Chapter 3
Geld en werken naast je studie in Nederland en België
Amounts and limits change every year. Here you find the rules and where to look up the current amounts, so you never rely on an old number.
Your own budget
Your international office usually publishes an estimate of monthly living costs in your city. Use that as a starting point and fill in this list with your real amounts:
Per month
- Rent, with or without gas, water, electricity and internet
- Health insurance or health insurance fund
- Groceries
- Phone
- Transport (pass, bike, repairs)
- Books and materials (often mostly at the start of a semester)
- Tuition or enrolment fee, if you pay it monthly
- Going out, sport and a buffer for unexpected costs
Set some extra money aside at the start: the first months cost more (deposit, first rent, things for your room, insurance, sometimes the cost of your residence card).
In the Netherlands
Student finance (DUO)
- Dutch students in a full-time programme at mbo, hbo or university, who are under 30 when their student finance starts, can apply to DUO.
- Students from the EU/EEA can sometimes get Dutch student finance too, for example as a migrant worker. Since 1 September 2023, DUO's starting point is an average of 32 hours of work per month (or 24 to 32 hours if you have kept that up for at least 6 months). This can change: check the current rules with DUO before you count on it.
- Students from outside the EU usually cannot get Dutch student finance. Whether an exception applies depends on your residence permit: check with DUO.
With student finance you also get the student travel product (public transport). For hbo and university it starts as a loan that becomes a gift if you graduate within 10 years.
Working while you study
- EU/EEA and Switzerland: you can work without a work permit.
- From outside the EU: with a study residence permit you can work at most 16 hours a week, or full-time only in the summer months. Your employer needs a work permit (TWV) from the UWV for this. Check with your international office before you start.
- If you work, you must take out Dutch basic health insurance. See https://studyslim.com/study-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium/arrival/.
Allowances
- Healthcare allowance (zorgtoeslag): only if you have Dutch basic insurance and your income and savings stay below the limit. Apply via the Tax Administration (Toeslagen); do a trial calculation first.
- Rent benefit (huurtoeslag): in principle only for a self-contained home (own front door, kitchen, toilet, and since 1 March 2024 its own shower or bath). See https://studyslim.com/study-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium/housing/.
Careful with allowances
Only apply if you are sure you are entitled to it, and report changes in your income quickly. If you receive too much, you have to pay it back.
In Belgium
Student jobs
- As a student you work with a student employment contract. You have a yearly package of 650 hours (since 1 January 2025) on which you pay lower social security contributions.
- You can see how many hours you have left in Student@work (website or app; log in with eID, itsme or another recognised method).
- More about the contract: werk.belgie.be.
From outside the EU
With a student residence permit you can work 20 hours a week in Flanders during the academic year, as long as the work fits with your studies. That limit does not apply during school holidays. You must have public health insurance first.
From the EU/EEA
You have the same rights and obligations as Belgian students and can work.
Grants and benefits
- Study grant (Flanders): support for students with a limited family income, with conditions on things like nationality and residence. Check whether you qualify at vlaanderen.be/studietoelage.
- Groeipakket: the Flemish family allowance can continue while you study, under conditions and only if your family is entitled to it. See groeipakket.be.
Brussels and Wallonia
If you study at a French-speaking institution in Brussels or Wallonia, different grants and rules apply. Ask your school's social service.