Immigration & visas

This page contains all the important information that you need to know about immigration, visas, permits and fees for studying in Rotterdam.

Erasmus students collaborating

Important immigration information for NON EU/EEA full-time students

You may need an Entry Visa and/or Residence Permit to be able to start your studies at RSM. Whether you need one or not will depend on your nationality. Visas and permits are issued by the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)*. See below what you will need according to your nationality.

Unless you already have a Residence Permit for the Netherlands (see below for this exception) RSM and Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) will apply for the Entry Visa and/or Residence Permit for you. Please DO NOT START the Entry Visa or Residence Permit process on your own. There is more information about this process below.

*RSM and EUR do not determine these requirements. The Dutch government’s immigration service sets the rules and procedures.

Find your passport

Which immigration process applies for my passport?

If you have accepted your conditional or unconditional offer for a full-time programme and hold a passport from an EU or EEA country, you do not need to apply for an Entry Visa or Residence Permit.

If you have accepted a conditional or unconditional offer for a full-time programme and have a passport from one of these countries, you do not need an Entry Visa, but you do need a Residence Permit.

It will be noted in your application that you need only a Residence Permit. Your process will be almost the same as it is for a student who also has to apply for an Entry Visa as well. See below for more information about the process for applying for a Residence Permit.

Validity of your Residence Permit
A Residence Permit is valid for the duration of your study plus three extra months. This means that you do not have to apply for an extension after one year.

If you have accepted a conditional or unconditional offer for a full-time programme and your passport is from a country in Group III and IV (including Surinamese nationality), you must get an Entry Visa AND a Residence Permit. See below for more information about the process of applying for an Entry Visa and Residence Permit. 

Validity of your Entry Visa
An Entry Visa is valid for 90 days from the day you collect it.

Chinese students must also get a Nuffic Certificate 
All Chinese students (except students from Hong Kong, Taiwan and students with British Overseas Nationality) must register with Nuffic for a Certificate to authenticate your qualifications before you can start your immigration application. The Nuffic Certificate is proof of your English language proficiency and of the authenticity of your educational degrees and diplomas. For more information, see the Study in Holland website.

 

Already have residence permit for the Netherlands?

Students from Non-EU or non-EEA countries who already have a Residence Permit for the Netherlands (e.g. for study purposes, stay with partner or family, employment), need to apply for Switching Institutions, Change of Purpose or an Extension of your Residence Permit. In April, you can email the EUR International Office (ONLY in April) about your case and they will advise you on the best course of action.

 

Already have a Residence Permit for another EU or EEA country?

Students from Non-EU or non-EEA countries with either a permanent or temporary valid Residence Permit (e.g., for study purposes) for another EU or EEA country do not need an Entry Visa. However, you do need a new Residence Permit. 

A copy of your EU or EEA Residence Permit must be uploaded in your immigration application in OSIRIS. See below for more information about the Residence Permit process.

Your EU or EEA Residence Permit must be valid at the time of your application and must still be valid when you collect your new Residence Permit for the Netherlands.

Process for entry visas and residence permits

Starting in April, RSM and EUR work together to process your application. There are 7 steps.

  • RSM is responsible for steps 1-3. Email your questions about steps 1-3 to visa@rsm.nl
  • EUR’s International Office is responsible for steps 4-7. Email your questions about steps 4-7 to immigration@eur.nl.

IMPORTANT: digitally signed forms are NOT accepted. Please print forms, sign them using ink, and mail them to us. Signatures on forms must match the signature in your passport.

Step 1. Offer of admission Step 2. Notification from OLAF Step 3. Registered in OSIRIS Step 4: Gather and submit your documents Step 5: Be patient and wait Step 6: Sent to IND Step 7: Approval Managing your finances

Step 1. Offer of admission

Once you have a conditional or unconditional offer from RSM, the process of obtaining your Entry Visa or your Residence Permit will start from the first week of April onwards.

Step 2. Notification from OLAF

If you need an Entry Visa or a Residence Permit after you have received your offer of admission, you will receive a message from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). This message will tell you what to expect from the application process. You will also receive a handbook about immigration.

Step 3. Registered in OSIRIS

Starting 1 April until 30 June*, RSM will register you in the online OSIRIS platform, which is where you will find all your study details – your timetable, your marks and important messages.

OSIRIS Zaak is in Dutch and OSIRIS Cases is in English which refers to your immigration case. Your case is then handed over to the EUR International Office.

*After 30 June it will not be possible to register any students in OSIRIS. The admissions office will prioritize (as much as possible) non-EEA applicants to ensure that you are able to be registered in ORSIRIS before 30 June.

Step 4: Gather and submit your documents

Five days after you are registered in OSIRIS, the EUR International Office will send you information about the immigration documents* you must provide according to the kind of Entry Visa or Residence Permit that you need. They will also send the invoice for fees you must pay. There’s more information about fees in the last tab.

*For non-EEA/EU students who already have a residence permit for another EU country, you need to upload a copy of your EU or EEA Residence Permit to OSIRIS, which will be available to you from April onwards.

FINAL DEADLINE TO SUBMIT YOUR DOCUMENTS AND PROOF OF PAYMENT IS 10 JULY!

