- You can also download this code of conduct as a pdf.
- See also Rules and Regulations National Commission Code of Conduct International student
Revised on 1 October 2022
Use the following links to skip ahead to a certain chapter:
- Definitions
- Information provision
- Agents
- Private providers
- Admission to and registration in the study programme
- Offers and assistance to international students
- Register of participating higher education institutions and the tasks and powers of the Register Administrator
- National Commission
- International Students Advisory Board
- Commencement date and modifications
Preamble
Considering that
Dutch higher education aims to improve and strengthen international cooperation and to make the Netherlands and its educational institutions known abroad as a knowledge society;
The educational institutions wish to attract talented international students and to establish a streamlined and coordinated guideline for the relationship between international students using this Code of Conduct;
Within that framework, the educational institutions wish to inform international students comprehensibly, accessibly and unambiguously about the quality of the study programme, its place within the Dutch system, the provided facilities, the costs of studying and living, as well as the admission requirements for international students;
The higher education institutions may only use the Dutch government’s internationalisation policy instruments provided the institution maintains a proper relationship with international students. The Dutch government supports and provides relevant information to the higher education institutions that subscribe to and implement this Code of Conduct;
The higher education institutions endorse the interest that international students will have the opportunity to learn the Dutch language and acquire cultural skills;
The Dutch government has decided that the signing of the Code of Conduct by the educational institutions is a precondition for granting residence permits to non-nationals of the EU/EEA or Switzerland for studying in higher education;
By signing the Code of Conduct, the educational institution is obliged to comply with the obligations set out in the Code of Conduct and to act in the spirit of the Code regarding issues that are not covered by it;
To achieve the abovementioned objectives, further agreements supplementary to the legal framework should be made. The existing legal framework includes, at any rate, the Higher Education and Research Act (Wet op het Hoger Onderwijs en Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - WHW), the Aliens Act 2000 (Vreemdelingenwet), the Aliens Decree 2000 (Vreemdelingenbesluit) and the Aliens Act Implementation Guidelines 2000 (Vreemdelingencirculaire).
The higher education institutions have agreed to comply with the following lines of conduct and acts: