University of Amsterdam (Universiteit van Amsterdam, UvA)

A Russian school certificate alone does not get you into a UvA bachelor's programme: for 2027/28 the university requires the attestat plus a successfully completed first year of a full-time university bachelor's, with all first-year mandatory credits. Master's applicants apply after a bachelor's, and each programme sets its own requirements. Non-EEA students pay an institutional fee — in 2026/27 from $15,800 (€13,900) a year for an economics bachelor's to $42,510 (€37,400) for the master's in medicine; 2027/28 rates had not been published when we checked. The application fee is $110 (€100). Housing is not guaranteed.

The UvA dates back to 1632, when the Athenaeum Illustre was founded in Amsterdam. Today it is a research university with seven faculties, four city campuses, nearly 3,000 researchers and students from more than 100 countries. It is joint 62nd in the THE World University Rankings 2026 and in the 101–150 band of ARWU 2026.

Bachelor's entry from a Russian or Kazakh school

The UvA diploma finder for Russia lists the attestat plus a successfully completed first year of full-time university bachelor's education (all first-year mandatory credits). An English test is required regardless.

Maths requirements for Russian applicants:

Kazakhstan. The NIS Grade 12 Certificate is accepted. Economics programmes additionally require, depending on the programme, maths in the final exams or at advanced level plus an extra maths certificate or an OMPT-D test with at least 70%. Other Kazakh certificates are not listed and are assessed individually.

See also bachelor's in the Netherlands.

Bachelor's deadlines and procedure

Fixed-quota (numerus fixus) programmes — Business Administration and Economics and Business Economics (English tracks), Political Science (English track) and Psychology — accept Studielink applications from 1 October to 15 January. If oversubscribed, selection runs from 15 January to 15 April, when Studielink issues ranking numbers; offers must be accepted within two weeks.

Selective programmes PPLE and Liberal Arts and Sciences close on 1 February.

Other programmes. The advisory deadline for applicants with international prior education is 1 April; after that the UvA may not be able to complete immigration and housing arrangements in time. The final deadline is 1 May. Non-EU/EEA applicants must provide their English certificate by 1 April.

Steps: register in Studielink at least a week before the deadline (no DigiD needed if you live abroad); activate your UvAnetID (within 48 hours); pay the $110 (€100) fee by card, PayPal, Bancontact or iDEAL; upload your school certificate, first-year university transcript, English certificate and CV, with official translations if documents are not in English, Dutch, French or German. Your personal deadline may be earlier than the general one.

English: IELTS Academic 6.5 (6.0 per section); TOEFL iBT 92 (22 per section) for tests up to 20 January 2026 or 4.5 on the new scale (Reading 4.5, Listening 5.0, Writing 4.5, Speaking 4.0); Cambridge C1 Advanced 175 or C2 Proficiency 180 (170 per section); PTE Academic 71 (65 per section) and LanguageCert Academic 70 (65 per section) are also accepted. Not accepted: IELTS Online, IELTS One Skill Retake, IELTS Indicator, TOEFL Home Edition, TOEFL MyBest, and the online versions of PTE and LanguageCert. Tests must be less than two years old on 1 September, when the programme starts.

Master's admission

Each master's programme has its own requirements and deadlines. The general route:

1. Choose a programme and read its Application and admission section — required background, prerequisite courses, English.
2. Register in Studielink at least a week before the deadline.
3. Activate your UvAnetID and complete the form in SIS.
4. Pay $110 (€100) — required for everyone with an international bachelor's; a second UvA application in the same year is free.
5. Receive a decision and, once conditionally admitted, send certified graduation documents.
6. Pay tuition — for Business Administration by 31 August 2027.

Non-EU deadlines for September 2027, examples:

Business Administration also has a February intake: 1 November 2026 for non-EU applicants needing a visa.

Bachelor before master. Your bachelor's must be completed before the master's or pre-master's starts (harde knip).

If your background does not match. Some programmes offer a pre-master's: $50 (€44.90) per credit in 2026/27, capped at $3,060 (€2,694), maximum 60 ECTS. The UvA does not arrange a study permit for a fully online pre-master's.

New internationalisation rules. The Netherlands is tightening intake of international students on some English-taught programmes. The UvA Faculty of Science says its master's programmes are in "shortage sectors" and are not affected: international applicants who meet the requirements have the same chances as Dutch students. For other faculties, check your programme page.

More on Dutch master's in general: master's in the Netherlands.

Tuition fees

EU/EEA, Swiss and Surinamese nationals pay the statutory fee — $3,060 (€2,694) in 2026/27. Everyone else pays an institutional fee that depends on faculty and programme. 2026/27 rates:

For multi-year programmes the fee is set per year and may change. Students who enrolled by 1 September 2025 keep their earlier rate with indexation (3.62% for 2026/27); this does not apply to new students.

Living costs. The UvA refers to Study in NL: $1,140–1,710 (€1,000–1,500) a month nationally, with Amsterdam rents above average. The $15,430 (€13,572) proof of funds is a legal minimum, not a budget. See the cost of studying in the Netherlands and, for payments from Russia, how to pay for studies abroad from Russia.

Scholarships

The Amsterdam Merit Scholarship (AMS) is open to non-EU/EEA passport holders who have applied to a UvA programme, at bachelor's and master's level, but each faculty sets the amount, number and deadline. Faculty of Science, September 2027 intake:

• one award for the whole faculty — $29,700 (€26,125);
• paid in monthly instalments; not a fee waiver — tuition must still be paid in full (instalments possible);
• deadline 15 January, results in April;
• previous degree completed no more than three years ago; you must cover other costs yourself.

Economics and Business, Humanities, Law, Science and Social Sciences also run faculty scholarships. The UvA did not take part in the NL Scholarship in 2026/27. More: scholarships abroad in 2026.

Visa and residence permit through the UvA

Most non-EU nationals, including those from Russia and Kazakhstan, need an MVV entry visa and a residence permit, which the UvA Immigration team applies for — you cannot start the procedure yourself. Dates are published per intake; in September 2026 the UvA page showed the February 2027 intake:

• invitations from the first week of November 2026, then every Tuesday and Thursday;
• deadline 11 November 2026 for MVV nationalities, 25 November for residence-permit-only nationalities;
• fee $290 (€254), non-refundable;
• you must be (at least conditionally) admitted to a full-time programme of 90+ days.

The UvA will publish September 2027 dates on the same page later — check it as soon as you are admitted. Because the procedure only starts after admission, programmes give visa-requiring applicants an earlier application deadline — 1 April 2027 for the MSc Business Administration.

Documents: scans of every passport page including blank ones (signed, valid 6+ months after the start date), the antecedents certificate signed as in your passport, and proof of funds.

Funds: $1,290 (€1,131) a month for 12 months — $15,430 (€13,572) — plus unpaid tuition. Bank statements no older than two months, showing full account number, type, currency and bank contacts, in English, Dutch, French or German. Not accepted: companies as sponsors, fixed deposits, investment or pension products, credit cards, payslips, gold or cryptocurrency. You may combine your own money with a sponsor's, such as your parents'.

Right to refuse. The UvA may decline to submit an application if it has serious doubts about the purpose of stay, and the IND may request more information.

Progress. You must earn at least 50% of each year's credits; the UvA checks three times a year. If you withdraw before 1 May, your permit is revoked, but you can start a new programme on 1 September with a new application.

Details, MVV collection and TB rules: Dutch student residence permit.

Part-time work and job hunting after the UvA. Employment during your studies needs a TWV permit arranged by the employer and follows one of two regimes: up to 16 hours a week year-round, or full-time in June–August. Self-employment and internships that are part of the programme need no TWV. Within three years of a Dutch degree you can get an orientation-year permit ($290, €254) and work without restrictions — a practical bridge to a job in Amsterdam. See master's in the Netherlands.

Housing in Amsterdam

The UvA warns that Amsterdam faces a severe housing shortage, that finding a place can take months, and that it cannot offer housing or help to all incoming students — it asks you to weigh this before committing.

The UvA Student Housing Office helps international first-years find furnished rooms with partners such as DUWO, De Key and Student Experience. The university does not own these rooms; they are allocated by random lottery with no guarantee, for a fixed period of usually one or two semesters and at most one year. For Business Administration, applying for UvA housing is tied to the 1 April deadline.

