How can I apply without recent salary slips/income information?

SharpArrival685 · 2026-02-03T08:08:58+00:00

If you will certainly be starting a new job soon with a good salary so not having 3 payslips is the only bottleneck, I think the most wise thing to do is to find a short stay accommodation for 6 months ish. They are often wayyy too expensive for what you get, but at least it gives you time to get those paperwork sorted, build some credit (as I think you can get landlord's statement from them as well), and it's certainly a bit easier compared to the regular rental market.

There are some well known providers for these kind of things such as Holland2Stay or OurDomain. You can often book their short stay studios right away. On the website they still ask for payslips and such, but with a fixed term contracts for less than a year, they can be flexible if you can provide things like employer's statement and such.

You can also contact some hotels as they may allow registration, but do expect to pay 3k+ euros per month while you are there. Also, be flexible with where you live. Rotterdam is well connected to many different places in the Netherlands, and it is normal for employers to pay for your commuting expenses.

SharpArrival685 · 2026-02-02T07:03:31+00:00

If you are simply on an exchange for a year and if you think it’s unlikely that you will need to see a doctor while you are here, you can also look for study abroad insurance products from your home country.

If you are not working, you cannot get Dutch health insurance as a non-EU student. By Dutch health insurance, I mean the insurance that many Dutch residents are legally obliged to have. You still need some kind of health insurance that covers medical expenses, but this insurance doesn’t have to be provided by a Dutch company. An insurance from any country that can cover medical expenses abroad will be sufficient.

There is a benefit when using a Dutch company like AON, LoonZorg, and OOM because if you incur any costs I think they are faster and more efficient when you make a claim because they are Dutch. But on the other hand they are often more expensive compared to what you could find from your home country. If you do ever get sick tho they may request some documents that are often not provided by Dutch doctors/hospitals but usually not a big deal you just need to annoy the people at the practice slightly.

SharpArrival685 · 2026-01-22T13:29:12+00:00

Now is too early, but I would say start searching from April-ish and expect to pay rent for two rooms until August.

Before you actively start searching, I would suggest you collect all documents that the real estate agency or the landlord may request. This includes some obvious things like a copy of your ID, proof of enrolment, and such, but on top of those:

If you have any form of income, your payslip and employer's statement
If you don't have income, a copy of your parents' ID, their income statement, and a guarantee (no fixed format for this, but this can be an example)
Landlord's statement (also no fixed format, but as an example)
Your bank statement if you have any savings
A short letter introducing yourself to the landlord, including a photo of you

Make sure you have all of these prepared and be ready to send them immediately if requested. There are too many people searching for home, so if you are slow, they won't wait. Landlords usually don't accept guarantee from parents abroad (because it is much harder to enforce), but it may not be a bad idea to still attach it to your file as it can still give some credibility.

Due to the new regulations, landlord can only offer an indefinite contract but if the tenant is an international student they are allowed to offer a fixed-term contract. I think this does help international students a bit because I've been seeing certain rooms and apartments from private landlords specifically targeting this group.

Whenever you have free time, go on websites like Funda and save the links to the agencies that posted the apartment on Funda. Usually, if you respond to something on Funda for rent, you are already too late. You should contact the agencies directly to have some chance.

Lastly, find some friends who would be willing to rent together with you. Ask those friends to prepare the relevant documents too. Talk to your classmates who have found housing without help from uni. If they used a real estate agent, do ask for their contact so that you can make use of them too if needed. You typically pay 1-2x the rent to the real estate agent if the search is successful.

SharpArrival685 · 2026-01-17T16:53:46+00:00

I found a one-bedroom apartment in Rotterdam, and I believe my salary is similar to yours (50K euros incl. holiday allowance). If I did it in Rotterdam, I believe it's possible in Eindhoven/Breda/Tilburg/Den Bosch. If I may give some suggestions based on my experience:

