The Office of Education is the government agency that deals with, among other things, student grants and the integration course.

As a student and as a person with a duty of civic integration, you can apply in the Netherlands for a student grant or loan to pay for the costs of education. It is possible that your student grant or loan application is rejected, or that it is terminated, reduced or even reclaimed by DUO.

A decision of the Office of Education can, in principle, be objected within six weeks. Depending on the decision taken by the Office of Education and your personal circumstances, certain (legal) arguments should be put forward in the objection letter. Our attorneys will carefully examine your situation and make sure that the arguments that are important in your case are addressed.

If you have already submitted an objection letter yourself or if the objection letter we have submitted on your behalf or another attorney on your behalf does not have the desired result, we can file an appeal on your behalf. If you also disagree with the decision of the court, you can also appeal this decision. Our lawyers can assist you in both appeal procedures.

In some cases, part of the debt you have accrued can be forgiven. For this you can submit a request to the Office of Education. Our attorneys can examine together with you whether this is possible in your situation and if so they can help you with filing the request.

If you wish to lodge an objection or an appeal or file an request, please contact us as soon as possible via 013 53 53 885 to see what the possibilities are for you and to make sure you lodge the objection or appeal on time.

How do I prevent being temporarily without a student grant or loan?

In order to prevent you from being temporarily unable to pay your education costs, our attorneys can submit on your behalf a request for a temporary injunction at the same time as the objection or appeal is lodged. The court in question will examine whether your objection or appeal has a significant chance of success. The court will decide whether or not you are allowed to receive a student grant or make use of your loan as long as the court has not reached a final decision.

Receiving a student grant or loan carries the risk that you will have to repay the amounts received in advance. This risk is in most cases very small but it is important to keep this in mind if you consider submitting such a request.

Our social security attorneys can draw up and submit such a request for you. Please do not hesitate to contact Berte Advocaten to see if filing a request can be a solution in your situation and to discuss the risks involved.