If you do MBO 1 or 2, your basic grant, supplementary grant and student travel product are always a gift. There is no performance-related grant for MBO 1 and 2.

If you borrow money in addition to the basic and supplementary grant, you must always repay it with interest. To see your interest rate and for how long it is fixed, log in to Mijn DUO and look at Mijn Schulden.

For MBO 3 and MBO 4, your basic grant, supplementary grant and travel product are a ‘performance-related grant’. They become a gift if you obtain your diploma within 10 years. This is called the diploma period. The 10-year period takes effect on the 1st of the month in which you first get student finance for MBO 3 or 4, or for higher education (HBO or university).

The performance grant is subject to interest from the 1st month you receive it. If you obtain your diploma in time, the interest becomes a gift as well. If you fail to obtain your diploma in time, you must repay the basic grant, the supplementary grant and the student travel product, including interest.

To see your interest rate and for how long it is fixed, log in to Mijn DUO and look at Mijn Schulden.

Which diploma counts?

The number of years that constitute a gift depends on the official study duration of the course for which you obtained your diploma. The study programme for which the diploma has been obtained must also be recognised by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

No diploma

If you do not obtain a diploma for at least level 3, you have to pay back the performance-related grant. There is one exception to this: if you received a supplementary grant during the first 12 months of your student finance, the supplementary grant you received during those months are not part of the performance-related grant. You are allowed to keep those sums, even without a diploma.

For HBO and university, your basic grant, supplementary grant and travel product are a ‘performance-related grant’. They become a gift if you obtain your diploma within 10 years. This is called the diploma period. The 10-year period takes effect on the 1st of the month in which you first get student finance for MBO 3 or 4, or for higher education (HBO or university).

The performance grant is subject to interest from the 1st month you receive it. If you obtain your diploma in time, the interest becomes a gift as well. If you fail to obtain your diploma in time, you must repay the basic grant, the supplementary grant and the student travel product, including interest.

To see your interest rate and for how long it is fixed, log in to Mijn DUO and look at Mijn Schulden.

How many years of gift?

The number of years that constitute a gift depends on the official study duration of the course for which you obtained your diploma.

* This applies only if you obtained an HBO Master’s degree on or after 1 September 2021. If you obtained an HBO Master’s degree before 1 September 2021, we convert 5 years grant + the student travel product in full into a gift.

Which years will become a gift?

The first years during which you received a performance-related grant will becoma a gift. Even if during these years you only had a student travel product, and no basic grant or supplementary grant.

Part-time programme

If you get a degree for a part-time programme, your travel product, basic grant and supplementary grant also become a gift. In that case, the degree must be equivalent to the diploma for the full-time programme.

No diploma

If you do not obtain a degree, you have to pay back the performance-related grant. There is one exception to this: if you received a supplementary grant during the first 5 months of your student finance, the supplementary grant you received during those months is not part of the performance-related grant. You are allowed to keep those sums, even without a degree.