If you have not received this information after five days, please contact the EUR International Office at immigration@eur.nl.

Prepare your immigration documents

The following documents* are required:

A photocopy or scan of every page in your passport. Make sure to include the page with your signature.

A completed Antecedent form from the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND):  This is a check for criminal background.

*The antecedent form cannot be older than three months.

Based on your nationality, the declaration of intent to undergo a Tuberculosis (TB) test. 

Just like the antecedent form, the TB test form cannot be more than three months old.

A receipt showing you have transferred fees as proof of payment OR a scholarship letter.

The annual tuition fee in full. The annual tuition fee for BSc IBA is approximately €11,600. For an MSc programme, the fee is approximately €22,500.

The one-off immigration fee of €228.

In addition to paying for your tuition fees and a one-off fee for immigration services, you must also prove to the IND immigration service that you have enough money to cover your living expenses for your first year of studies in Rotterdam. You only have to provide this once and only for one year.

Steps for providing financial proof:

  1. You must temporarily transfer enough money to a bank account (specified by the EUR International Office) to show that you have sufficient financial means to cover your estimated costs of living for 12 months (this deposit is refundable).
  2.  In 2024-2025, the estimated costs are €1.235 per month, so you must deposit €14,820 in total. Please note that this is bare minimum required by the IND, take a look at ‘managing your finances’ for an example of living costs.
  3. You will get this money back after you arrive in the Netherlands and open a Dutch bank account in your own name.
Please note that we strongly advise students to bring enough money with you to sustain yourself in the first two months after arrival, since it can take some time to receive your refund because you need a Dutch bank account or another EU bank account.

A document will be sent to you by the EUR International Office which is a declaration of intent - study progress monitoring. You must sign the document and upload it in Osiris. 

Only Chinese students are required to submit a Nuffic certificate.

Step 5: Be patient and wait

The EUR International Office reviews your documents within 10 working days after submission and will forward your application to the IND if all your documents are correct. Please be patient.

If your documents are incorrect, you will receive an email from the EUR Interntaional office that your application was sent back to you in Osiris with remarks about your incorrect documents or payment. Please read the remark and correct your mistakes. After that, you can upload and submit your documents again. Incorrect documents will delay the entire process, as the 10 working days will start again after resubmitting.

Step 6: Sent to IND

Complete applications are sent by the EUR to the Dutch Immigrations Services (IND) for review. This process usually takes between 5-8 weeks.

Step 7: Approval

IND will send their approval for your application to the EUR International Office. You will see this letter in your OSIRIS. You will also get an email with new instructions. Please read the email carefully because it tells you how to send your passport to your chosen Embassy so the Provisional Entrance Permit (MVV) sticker can be added to it. They will keep the passport to arrange for your MVV sticker. 

It is extremely rare for applications for student Entry Visas and/or Residence Permits to be denied.

When your passport has its MVV sticker, your chosen Embassy will contact you to make an appointment to collect your passport.

Make sure to travel to Rotterdam while your MVV is still valid (within 90 days) and remember that your MVV must still be valid when you collect your Residence Permit in the Netherlands.

Managing your finances

Here is a summary of fees that you need to prepare:

  1. The annual tuition fee in full. The annual tuition fee for BSc IBA is approximately €11,600. For an MSc programme, the fee is approximately €22,500.
  2. One-off immigration fee of €228.
  3. Cost of living for 12 months €14,820*. 

*Cost of living: In addition to paying for your tuition fees and a one-off fee for immigration services, you must also prove to the IND immigration service that you have enough money to cover your living expenses for your first year of studies in Rotterdam. You only have to do this once and only for one year.

I. You must temporarily transfer enough money to a bank account (specified by the EUR International Office) to show that you have sufficient financial means to cover your estimated costs of living for 12 months (this deposit is refundable).

II. In 2024-2025, the estimated costs are €1,235 per month, so you must deposit €14,820 in total. 

III. you will get this money back after you arrive in the Netherlands and open a Dutch bank account in your own name.

Please note that we strongly advise students to bring enough money with you to sustain yourself in the first two months after arrival, since it can take some time to receive your refund because you need a Dutch bank account or another EU bank account.

Living costs

You will need a budget each year to cover your living expenses, your study materials and, if applicable, residence permit and health insurance. This is in addition to paying your tuition fee. How much money you will actually need also depends on your life style.

For a reasonable standard of living in the Netherlands, you should have an income of between €1,235-€1,735 per month depending on your lifestyle. Further information about the costs of living in the Netherlands and related subjects can be found on this website. Below is an example of monthly expenditures:

Furnished accommodation, including gas and electricity €   500-1,000
Medical insurance €   50
Telephone/internet€   15-40
Food€  300
Books, recreation, clothing€  300
Public Transportation€   50
Total€  average 1235 - 1735
Other potential expenses: 
Buying or renting a bike€  100 - 250 (per year)
In private residence (not student housing) yearly municipal and water taxes€  100 - 300 (per year)
Study trip or other study related travel€  300 - 500 (per year)

Deadline to upload documents and proof of payment is 10 July

No exceptions!