Practical Information
There are a lot of steps necessary to arrange a successful exchange semester. The overview below will help to efficiently organize everything in time.
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Visa application (see next fragment below)
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Arrange accommodation (see second next fragment below)
Practical and important information about moving and living in the Netherlands, as well as interesting tips can be found in the International Student Guide .
If you are a non-EU student, you will need a visa and/or residence permit for your study abroad in the Netherlands. The Immigration Service Desk (ISD) takes care of the visa and residence permit applications of all university students and staff. In fact, exchange students cannot request their visa or residence permit themselves.
Once admitted to the programme, our Exchange Officer your name and details to the International Service Desk (ISD), after this, the ISD will approach and provide you with your visa/residence permit application documents and detailed information about the visa/residence permit application process.
Please make sure to arrange the following things before the ISD approaches you:
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Valid passport
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for Chinese students only: Nuffic certificate; does not apply to nationals from Hong Kong (SAR), Macau (SAR) and Taiwan (ROC); please consult the link below for information on the Nuffic certificate
* How to arrange your visa and residence permit
* How to arrange your residence permit if you don't need visa
Proof of financial means
In order to obtain a visa/residence permit, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will check whether you have sufficient financial resources to support yourself during your stay in the Netherlands. To give you an estimation: about € 950 per month (which is about € 6000 for a semester) is considered sufficient by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The ISD will inform you about the exact amount and also your options to prove you have adequate financial means. Please do not contact the ISD – we would like to kindly ask you to wait until the ISD contacts you. The website of the ISD offers detailed information on visas and residence permits. There students can also find information on whether they need a visa or residence permit in order to spend their semester abroad in the Netherlands.
The University of Groningen/Campus Fryslân does not offer campus accommodation itself. However, we have a housing partner through which we offer campus accommodation to the first year students of our university college. Depending on availability, exchange students might also be eligible to reserve accommodation with priority under this agreement. In order to find out whether this applies to you as well, please inquire with the Campus Fryslân exchange office, after you are accepted for the exchange.
In case there is no space available or you would like to find your own space, there are many (student)houses and apartments available in Leeuwarden. A great resource for finding these is the International Student Guide .
We would like to stress that student housing is scarce in Leeuwarden and we advise all our students to book their accommodation as soon as they have received their acceptance letter.
Ensure that you have found a room before August 1st if you will be studying in Leeuwarden. If you decide to come to Leeuwarden without pre-arranged housing, then you are highly likely to find yourself in hotels or hostels, if there is still space. This will involve high costs, inconvenience, and stress. This will likely last for a long period of time, probably months after your arrival. If you find accommodation outside of the city, then make sure you consider the potential extra travel time and travel costs. If you have not found accommodation before August 1, we strongly advise you not to come to Leeuwarden.
Find all the information around expenses on the Study Costs page
Health Insurance
The Netherlands has a high standard of medical care. It is, however, very important to be properly insured. Medical costs can be very high, especially if they include a stay in a hospital. Students at institutes of higher education are not automatically insured against medical expenses abroad. You must arrange this yourself.
All international students in the Netherlands must have health insurance. What kind of health insurance applies to you depends on your country of origin, age, length of stay and if you have a job in the Netherlands as well as studying.
Before your departure to Leeuwarden, you will need to check if your current health insurance also covers medical care in the Netherlands. Please remember that it is your own responsibility to be properly insured!
Find out what is the most convenient way for you to get to the city of Leeuwarden on the Getting to Leeuwarden page
Using the computers
Together with your student number and your password you can log in at any of the computers at the Campus and access faculty information about courses, schedules, etc., including your study results. If you need to use a computer for a particular course, for network available disk space, or for personal use, for example e-mail, you can contact the CIT help desk.
Printing
Printing is possible at the printers found throughout the building. If you wish to print something please upload your documents via the printing portal , also available via Brightspace.
