Circumstances beyond your control

To be eligible for graduation support, you must meet a number of conditions.

The following basic criteria apply to all students: 

• You were enrolled as a full-time student at Utrecht University (incl. University College Utrecht) during the period of circumstances beyond your control.
• Your studies were delayed as a result of these circumstances beyond your control.
• You must be able to prove the circumstances beyond your control. 

The additional, specific conditions will depend on which financial support scheme applies to you: 

1. The 'Financial support scheme for international students affected by circumstances beyond one’s control' is intended for students who are ineligible for a student grant on the grounds of their nationality (that is, for students from outside the EU), and for students who on the grounds of their nationality are only eligible for tuition fee credit (that is, students from the EU/EEA). All applicants must meet the other conditions for eligibility for a student grant.
   
   Note that under this scheme you are only eligible for delay during the number of months corresponding to the nominal duration of your Bachelor’s degree programme, or during the number of months corresponding to the nominal duration of your Master's degree programme. This period (the nominal duration of your study programme) will be reduced by the months during which you were enrolled in a similar higher-education study programme.
    
2. The 'Financial support scheme in cases of circumstances beyond one’s control' is intended for students with a student grant (prestatiebeurs) who fall behind schedule in their studies as a result of circumstances beyond their control.

• Flexible students are only eligible:
  • for the part that you have already said in advance you wish to take as flexible study.
  • if you are unable to complete this part due to circumstances beyond your control, as referred to in the Financial support scheme in cases of circumstances beyond one's control (Regeling Financiële steun op grond van overmacht)

Applications for graduation support must be submitted directly after the academic year in which you were delayed. You can apply for graduation support for delays in the academic year 2022-2023 from mid-September 2023 until 31 January 2024. The application consists of four steps:

1 Submit digital application form

Log on to OSIRIS Student and select the tab Cases. Go to Start case > Financial matters, verification and other documents and then select Application for financial (graduation) support 2022-2023 for international students. A frequently occurring problem is that the pop-up in OSIRIS Case is blocked on your computer and will initially not be visible. You can solve this by permitting the pop-up.
Fill in the form as fully as possible. You must submit this form digitally by 31 January 2024 at the latest.

2 Upload supporting documents

After you have submitted the digital application form, you submit (upload) a number of additional items of supporting information via OSIRIS Case (documents including your personal statement and a study advisor's statement). This will enable the university to assess whether you meet the conditions. You must submit these document via OSIRIS Case within three weeks of submitting the digital application form.

Example: you submit your digital application on 27 September 2023. You then have until 18 October 2023 to submit the supporting information.

3 Assessment of application by student counsellor

One of the student counsellors will look at your application form and supporting documents. The student counsellor then forms an advice for the Director of Student and Academic Affairs.

4 Formal decision

The Director of Student and Academic Affairs will take a decision on behalf of the Executive Board. You will receive this decision in OSIRIS Case.

You can keep an eye on the status of your application in OSIRIS Case.

Utrecht University will provide graduation support for up to 3 months' delay in your studies per academic year. When deciding on the period of support, whether or not (and how frequently) you were in contact with your study advisor will be taken into account. Even if you have not had contact with your study advisor, it is still worth submitting an application.

When determining the period of delay, the starting point is a regular study load of 60 credits per academic year.

Maximum period of support for students who fall under the Financial support scheme for international students: 

Support will be limited to 3 months for each academic year. 

• For Bachelor’s programmes support will be limited to a maximum of 9 months for the entire Bachelor's programme.  
• For Master's programmes, support will be limited to three months for each academic year, and three x C months for the entire Master's programme (‘C’ being the nominal course duration in academic years).  

Financial support will never exceed 3 months per academic year.  

The amount of financial support is € 425 per month delay in your studies.

Payment will be made after you have received the decision, and will be in monthly instalments. The amount is tax-free and will be paid into your account at the end of the month, usually around the 26th. The university cannot make an exception to this payment schedule.

• Financial support scheme in cases of circumstances beyond one’s control
• Financial support scheme for international students affected by circumstances beyond one’s control

The Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) does not allow universities to offer graduation support for study delay as a result of COVID-19 measures by the government. For example: a laboratory where you were doing research, was closed, or no (alternative) education could be offered.

The Dutch government has however made its own financial provision, which can be found on the following DUO web page.

Read the general information on studying with a disability at Utrecht University, and please make sure to (keep in) contact with your study advisor.

If you are eligible for a student grant and loan and travel product from DUO (prestatiebeurs), then you may be eligible for an additional financial compensation through DUO.