Visa / Legal residence

The residence permit for study that the UM Visa Office arranges, is valid for the duration of an entire programme. It is Maastricht University’s responsibility to check annually whether students still have sufficient financial means to cover their living expenses.

We do this by sending students an email with a link to a form that they have to complete truthfully.

After completion, the form is uploaded and checked by the Visa Office.

If you are an international student with a residence permit (for the purpose of study), you are required by law to meet a degree progress requirement. This means that you are required to obtain (at least) 50% of the maximum amount of credits per year to keep your residence permit. You need to meet this requirement for each year that you study here. This rule does not apply if you participate in an exchange programme.

For all programmes, the number of credits (ECTS) per year is set at 60. If you are enrolled in a programme as a full-time student, you must obtain at least 30 ECTS to fulfil the lawful requirement. Some degree programmes have a Binding Study Advice for first-year students; please contact your study adviser if you have doubts about the study progress requirements for your programme.

If you are enrolled in a programme for only part of the year, you will need to obtain 50% of the total amount of credits for that semester. For instance, if you start your programme on 1 February, you can obtain a maximum of 30 credits between 1 February and 31 August. To meet the study progress requirement, you would need to obtain 50% of those 30 credits (15 credits).

If you are enrolled in a preparatory programme (such as the pre-medical year or foundation year), you must pass this programme. If you fail, your residence permit will be revoked and you will not be able to apply for a residence permit extension for study at Maastricht University. A preparatory programme is restricted by law to a maximum duration of 12 months.

The vast majority of students will not have any difficulty obtaining at least 50% of the offered credits. However, there can be extenuating circumstances in your personal life, which can influence your academic performance (e.g. death of a parent or a serious illness). If you find yourself in such a situation, please contact the study adviser of your programme as soon as possible. The study adviser will advise you on the available procedures and how to best move forward. Please note that a study adviser is required to keep your conversation confidential.
 

Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)

The university is obligated by law to notify the IND if you fail to meet the study progress requirement. During the application process, you will be asked to declare that you are aware of the study progress requirement and the consequences if you fail to meet this requirement.

Read more: Code of Conduct International Student in Dutch Higher Education  

In case of loss or theft abroad

1. Notify the local police and have them draw up a report of loss/theft in English that specifically states the residence permit as a lost/stolen item. If you cannot get a report in English, you will also have to notify the Dutch police upon return in the Netherlands and have them draw up a report as well.
2. Contact the nearest Dutch embassy or consulate and inform them about the loss or theft. If necessary, show the police report. You will have to show your passport and apply for a return visa in order to travel back to the Netherlands. Click here for the legal fees for this return visa  .

NB: in case more items were lost/stolen, you will have to take additional action, e.g.:
Passport: you will first have to arrange for a new or emergency passport at your embassy before you can visit the Dutch mission to apply for a return visa.
Bank or credit card(s): contact your bank to block the accounts as soon as possible.

Upon return in the Netherlands, follow the procedure for loss or theft in the Netherlands (see below) from step 2 (or from step 1 if the foreign police report is not in English).

In case of loss or theft in the Netherlands

1. Notify the Dutch police in the city where you live and have them draw up a report of loss/theft that specifically states the residence permit as a lost/stolen item.
2. Fill out the correct form on the website of Dutch Immigration (IND), add a copy of your passport and the Dutch police report and send it to the correct postal address or submit online.

NB: in case more items were lost/stolen, you will have to take additional action, e.g.:
Passport: you will first have to arrange for a new or emergency passport at your embassy before you can send in the application for a new residence card.
Bank or credit card(s): contact your bank to block the accounts as soon as possible.

It can take up to 12 weeks for the replacement permit to be issued. Dutch Immigration will inform you when the permit is ready for collection. Click here for the cost for this new permit  .

In case of travel plans before the replacement permit is ready, please make an appointment online with Dutch Immigration to get a return visa placed in your passport. This visa enables you to travel, whilst waiting for the permit to be issued. An appointment can be made as follows   and this is at a cost.

Leaving the Netherlands whilst having a valid residence permit for study purposes can cause problems for this residence permit. In order not to risk losing it, please send an email to visa@maastrichtuniversity.nl with the following details:

your student ID number;
country/countries you are going to;
return date to the Netherlands;
reason of absence;
in case of a period abroad as part of your studies (exchange/internship): please name the programme and mention the exact dates you are going to be abroad.

The Visa Office will then inform you accordingly.

The Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) can terminate your residence permit for study for a number of reasons:

After receipt of obligatory information from UM, e.g. that you have de-enrolled as a student, achieved insufficient study progress or did not provide the annual proof of sufficient financial means. You will always and timely be notified when this happens.
After your deregistration from the Dutch municipal records database, e.g. when moving abroad.
When you receive a residence permit for a different purpose than study, e.g. for the orientation year or work.
When changing your nationality to one that does not require you to have a residence permit, e.g. Dutch or German.