing fee (if applicable) in one transaction is possible and recommended.

  Step 4: Complete the application in VisaCare

  After submitting the visa questionnaire and paying the visa fee, there will be information sent via email regarding access to VisaCare. Log in to VisaCare and check student details: if there are any discrepancies, please contact the student immigration team. There is a To Do page on the website, and this will include more detailed information and is where documents must be uploaded. If documents do not reach the criteria set by the IND, they will be rejected: this can slow down the application procedure.

  The following documents need to be uploaded to complete the change of purpose procedure:

  • Passport: including signature and any stamped pages..
  • Copy of your current Dutch residence permit (front and back side).
  • Antecedents certificate signed by hand, on paper. We cannot accept digital signatures.
  • Proof of financial means. In this manual, detailed information of the requirements from the IND can be found. Please be aware that the current monthly minimum for living expenses is €1400 (as of 1/1/24, subject to change).
  • The International Student Advisor needs to have verified English language test results, or confirm exemption from the test. For any queries regarding English language testing, please contact the International Student Advisor.  Without this verification, the VU Amsterdam cannot submit the residence permit application to the IND. The VU Amsterdam must have received the English language test results by 1 June (if the change of purpose process is initiated before the start of the academic year).

  The documents which are uploaded need to meet the strict requirements of the IND. If documents do not meet these requirements, the VU Amsterdam immigration team will have to reject these documents, and this can slow down the process.

  Please use this checklist to check if documents are correct.

  Step 5: Application sent to the IND

  Once all the required documents have been uploaded, reviewed and approved by the immigration team, the application will be sent to the IND. The IND usually takes 2-6 weeks to approve this type of application. Once VU Amsterdam has received a decision on the application from the IND, we will notify the student of this by email. We will also forward a copy of the official IND approval letter by email as well, which we usually receive around two weeks after the application has been approved.

  Step 6: Providing your biometrics

  Once the change of purpose application has been approved, an appointment needs to be scheduled at an IND desk to provide biometric information (fingerprint and photo). An appointment can be scheduled using the link to the IND appointment tool, which can be found within the relevant section in the VisaCare To Do list.

  Step 5: Collection of residence permit

  VU Amsterdam will send students a notification once their residence permit is ready to be collected, and this email will contain further information regarding collection location and how to schedule an appointment. The permit will have to be collected at the IND desk chosen during the application process.

  Deadline

  The deadline for completing steps 1-4 above is dependent on the expiry date of the current permit. However, it’s important that the change of purpose application is completed before the current permit expires to avoid a gap in the residence period.

  Please be aware that the application procedure takes approximately 6-8 weeks, so please ensure that documents are uploaded in time. Failure to upload documents on time will impact the immigration procedure and could lead to students not being start at the VU at the desired time or a residence gap. Due to the variety of residence permit types and expiry dates, there may be exceptions to this timeline, therefore for further information regarding deadlines and timelines, please contact studentimmigration@vu.nl.

  Whilst the immigration team submits the application to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), it is at all times the responsibility of the student to complete the procedure before the current permit expires and to ensure that documentation provided is correct. Please note that VU Amsterdam cannot guarantee that a residence permit is granted by a certain date, or at all. The procedure cannot be expedited.

  Strict requirements of the IND

  As an educational institution, VU Amsterdam needs to apply for residence permits for study purposes on behalf of all non-EU students. The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam acts as the legal sponsor as soon as the IND has approved the residence permit application. As such, the VU is liable and bound by the strict and specific requirements set by the IND. Not meeting these requirements means that the VU will not submit the application.

• Deadlines and Timeline

  For students coming from abroad, the deadline for completing the immigration procedure is 1 June for the fall intake, and 1 December for the spring intake. For change of sponsor students, please see the relevant section above for further information. Please be aware that the application procedure takes approximately 6 to 8 weeks, so upload documents on time.

  Whilst the VU Amsterdam submits the application to the IND, it is the students own responsibility to complete the procedure before the deadline and to provide correct documentation.

  Please note that VU Amsterdam cannot guarantee that the immigration procedure will be approved by a certain date, or at all.