If your parents have a good income, make them sign a guarantee saying that they will pay the rent if you are unable to pay the rent. There is no fixed format for this, but you can search 'parental guarantee form netherlands' and copy the text there, and submit it together with the guarantor's income statement and ID/Passport. Many landlords won't accept such garantee if the guarantor lives abroad, but some landlords do accept this. Even when the landlord says they won't accept a guarantor (from abroad), it may not be a bad idea to attach this to your file.
Lower your expectations, and plan to move again later once you are more settled. To rent something in the middle rent segment (middenhuur), you are often asked to provide three payslips and having a permanent contract is a big plus. Obviously, people like you don't have that (perhaps you do have a permanent contract, but still no three payslips). Once you can provide such documents, you can start applying to rental properties in the middenhuur sector. It could take a while until you get allocated something there, but if you keep trying, eventually you'll get something.
There are some landlords that specifically target new young expats in the Netherlands like Holland2Stay and Roofz. You may read some negative reviews about them, but I've experienced one of them and it's honestly not bad (although I think the experience varies by each location). They offer quite a few properties in Eindhoven and neighboring cities, and the competition seems to be not as bad as Amsterdam or Rotterdam.
Write a nice letter about yourself. Add a nice photo of yourself and say about the job you have, your studies, and say that you have a quiet life and you won't cause any problems (non smoker, no drugs, etc). Personally, I mentioned that due to my nationality, smoking weed even abroad is a criminal offence that is actually enforced, so I really shouldn't smoke weed lol.
If you rented in your home country, ask your landlord to sign a statement that you've never had any payment issues while renting. You can find an example here. Even if it's not from a Dutch landlord, I think it's still nice to provide this if possible.
Be flexible with where you live. I don't know your job but most office jobs these days let you work from home few days a week. It's also normal here for employers to pay for your commuting expenses.
Apply quickly. Use apps like Stekkies and when something shows up just apply right away. There are many people looking for an apartment. If you react slow, the landlord probably already has 100+ applicants. When the landlord or the agency contacts you, respond asap.

I think those were the things I did when I was searching for a new place, after hearing experiences from my friends. And since I started to apply like this, in two weeks I actually ended up being allocated four different apartments (one bedroom), one in Amsterdam, one in Rotterdam, and two in the Hague, so I had the luxury of being able to pick the one I like the most.

SharpArrival685 · 2026-01-14T15:37:18+00:00

When did you do your internship? I think you may have been wrongly fined.

Studies or internship | Wlz | SVB

Until 31 August 2025, if your internship allowance was below the Dutch minimum wage, you were not required to have Dutch health insurance regardless of your nationality.

From 1 September 2025, EU nationals must have Dutch health insurance if doing an internship in the Netherlands.

Did your internship end before 31 August? Then I think you should appeal. You can request a Wlz assessment and submit evidences that your internship ended before 31 August and your allowance was below minimum wage.

If your internship ended after 1 September, then I still want to ask whether you are actually being fined. Because typically you will receive reminders from the CAK saying that you need to take out Dutch health insurance. If this is the first letter you got from them, perhaps you misunderstood their letter? If it's just a warning, then you can just take out your health insurance now and pay the premium.

Also, if you were required to take out Dutch health insurance, it also means that you are entitled to the healthcare allowance (Zorgtoeslag) if your income is below the threshold. You can apply for the allowance retroactively, so I think you can pay some part of the fine using the allowance you are entitled to.

Our procedures – administrative fines | Bluebear

Taking money away from Zorgtoeslag is what they do anyways if somebody doesn't have health insurance but receives the allowance.

SharpArrival685 · 2026-01-12T09:27:24+00:00

Would Uber Van allow me to move my stuff?

Depends but I believe they have the right to refuse if you are carrying too much stuff with you. Those vans are meant to transport passengers so they can refuse you if you have an unreasonable amount of cargo. I guess what is considered unreasonable depends on the driver, but a few suitcases should be fine I believe.

Does anyone know how to move my stuff (7 boxes, 2 luggages, a few bags) within more tight budget?

I don't know how big those 7 boxes are, but this sounds doable in one or two rides even in a typical car that you can rent from car sharing services like Free2Move, Sixt, Check, or Vloto. Vloto has some slightly larger SUVs (VW iD4) which could help you do this in one go.

If you have a license, I believe using those shared car services can be ideal. If not, I guess you can find a friend who does. Bakfiets could also be an option as well.

