International Graduates Choose to stay in the Netherlands after Studies

More than half of international students studying at Dutch universities want to stay in the Netherlands after they complete studies, with this rising to 59% among non-EU students. a new Nuffic study conducted the survey. These findings were drawn out from among 409 international students who recently graduated from the universities in Netherlands or will do so before the end of the year.

Of all international students who responded, 57% indicated that they were planning to stay back and work in the Netherlands after they complete all their studies or research. Students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) were more likely to say they plan to settle in the Netherlands than students from countries within the EEA (59% versus 45%).

Students’ possibility of staying back depends on where they are from and whether they have been studying online from their home country because of COVID. 46% which means less than half of those who have been studying online showed the willingness to live in the Netherlands compared with 60% among those who were able to complete at least part of their study program in the Netherlands.

The standard of living and the quality of research and education programs were the factors most often listed by international graduates as having a positive influence on their decision to live (or continue living) in the Netherlands.

There has been a 4% increase in admission this fall in the universities in Netherlands and much of the increase can be credited to international students, who make up 23% of the total student population. Approximately half of the respondents said that the pandemic did not affect whether or not they planned to settle in the Netherlands. 

Around 25% of the students said that the Covid pandemic had made them less inclined to live in the Netherlands. Some of them expressed negative opinions on how the Dutch government handled the COVID crisis. But on the other hand, a quarter of the students also said that they were more inclined to live in the Netherlands as a result of the COVID pandemic. Thus net effect seems to be nil.

The Covid pandemic and the packed housing market have exerted a negative influence on the students’ plans to live in the Netherlands. The lack of housing capacity in the market is one of the reasons that many higher education stakeholders in the Netherlands are pressuring for fewer admissions of international students.

This fall, many international students in the Netherlands were not able to find accommodation, and many could not also find emergency housing as a backup. Most rooms and apartments are taken by Dutch students and also there are reports of biased behavior by landlords who were not ready to rent to international students.

Many universities in Netherlands are calling on the government to allow them more control over international admissions and recruitment, and well-known politicians are also calling for caps on the number of international students – especially non-EU students – in Dutch universities. 

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