  Timeline

  VU Amsterdam sets deadlines to try to keep to the below timeline, but delays by students can lead to delays in the timeline.

  Start date: 1 April (fall intake)/ 1 October (spring intake)

  From this date, students can and should start the entry visa (MVV) and/or residence permit (VVR) application procedure in their personal dashboard on vu.nl.

  The immigration team at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam aims to check uploaded documentation in VisaCare within 2 weeks. If documents are incorrect, students will be informed via email – it is important to check these emails and re-upload the correct documentation as soon as possible.

  The student immigration team will start submitting completed applications about a month before the deadline, in order of completion, and so it is crucial to upload documentation in good time.

  From the date that the application is submitted to the IND, it should take approximately 1-3 weeks for the IND to inform the student immigration team about the approval or rejection of the application. In the busy summer period, it is likely that this can take up to 3 weeks.

  Students will be informed of the decision via email. Once students have received this decision, students who require an MVV will be able to make an appointment at the embassy or consulate to collect it. These students will need a copy of the approval letter to take to the appointment. Be aware that it can take up to 3 weeks for the approval letter to be received and processed by VU Amsterdam, so please take this into consideration when making the appointment.

  August (fall intake)/January (spring intake):

  Students travel to the Netherlands. For VVR only students, an appointment needs to be made at the IND to provide biometrics.

  In August the Introduction week and Practical Matters Days take place and in January there is an Introduction Day and Arrival Day. More information can be found here (degree students) and here (exchange).

  September (fall intake)/February (spring intake):

  Students collect their residence permit on of the collection days (fall intake) or at an IND desk (spring intake). Further information about this process can be found in the To Do section in VisaCare. If applicable, students will be informed individually by email about the TB test procedure. 

• Pre-Master's students

  For pre-master’s students, VU Amsterdam will need to apply for an entry visa (MVV) and/or residence permit (VVR) for study purposes.  Your residence permit will cover the duration of both your pre-master's as well as your master's programme.

  The procedure detailed above is the same. The visa section in the VU dashboard may sometimes not be automatically visible. Please contact studentimmigration@vu.nl if any issues arise around access to the visa section by 30 April (fall intake) or 30 October (spring intake).

• Numerus Fixus students

  Non-EU students with (conditional) admittance to a numerus fixus programme, and who need to apply for a visa (MVV) and/or residence permit (VVR), please note that the general deadline of June 1st is still applicable. As the deadline for completing all aspects of enrolment is 15 July, it is crucial that students have completed the immigration procedure by the 1 June deadline.

  To apply for the immigration procedure, the admissions requirements must be met by taking the entrance exams and/or meeting the English language requirement and submitting sufficient results before 1 June (if this is mentioned in the ‘decision on admission’ email).

  If the situation arises that (conditional) admittance to a numerus fixus programme and a ranking number has been obtained after 1 June, then the immigration application procedure must be completed within 2 weeks of accepting the place. However, if a placeable spot is received after July, there is no longer a guarantee that the immigration will be completed in time for the start of the academic year.

  For further questions regarding this, please contact studentimmigration@vu.nl.

   

• Intra-EU Mobility

  This option is only available to incoming students who are attending another university in Europe, would like to do part of their studies at VU Amsterdam (e.g. exchange), and possess a residence permit for the purpose of study from that country (except Ireland or Denmark). In addition, the duration of the study period at VU cannot last longer than 360 days, and the EU permit for study should be valid for the entire period.

  If the above is applicable, it will be possible to make use of the intra-EU mobility scheme. This allows students from outside of the EU, who are pursuing their studies in one EU country, to temporarily study in other EU countries without requiring a separate residence permit for those countries.

  Please review this website of the IND for more information regarding the requirements. The VU will submit the incoming mobility notification to the IND on the student’s behalf.

  If the EU permit for the purpose of study is not valid for the duration of the study period at VU, the procedure for applying for a residence permit (VVR) applies, provided that the EU permit is at least valid until you enter the country.

• Extension of residence permit for study

  VU Amsterdam can extend student's residence permit for the purpose of study, and this is possible once the current permit is valid for three months or less. Students must meet the requirements before extension is possible. More information about the extension process can be found here. 

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