Government comes to the aid of students living away from home in 2023

The Cabinet plans to increase the new basic grant for students living away from home by 165 euros for one year, broadcaster NOS reports.

This temporary increase will come on top of the basic student grant of 280 euros per month that the Cabinet is set to introduce from 1 September 2023, writes NOS based on sources in The Hague. The measure is expected to cost 500 million euros in total. The level of the top-up takes into account the 10 percent increase in the minimum wage.

The grant for students living at home will remain unchanged. According to the coalition parties VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie, parents will receive sufficient compensation via other measures.

Next academic year

The increase will apply for the 2023/2024 academic year only, since the Cabinet is hoping the protracted high inflation we are currently experiencing will ease in the longer term. The new measures will be announced officially on Budget Day, this coming Tuesday.

At the end of August, RTL Nieuws already reported Cabinet plans to earmark 250 million euros in the new State budget for a one-year increase in the basic grant for students living away from home. No exact figures were mentioned at that stage.