From year two everyone finds their own housing. You must register in the BRP through the Amsterdam municipality to keep your permit, which requires a valid address.

Restrictions for Russian nationals

The UvA's rules contain no ban on Russian applicants. Its diploma finder entry for Russia sets out education, maths and English requirements, with no nationality restrictions. Keep in mind:

• Immigration checks. The UvA may decline to apply if it doubts the purpose of stay, and the IND may ask for more documents — apply early to absorb delays.
• EU sanctions. The technical-assistance ban in Regulation 833/2014 concerns training related to dual-use technology for persons in Russia or for use in Russia. The UvA's profile — economics, law, social sciences, humanities, medicine, computing and sciences — overlaps less with sensitive fields than a technical university's, but it is still worth asking about specific science and computing programmes.
• Knowledge security. The screening law had not been adopted as of September 2026. In June 2026 the government called the broad version unfeasible and is analysing a narrower one, with no timetable.

The UvA decides on admission; the IND decides on the permit.

Is the UvA right for you?

For engineering, architecture or aerospace, compare with TU Delft. Other institutions: universities in the Netherlands; country overview: study in the Netherlands; application process: applying to Dutch universities.

Costly mistakes

• Applying with a school certificate only — a completed first university year is required.
• Taking IELTS Online — not accepted for bachelor's, nor is One Skill Retake.
• Relying on 1 May — apply by 1 April for visa and housing; fixed-quota programmes close on 15 January.
• Treating the AMS as a fee waiver — at the Faculty of Science it is paid monthly and tuition is due in full.
• Old statements or company sponsors — the UvA rejects both.
• Arriving without housing — no address means no BRP registration, a permit condition.

FAQ

Can I apply to the UvA straight after school?

Not with a Russian school certificate alone: you need a completed first year of a full-time university bachelor's with all mandatory credits, and for economics programmes a university-level maths course. From Kazakhstan the NIS Grade 12 Certificate is accepted.

How much does the UvA cost?

In 2026/27 non-EEA students paid from $15,800 (€13,900) a year for an economics bachelor's to $42,510 (€37,400) for the master's in medicine. 2027/28 rates were not yet published.

What IELTS score do I need?

For bachelor's, IELTS Academic 6.5 with 6.0 per section. Master's programmes set their own, sometimes higher, requirements. IELTS Online is not accepted.

When should I apply for 2027?

Studielink opens on 1 October 2026. Fixed-quota bachelor's close on 15 January 2027, PPLE and Liberal Arts and Sciences on 1 February, and other bachelor's should be submitted by 1 April. Master's deadlines range from 15 January to 1 April depending on the programme.

Does the UvA provide housing?

It does not guarantee it. The housing office helps first-years, but rooms are allocated by lottery and for at most one year.

Are there scholarships for non-EU students?

Yes, the Amsterdam Merit Scholarship, with amounts set by each faculty — for example, a single $29,700 (€26,125) award at the Faculty of Science for 2027.

Does the UvA admit Russian citizens?

Yes; there is no ban. The visa procedure is standard, though the university and IND may ask for more information about the purpose of stay.

How can StudyU help?

Under a service agreement we shortlist programmes, check degree and maths requirements, and help with essays, CV, the application and immigration documents. The UvA decides on admission and the IND on your permit.

Sources

• UvA: applying for a bachelor's (deadlines, English, fee), entry requirements for international qualifications (diploma finder, 2027/28)
• UvA: applying for a master's, MSc Artificial Intelligence, MSc Business Administration
• UvA: tuition fees 2026/27, pre-master's fees
• UvA: Amsterdam Merit Scholarship, Faculty of Science scholarships
• UvA: residence permit deadlines and procedures, documents and financial proof, visas and permits
• UvA: housing, about the UvA
• THE World University Rankings 2026: University of Amsterdam, ARWU 2026: University of Amsterdam
• Study in NL: NL Scholarship, living costs
• IND: student residence permit, fees 2026
• European Commission: consolidated FAQs on Russia sanctions, letter to parliament on screening, 11 June 2026

Dollar amounts use the ECB reference rate of 24 September 2026 (€1 = $1.1367), rounded to $10.

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