A new report shows international students give the Dutch government far more than they cost, primarily because so many stay, work, and pay taxes after graduating.
After all the political noise about rising international students being a net negative, the country’s own economists have swiftly reached the opposite conclusion.
“International students make a positive contribution to Dutch government finances over their entire lives,” writes the Dutch Central Planning Bureau (CPB) in a new study. Why? Well, an increasing number of them choose to “continue to work and pay taxes in the Netherlands after graduation”.
Compiled at the request of the Dutch education ministry, the study calculates a proper tally of what foreign students cost the Dutch economy, versus what they give back.
Some students pay back nearly €250k
While foreign students study at Dutch universities, the government does pitch in — primarily for those from the European Economic Area (EEA), through higher-education funding and student finance.
However, CPB stresses, “these costs are recouped later through tax revenues”. In addition to this, international students at research universities tend to earn higher-than-average salaries later on, resulting in more income tax for the Dutch state.
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On average, research university graduates from non-EEA countries contribute nearly €250,000 to public finances over their lifetime.
Meanwhile, EEA university graduates and non-EEA applied-sciences graduates contribute €100,000 each on average, while EEA applied-sciences students land at roughly break-even.
In other words, costs incurred by the Dutch state for these foreign students tend to pale in comparison to what they pay back.
More students are calling the Netherlands home
Five years after finishing their higher education journey, roughly one in five EEA students (and two in five non-EEA students) are still living in the Netherlands. A decade ago, those figures were a quarter lower.
But why do so many graduates choose to call the Netherlands home? One reason, the study highlights, is how easy it is to find work.
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International students who’ve recently graduated find paid work “faster than students who graduated earlier, allowing them to contribute to the Dutch economy and government finances sooner”.
Helaas, there’s also a downside
According to the study, international student numbers jumped from around 76,000 in 2017 to roughly 131,000 in 2024. Bachelor’s programmes saw the strongest increase, with the number of international students doubling during that time frame.
While this surge can ease labour shortages in the short term, they also “exacerbate shortages in the housing market”.
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But before you start sharpening those pitchforks, CBP does point out that the overall intake of international students at Dutch universities has been declining since 2021.
Looking further ahead, the bureau does not “expect major effects on the labour and housing markets”, pointing out that foreign students can still “contribute to innovation and international relations”.
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