Important information for non- EU passportholders, accepted into our program, who wish to travel to the DAI ( landing seven times per year at changing locations within Europe) without registration in the Netherlands.
The vast majority of Dutch educational programs, courses, and institutions are largely funded by the Dutch government using public (taxpayer) money. For a long time, the Netherlands took pride in welcoming students from all over the world and made little to no distinction regarding tuition fees. However, in 2008—the year of the Bologna Accords—the Dutch Ministry of Education stopped funding universities for non-EU students. From then onward, funding has been based on the enrollment numbers of EU passport holders. Consequently, non-EU passport holders must now pay on a cost-recovery basis, resulting in higher tuition fees than those for students with a European passport. Each university is free to establish its own fee structure for non-EU passport holders. In the case of the DAI, this specific decision-making authority rests with the Executive Board of ArtEZ University of the Arts.*
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Tuition Fees for NON EU passport holders
Once they have been accepted into our program, we strongly advise prospective students to inform themselves thoroughly about the pros and cons of the TWO options for non-EU passport holders:
- Registration in the Netherlands: You will have to transfer a Financial Guarantee on top of the tuition fee payment for the first year. After that, you will receive a visa that gives you free access to all Schengen countries for the duration of your studies. After obtaining your MA certificate, you have the right to stay in the Netherlands for another year to explore professional opportunities (the so-called orientation year / zoekjaar). If you decide to officially register as a student in the Netherlands, Student Affairs at the ArtEZ University of the Arts will help you with the shortened immigration procedure.
- Alternative Options (No Netherlands Registration): You are not bound to register as a resident in the Netherlands as long as you can manage to attend the Confluences while traveling on a valid document, with or without a (tourist) visa. It is the student's responsibility to carefully check applicable regulations and agreements between the country where you reside and the locations of the Confluences (generally seven times per year within the Schengen zone; should there be an exceptional destination outside of Schengen, the DAI commits to offering visa support).
- An artist with a Japanese passport who currently holds a legal residence permit for Berlin, Germany, is likely allowed to travel to the Confluences in various European countries within the Schengen zone.
- A Turkish artist living in Istanbul may decide that buying round-trip tickets from Istanbul to the locations of the seven annual Confluences while living with family or friends is much more economical than paying rent for an apartment in a popular Dutch city. In that case, a tourist visa would be needed for each of the seven DAI sessions within the academic year.
*For years, DAI's leadership has strongly objected to the ArtEZ Executive Board regarding ever-increasing tuition fees. Despite the profound effect on our educational program, the Board has never invited us to discuss the severe negative impact of these non-EU fees—which are over four times higher than EU fees—against ArtEZ's broader financial balance.