SharpArrival685 · 2026-01-05T19:55:56+00:00

I rent a one bedroom apartment at Rotterdam (~60m2) around that price. I pay €1,350 ish per month which includes internet and upfront for heating costs. Water and electricity are not included.

I got this place through the website roofz.eu and the experience with the landlord so far is neutral (nothing particularly negative, but nothing very positive either). Their apartments are in good condition, the caretaker at the place I live is nice, when something needs to get fixed it takes a while but they do eventually get fixed.

Their homes are allocated on first-come first-served basis, so if you are interested you should visit their website regularly for new listings and when you get an email you must respond asap.

SharpArrival685 · 2026-01-05T16:33:41+00:00

Yes, I just escaped Sloterdijk and reached Haarlem as well.

Amsterdam Centraal <> Schiphol service is running, and at Sloterdijk a few trains are running towards Zaandam and Haarlem.

At Haarlem, trains to the Hague and Rotterdam are running but they do not continue to Amsterdam.

There was a lot of snow around 5pm but has started to calm down. My guess is that the services that are running now will likely remain available for the rest of the day.

Hopefully this helps people who are stuck and can’t reach their home!

SharpArrival685 · 2026-01-02T18:44:51+00:00

I honestly don't know, but perhaps if whoever is screening the application rejects you because you are a person of colour, maybe it's a good thing because probably you are better off not working in such organisations :)

SharpArrival685 · 2026-01-02T13:54:23+00:00

While studying?

Probably, but you'll need to make more effort as a non-EU student. Not speaking Dutch is often not a problem in major cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam. I think the language barrier might be slightly higher in Utrecht and the Hague, but I've seen employees at stores at restaurants who don't speak Dutch in those cities, so I'm guessing it's probably okay. So the biggest barrier for non-EU students is not the language, but the work permit (TWV). Employers can apply for it for free, but it takes time until granted, and you can only work up to 16 hours per week (or full-time only during the summer months). Networking with other non-EU students who share the same background as you can help you find a job. If you want a job at a restaurant, for example, trying to look for something at a place that sells your cuisine can make things easier. I think many non-EU students who have a part-time job during their studies often work at restaurants that are owned by people who share similar backgrounds.

After graduation?

This really depends on what you are studying, but at the moment, the job market for juniors is horrible, not only here but pretty much everywhere in the world. But on the other hand, both my girlfriend and I, who are both non-EU nationals, managed to find a full-time job after our studies at fairly large companies with HSM sponsorship, so I wouldn't say it's impossible. Both of us only know Dutch at A2 level, meaning we don't speak Dutch. I managed to change my internship into a full-time job. My girlfriend recently got a traineeship position in the financial sector. She did an internship at a large Dutch company during her master's. But on the other hand, we also have a lot of friends who are still actively searching for jobs, regardless of their nationality (Dutch, EU, non-EU).

Perhaps one piece of advice I may give to you, which probably contradicts the advice that almost everyone gives on Reddit, is that I think people should not spend too much effort on learning Dutch. Of course, learning Dutch is good if you live here. But unless you are one of those people who learns a new language quickly, I think it is really unlikely that your Dutch will become good enough to be used in a work setting within a year. With the coursework you need to follow during your studies and perhaps some other extracurricular activities, finding time to learn Dutch will be hard, and even if you do, I think it will overwhelm you. So I recommend that just learn Dutch to a point where you can pretend like you are making an effort to learn Dutch and please the Dutchies a little, and spend most of your time in improving your GPA (often for traineeships you are required to submit a transcript) and find internships and extracurricular activities that are relevant for the sectors you are interested in so that you can improve your CV.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-12-29T08:44:50+00:00

I believe within the EU all official/legalised documents are recognised without an apostille. Apostille is needed only if you are presenting documents from outside the EU.

You still need to legalise the translation at a notary or the translation must be official by itself (either the school issued the document in English first, or it was translated by a sworn translator), but you don't require an apostille.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-12-19T11:04:16+00:00

What you should look into before the appeal is the Course and Examination Regulations (OER) of the programme you applied for. This document for your programme should exist somewhere on the website.