Centre for Information Technology
The Center for Information Technology (Centrum voor Informatie Technologie or CIT) in Groningen has many computer facilities available. Under certain conditions these can be used by all University of Groningen students. The Computer Centre also provides general courses on how to use a computer and more specific ones on software packages, computer languages, etc. The Computer Centre is situated on the ground floor of the CIT-building, next to the Duisenberg Building in the Zernike Complex in Groningen.
Contact details CIT help desk
E-mail: citservicedesk@rug.nl
Telephone: + 31 (0)50 363 32 32
Website
Student Card
You will receive the university card once. The card remains valid until the end of your registration period. The university card can be used:
- at the printers and photocopiers, to borrow books from the University Library,
- as proof of identity when you register for and sit exams,
- access the building outside of reception hours
In the weeks before your arrival to Leeuwarden, the university's central student administration will send you an email that includes your student number. In this email message or on this webpage you will also find instructions how to upload your passport photograph for your student card. Once you uploaded your picture, it will show up in Progress . After uploading your photograph, it takes about 3 weeks to process your picture and produce your university card.
Troubleshooting
If you experience any IT problems or you have a question with regards to uploading your photograph, you may need to contact the IT department of the university .
Information Services which is located in the Academy Building, is responsible for the production of your student card. If you uploaded your photograph, but did not yet receive your card, please visit the USD. Information Services will then check the status of your card. Please visit their website to view their opening hours and address.
Deposit money on your university card
You can deposit money on your university card via Mycampusprint .
Lost and theft
If you lose your university card or if it is stolen:
- block your university card
- apply for a new university card. A € 15 fee will be charged for this.
Please note that once your university card has been blocked, the card can not be unblocked. You must request a new University card.
More information?
Staying in the Netherlands for 4 months or longer?
Anyone staying in the Netherlands for four months or longer must register with the Municipal Personal Records Database Gemeentelijke Basis Administratie (GBA) at City Hall. It is advisable that you register as soon as possible and not wait until the four months are over, as you may need your registration papers for other purposes
More information
More information on registration with the City Hall
Webpage of Municipality of Leeuwarden to register
Step 6 of the International Student Guide
From the faculty
Do you have questions about study programmes, courses and exams, study abroad, personal circumstances, graduation, or anything else that concerns your study at Campus Fryslân? You can ask them at the Student Support Desk. The Student Support Desk can also schedule a meeting for you with a study advisor. The student service desk can be reached via cf-sec@rug.nl, but dropping by in person usually works a lot faster to resolve any issues or questions!
Do you want advice about your study (choice), improving you study methods, or do you experience (personal) problems? The can ask study advisors for support.
From the university
Do you have any questions about your registration, tuition fee, scholarships and immigration? Information Services can assist you with those.
Before you leave Leeuwarden and the University, there are a few things you may need to take care of:
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Your transcripts (see the fragment below) will be sent to you by email (with cc to Exchange Officer of your home university). You can expect to receive the transcripts mid-March (first semester) or mid-September (2nd semester). However, if you need an overview of your grades earlier then please get in touch with the exchange office.
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Please check whether you have returned all the books and/or other materials you borrowed from the faculty or central university library.
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Please check with the ISD whether you have to fullfil any steps before leaving the country
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Go to the city Hall to cancel your registration in the Municipal Records Database.
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Inform your bank to cancel your Dutch bank account.
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If necessary, confirm your flight home.
When?
Students who have spent the fall semester at Campus Fryslân will receive their transcripts in the beginning of March. Students who have spent the spring semester or a full year at Campus Fryslân will receive their transcripts in the beginning of September.
How?
Transcripts will be issued by the CF Exchange Office and send by email to the coordinator of their home university’s exchange office. As of this academic year we only send digital transcripts because of the new procedure: 'Erasmus without papers'.
Is it possible to receive the transcript earlier?
It takes some time to process all examination results. First lecturers need to grade all exams and send the result to the Educational Administration. Then the results need to get processed and uploaded to Progress. Only when all results have been uploaded, the CF Exchange Office can start to issue and send out the transcripts.
However, if students need their transcripts earlier, please get in touch with the exchange office with a substantiated request via exchange.cf@rug.nl
| Last modified: | 01 February 2024 12.59 p.m. |