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Kinderopvangtoeslag and school in the Netherlands – childcare, admission and tuition fees in 2026

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Childcare costs, a primary school place, a track chosen at 12 and a university fee that rose again this year. Here is how the Dutch system works for a family arriving in 2026 – what is national, what your municipality decides, and what kinderopvangtoeslag actually pays for.

Teacher smiling beside a boy writing at his desk in a classroom
Photo: Yaroslav Astakhov/Adobe Stock

Two things changed recently. The halved first-year tuition fee is gone since 2024–2025, and the statutory fee for 2026–2027 is €2,694. Kinderopvangtoeslag (childcare benefit) grew in 2026: a joint income up to €56,412 now gets 96 per cent of the capped hourly price back. Almost free childcare from 2029 is still only a bill.

School and childcare rules are national; who gets which place, and what is paid for toddlers, is local. Amsterdam is the example; ask your own gemeente (municipality).

How does kinderopvangtoeslag work in 2026?

Dienst Toeslagen (the Benefits Office) pays kinderopvangtoeslag for day care under 4 and buitenschoolse opvang (BSO – out-of-school care) at a centre or childminder listed in the Landelijk Register Kinderopvang (LRK – the national childcare register). Lunchtime supervision at school does not count, nor care by friends or family unless they are registered gastouders (childminders).

The conditions are national: a written contract with a registered provider; you and your partner hold Dutch nationality or a valid residence permit; and both work, study, follow a route to work or a compulsory inburgering (civic integration) course – the self-employed qualify too. Apply within 3 months after childcare starts; the benefit runs from the child's first day. At most 230 hours per child per month count, and only up to a maximum hourly price – anything above it is yours.

Type of childcareMaximum hourly price 2026Provisional 2027 (not yet in force)
Day care (dagopvang), age 0–4€11.23€11.60
Out-of-school care (BSO)€9.98€10.31
Childminder (gastouder)€8.49€8.77

Source: Rijksoverheid and Dienst Toeslagen, read 24 September 2026.

How much comes back depends on joint income: 96 per cent up to €56,412 in 2026, falling to 36.5 per cent for the first child (68.2 for further children) from €235,698. For 2027 the cabinet has sent parliament a decree extending the maximum percentage to incomes of about €72,000 – a plan, not law. Larger still is the bill sent to the Council of State on 21 September 2026: from 1 January 2029 the benefit would give way to a subsidy of 95.6 per cent of the maximum hourly price paid directly to providers; both chambers have yet to decide.

For toddlers, municipalities may pay part of the cost – for example voorschoolse educatie (VE – preschool education), 16 hours a week for 2.5- to 4-year-olds at risk of a language delay, with the municipality deciding who qualifies. Amsterdam's voorschool offers 16 hours a week to all children aged 2 to 4: register from age 1 and pay an income-related share (Stadspas holders at most €24 a month).

When does school start, and how do you get a place at a Dutch primary school?

Nationally, a child may start basisschool (primary school) at 4 and must attend from the first day of the month after turning 5; compulsory schooling covers every child aged 5 to 16 living here, and parents who keep a child at home can be prosecuted. You can register from age 3; from 3 years and 10 months most schools offer up to 5 wendagen (familiarisation days). Primary school lasts 8 years and is free, though schools may ask a voluntary ouderbijdrage (parental contribution), according to IN Amsterdam usually up to €100 a year. Enrolment needs the child's BSN (burgerservicenummer – citizen service number).

Admission is local. In Amsterdam's joint system, in place since 2013, the City posts a preference form around the third birthday; you list at least 5 schools; your child has priority at the 8 closest to your registered address; a lottery decides at oversubscribed schools; and you hear within two weeks of the deadline. Typically over 90 per cent get their first choice and 98 per cent a top-three school; 10 of the city's 200 primary schools stay outside the scheme in 2026–2027. If your child is already 4 on arrival, pick a school with places left in the Schoolwijzer and contact it directly; bring proof of address, such as a rental contract or a BRP (Basisregistratie Personen – population register) extract.

