Students from other European countries will no longer qualify for a Dutch student grant unless they work 14 hours a week, junior education minister Halbe Zijlstra has told MPs.

At the moment, EU students can claim a grants of some €266 a month in Netherlands if they work at least eight hours a week. Last year, grants for EU students cost the country €26m, up from €6m five years ago.
‘A European student who only works eight hours a week does not need to benefit from all the privileges of a worker. I do not think it fair that we wrap up foreign students in cotton wool while asking Dutch ones to make sacrifices,’ Zijlstra said in a statement.