Universities give refugee students from Ukraine maximum tuition discounts

Dutch universities have decided to reduce prices for the 2022-2023 academic year for students from Ukraine. Ukrainian students will pay for education the same as citizens of the Netherlands. The discount can reach 10 thousand or more euros.

Due to the fact that Ukraine is not yet a member of the EU, Ukrainians do not have a formal right to study at the rates set for local residents. However, universities have long called on the government to lower tuition fees for refugees from Ukraine. Even those Ukrainian students who had already studied in the Netherlands before the war began to experience financial difficulties. The situation of newly arrived refugees is even more difficult. However, depending on the specific university and the chosen specialty, Ukrainians have to pay the so-called institutional fee in the current academic year – from 10 to 15 euros.

Finally, all 14 universities in the Netherlands have decided that in the next academic year, Ukrainians will pay the same as the Dutch - 2209 euros. This is a very significant discount, but the universities believe that this is not enough, and they are offering the government to provide students from Ukraine with a living allowance.

However, the government is in no hurry. Education Minister Robert Dijkgraaf said he shares the concern, but universities have already allocated 3,5 million euros to students from Ukraine. In addition, the government has not yet decided whether studying at a reduced fee will qualify for a student residence permit.

The issue of reducing tuition fees for Ukrainians studying in secondary vocational schools has not been resolved either. Before the war, from 130 to 180 students from Ukraine entered the universities of the Netherlands every year.

find out more about helpprovided by the Netherlands and the lives of refugees fleeing the Russian-Ukrainian war.

More information about helping students from Ukraine can be found on the websites of universities: