“Third country national” students with no asylum or visa must leave the Netherlands in five weeks
Time is running out for so-called third-country nationals from Ukraine. Following a recent ruling by the Council of State, they will lose their residence status in five weeks. They can only continue their studies if they apply for asylum or a study visa before then.
When war broke out in Ukraine in 2022, the foreigners present there also fled. These “third country nationals” can safely return to their country of origin, State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Eric van der Burg ruled last year. The Council of State agreed with him last week.
As of March 4th, many third-country nationals will therefore not be able to finish their studies in the Netherlands. They will not only lose the right to shelter, living allowance, and health care but also the right to work and study here.
Making ends meet
The only way they can stay in the Netherlands is if they apply for asylum or a study visa. But you don’t just get such a visa, an educational institution must apply for it for the student. In doing so, the student must demonstrate that they can make ends meet (the income requirement is around €1,200 per month) and pay the institutional tuition fees (between €8,000 and €16,000 per year).
How many third-country nationals are studying in the Netherlands is not clear. State Secretary Van der Burg announced Wednesday that a total of 2,760 third-country nationals are still in the country, but the IND does not keep track of how many of them are still studying. A spokesperson did say that 700 third-country nationals have applied for asylum and at most a few dozen have applied for study visas.
Protected status
Some 76,000 foreign students were studying in Ukraine in 2022, half of whom were from Africa and India. Students who fled to the Netherlands before July 19th, 2022 were given the same protected status here as Ukrainians.
It is not yet known whether educational institutions will apply for study visas for these students. Some of them reducedinstitutional tuition fees for students from Ukraine this year. The ministry refused to pay their fees.