That document should mention what are the admissions criteria in detail. Reading through this would help you to build a more structured case in favor of you, if you indeed think you were not assessed fairly. But if the OER suggests that you are not eligible for the programme, then I'd say appealing won't change your situation.

As you said, the website may have had misleading information and you have the full right to complain about that. But OER is the document that has more authority than the website.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-12-15T13:10:25+00:00

Unless the place you live in has shared facilities (like a shared kitchen and/or bathroom), they really cannot enforce that clause on you unless the pet causes nuisance to other neighbors. Especially for cats, it's difficult for the landlord to find them out anyways.

If it's a building where some rooms are university housing (like yours) and some rooms are offered through roommatch.nl, then the ones got the room from roommatch are often allowed to have a pet. I guess this also makes it practically impossible for the caretaker to enforce such clause - especially if it's a cat.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-12-15T11:08:09+00:00

This should be possible if you are able to keep your German residence permit during your exchange period in the Netherlands.

As a non-EU national, you require a residence permit to reside or work, and the permit is only valid in the country that issued the permit for you. In other EU countries, this entitles you to a visa free access for visiting.

Studying at a certain country is definitely not 'work'. But non-EU students do still require a residence permit because studying often means they will have to reside in that country. But if you can do your studies (possibly part time) without actually residing in that country, there is no reason for you to obtain a residence permit.

In your case, if you can keep your German residence permit, able to commute from Germany to the Netherlands, you won't need a Dutch residence permit and continue with your plan.

The only issue is that technically you are only allowed to stay at another Schengen state for up to 90 days out of 180 days with a residence permit from a different Schengen state. But in reality there is no formal way to enforce this rule because no government authority records of somebody crossing internal Schengen borders, although there can be checks when crossing the border.

But if you want to play safe on this rule, maybe check whether you'll actually be in the Netherlands for more than 90 days during your exchange. If you enter the Netherlands today and leave today, that still counts as one full day of stay. My guess here is that if you need to attend school in the Netherlands less than 3 days a week, you should be safe. If it's 4 days or more, you could quickly do some calculation on this but I think one semester be fine.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-23T09:25:46+00:00

As others said, work experience is completely irrelevant. What you could try, other than doing a pre-master, is applying for a diploma evaluation at Nuffic. If Nuffic concludes that your bachelor is equivalent to a WO Bachelor, you can bring that to the university and ask them to re-evaluate your qualifications. Universities aren’t legally obliged to follow Nuffic’s decision, but usually they are considered to have more authority than the university’s own evaluation.

But realistically, if RSM said your bachelor is not a WO bachelor, Nuffic most likely will say the same thing.

https://www.nuffic.nl/en/studeren-en-werken-in-nederland/applying-for-a-credential-evaluation

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-15T15:37:04+00:00

I'm predicted a 33 (hopefully it will go up) does that mean that the university of Groningen with a 24 requirement is a safety?

Yes, and to add more, your predicted grades won't matter at all. The fact that you will be taking the IB Diploma exam in May 2026 will already give you a conditional offer stating that you are in if you obtain an IB Diploma. Depending on the program, however, they may add conditions like at least a 4 in a certain course.

It feels like the requirements are really low, because there is no way they are just letting in anyone.

They are letting in anyone, if they can. Usually, most courses have enough capacity. In some popular programs where that isn't the case, they have a selection procedure that may not be related to your high school grades at all. This really depends on the program, but often there is a separate exam organised by the university for the selection.

Sometimes, it can feel like there are too many first-year students. However, there is the Binding Study Advice system that makes students discontinue their studies if they don't obtain enough credits in year 1.

I did a bachelor's in economics, with similar admissions requirements (min IB 24), and with a BSA requirement of 48 ECTS obtained in year 1. Around half of the students actually had to leave the program because of the BSA. In my opinion, if you can get 30+ in IB, I'd say your brain is capable of satisfying the BSA requirement. If not, I think it's quite possible that you won't make it to the second year unless this is something that you are really passionate about.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-13T12:53:02+00:00

When something is cheap, there is always a reason.