What if your child does not speak Dutch?

Newcomers of school age first get Dutch language and culture lessons, then join a regular class: taalklassen or schakelklassen in primary school, internationale schakelklassen (ISK) from age 12. A temporary newcomer facility must give at least 12.5 hours of lessons a week over at least 3 days, at least 10 of them Dutch, for at most 2 years. In Amsterdam, 4- and 5-year-olds go straight into a Dutch class; 6- to 12-year-olds without Dutch spend one year in a newcomers' class at no extra cost; 12- to 18-year-olds register for an ISK at Montessori Lyceum Oostpoort or Mundus College.

The alternative is international education. IGBO departments sit inside Dutch primary schools, teach in English and are government-funded and inspected. Separate international schools are private and unfunded: around Amsterdam, according to IN Amsterdam, partly subsidised ones charge around €5,500 a year per child and usually have much longer waiting lists, private ones €12,000 to €24,000. Employers may reimburse such fees tax-free alongside the 30% ruling (part 7).

Secondary school: VMBO, HAVO or VWO?

In group 8, at about 12, pupils sit a national end test, but the teacher's assessment decides the level: VMBO (pre-vocational), HAVO (senior general) or VWO (pre-university), leading on to MBO, HBO or university. Secondary school is free and provides most textbooks. Amsterdam allocates places centrally from a preference list, and most schools hold open days in January and February. From 16, anyone without a startkwalificatie (a HAVO, VWO or MBO level 2 diploma) must keep studying until 18; MBO is free under 18.

Holidays are fixed nationally in three regions. Leave outside them is granted only if your work rules out a holiday in term time, and never in the first 2 weeks after the summer break.

Holiday 2026–2027Region NoordRegion MiddenRegion Zuid
Autumn10–18 October 202617–25 October 202617–25 October 2026
Christmas19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027SameSame
Spring20–28 February 202720–28 February 202713–21 February 2027
May24 April to 2 May 2027SameSame
Summer10 July to 22 August 202717 July to 29 August 202724 July to 5 September 2027

Source: Rijksoverheid, read 24 September 2026.

Universities and tuition fees in 2026–2027

The wettelijk collegegeld (statutory tuition fee) is €2,694 for full-time study in 2026–2027 (€1,604 to €2,694 part-time), indexed to consumer prices. At government-funded institutions it applies to students without a prior Dutch-funded degree who are Dutch, EU/EEA, Swiss or Surinamese, or hold certain permits – a type I permit with an EU Blue Card or researcher notation, types II to V, or any permit giving a right to student finance. Others pay the instellingscollegegeld (institutional fee), set by the institution and never lower than the statutory fee.

Fee 2026–2027AmountWho
Statutory tuition, full-time€2,694Dutch, EU/EEA, Swiss and Surinamese nationals and listed permit holders
Small-scale intensive programmesUp to 5 times the statutory feeSet per programme
Tuition fee loan via DUO (the Education Executive Agency)1/12 of the fee a month, at most €1,122.50Students with student finance
MBO (full-time BOL) and VAVO lesgeld€1,511 (€1,554 in 2027–2028)Students aged 18 or over on 1 August
MBO BBL cursusgeld€314 (levels 1–2), €762 (levels 3–4)Students aged 18 or over
Study residence permit (non-EU)€254, plus €1,130.77 a month in shown fundsApplied for by the institution

Source: Rijksoverheid, DUO and the IND, read 24 September 2026.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Register your child in the BRP so it has a BSNWithin 5 days of arrival
2Find LRK-registered childcare and sign a written contractAs early as you can
3Apply for kinderopvangtoeslag in Mijn toeslagen with DigiDWithin 3 months after childcare starts
4Ask the gemeente about preschool and primary admissionAround the third birthday – at once if the child is 4
5Ask the school for a newcomers' class or ISK if neededAt enrolment
6Check which tuition fee applies and whether DUO will lendBefore enrolling at a university

Source: Rijksoverheid, Dienst Toeslagen and the City of Amsterdam, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.