What is a basic grant?
A monthly loan from DUO that will be waived if you attain your degree within a certain period.
Wait a minute… a loan?
Yes, the basic grant will only become a gift if you attain a degree in higher education within ten years. This ten-year period starts from the moment you first receive student finance.
Is the supplementary grant also a loan?
Yes, this, too, is a loan that will only be waived if you attain a degree within ten years, regardless of the duration of your degree programme. If you decide to interrupt your studies to take a gap year, that’s your choice, but the year will count as part of the ten-year period.
How much will the basic grant be?
As of September, the basic grant will be 110.30 euros a month for students who still live with their parents, and 274.90 euros a month for students who already live away from home. Students living away from home will also receive an additional 164.30 a month to compensate for the high rate of inflation.
And will this additional amount of 164.30 euros be scrapped after one year?
There are plans in the making to extend the support for students living away from home for a further two years as of next year, but the exact amounts are not known yet.
For how long am I going to receive the basic grant?
You will receive it for the ‘nominal’ (i.e. standard) duration of your degree programme. HBO students enrolled in a four-year Bachelor’s degree programme will be entitled to a basic grant for four years. If they subsequently enrol in a one-year HBO Master’s degree programme, they will receive the basic grant for one year longer.
For university students, DUO will base the grant on three years for a Bachelor’s degree plus one year for a Master’s, so likewise a total of four years. If the official duration of your Master’s degree programme is two or three years, the basic grant will be extended accordingly.
How much will the supplementary grant be?
That depends on several factors, such as how much your parents earn, and if you have any brothers or sisters. The maximum grant, which you will receive if your parents’ combined income is less than 35,226 euros a year, will be 416 euros a month. If your parents earn less than 70,000 euros, you will be able to receive part of this grant.
So don’t forget to apply for the supplementary grant! You don’t want to borrow when you can get the money as a ‘gift’ from DUO instead. It’s a matter of ticking a few boxes and then DUO will basically do the rest. They will ask the Tax and Customs Administration for your parents’ income details.
I’ve been studying for two years now. Will I still receive a basic grant in September?
Yes, but for a shorter period than students who start studying this September. For this reason, some students are putting their student finance on hold in order to resume it when the basic grant is reintroduced.
I’m falling behind with my studies. Can I still travel using my student travel product?
The right to a student travel product always lasts for one year longer than the nominal duration of your degree programme. This means you can still travel for free in the first added year of your studies. This is great if you are still doing an internship or studying in another city, for example.
However, please note that you will have to pay back all the costs of the travel product if you do not attain a degree within the ten-year period.
I’m one of the unlucky students who missed out!
Chin up, as minister Dijkgraaf would say, you’re not all that unlucky. Nevertheless, the government is introducing a reimbursement for students in the student loan system. But this, too, will only be paid out when you attain a degree. It amounts to 359 euros a year, so a total of 1,436 euros for four years.
I could go on holiday with that!
Well, not yet, because this reimbursement won’t be paid out until 2025. And the money will only be paid into your account if you don’t have student debt. For those with student debt, their debt will be reduced by this amount.
Has the bill for the reintroduction of the basic grant now been definitively passed?
No, the bill will now go to the Senate. The senators will probably have all kinds of questions and may wish to debate these with minister Dijkgraaf. But given the broad political support for the bill, it is highly unlikely that it will fail in the Senate. For the new law to take effect as of September, it will need to be adopted before the summer.