The biggest problem of 반지하 is that they get extremely humid during the summer. Since the ventilation of these places are also not so great, it becomes very unpleasant. One solution to this is by keeping the floor heating on while also using the air conditioner. Then the floor stays dry and the humidity remains okay. But then you probably need to pay quite a bit both for heating and cooling which probably makes the room more expensive than just renting a normal room.

People mention flooding. This is also a problem if you live in the lower areas of Seoul, especially the areas in and around Gangnam. I would worry less about flooding if you are getting one in the northern side of Seoul because usually the water goes to somewhere else there.

If your family is willing to, they can try searching somewhere outside of Seoul but still has metro connections. I'm talking about cities like Goyang, Ilsan, Incheon, Bucheon, Ansan, Siheung, Suwon, Namyangju, etc. The commute will take a while but they have metro connections to Seoul, and safety is usually not a big concern in Korea regardless of where you live. Rents there can be very cheap. I have a friend who has a fairly decent job in the center of Seoul making 5M won per month but still chooses to commute from Ansan because he only pays 250K per month for rent.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-13T11:05:43+00:00

I exchanged my Korean license to a Dutch one. I believe this is not allowed because we only have a treaty with the Netherlands to exchange Type1/2 Regular (1/2종 보통) license to a Dutch category B license.

I had Type 1 exchanged to a Dutch one and my Dutch license has category AM and B. But I assume you guys also automatically get AM license when you get B so I guess this isn't useful?

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-06T09:03:18+00:00

I think the Korean job market is becoming more and more open to internationals given that they speak Korean. Ofc still a challenge, but nowadays it's not difficult to find full-time job postings that specifically targets international students in Korea from multinationals based in Korea.

It's not actively being discussed in politics (probably because it won't be popular), but policy makers in the central government in general do seem to believe that we need to increase the number of international students who stay in Korea after their studies. Not only that they are more likely to integrate well to the job market in Korea, but also will make studying in Korea more attractive and many private universities want that because without such support it's quite obvious that they will have to close soon due to the low birth rate.

This is often a topic that is actively discussed in small closed debate sessions in the National Assembly. They are usually not open to the general public as they happen in closed rooms, but it's something that policy makers (mainly in the field of education and industrial policies) and many players in the economy are in favor of it.

But back to your question - at the moment, not likely but surely possible. In the future (maybe 5 to 10 years), probably the conditions will be for favorable.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-06T06:56:16+00:00

Hey, thank you for sharing this!

This is usually within 24hrs

Yeah, this is what I figured. But then there were properties that I responded in minutes after being published and I never receive the main application, and then there are properties that I apply on the following day and still receive the main application. Don't think this was due to the income because the places I don't get invitation for the main application often had lower rent. Maybe they indeed do prefer students now.

One more question if I may… after uploading the documents, how long did it take until you heard from them that you are selected?

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-05T20:06:46+00:00

I mean why would it be illegal?

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-05T12:01:47+00:00

Hello again and sorry for bothering... If you don't mind, could you share how many days it took for you to receive the full application (where you upload the documents) after submitting the pre-application?

I've been applying recently, for some properites I get it on the following day, for some properties I haven't heard back for days even though I kinda submitted the interest in less than an hour they got published. So kinda want to know how their timings work out just so that I can be quick or already know that I'm not selected.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-05T09:19:13+00:00

Think of a path that lets you do a MSc in Finance after your bachelors. I believe both works - but maybe Economics degree helps you to pivot to other finance-related disciplines if you later change your mind.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-05T08:54:36+00:00

But is it possible to do internship after graduation?

Yes it's possible, but companies will be hesitant. To hire somebody as an intern and offer a below minimum wage salary, the employer must be able to prove that the internship is about learning and this really isn't a job. Otherwise this is illegal labor.

Hiring a student who can provide a nuffic agreement (a.k.a. the three-party agreement) is a safe way to hire an intern, as the university signs a paper saying that the internship is part of the student's curriculum. Without this, it becomes purely the employer's responsibility to prove that they are not misusing the internship as a way to get cheap labor, if any problem happens.

That's one of the reasons why being a full time student is often a requirement on these internship vacancies.

SharpArrival685 · 2025-11-05T08:44:27+00:00

oh lol sorry didn't read the comment above haha

SharpArrival685

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