More and more international students are staying in the Netherlands to live and work after graduation. This means they also pay taxes here. As a result, the costs of education and student finance are more than recouped, reports the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.

This applies to students from both within and outside Europe, at universities of applied sciences and research universities alike. About one in five European students is still living in the Netherlands five years after graduating, according to the CPB. For students from outside Europe, the figure is about two in five.

Now and in the future

In the short term, the arrival of international students has both advantages and disadvantages. They can help ease labor shortages, but they also need somewhere to live, thereby adding to the housing shortage.

In the longer term, however, the CPB researchers expect “no major effects on the labor and housing markets,” while international students can, in their view, contribute to innovation and improved international relations.

Costs and benefits

The government funds education and student finance for Dutch students, and does the same for European students. These are substantial expenditures: some international students study here longer than others, depending on whether they pursue a bachelor’s or master’s degree, but on average the government spends 32,500 euros on a higher vocational education (HBO) student and 20,600 euros on a university student.

Over the years, however, those costs are recouped. Among other things, the CPB considers spending on health care and social security and weighs this against the revenues generated and the students’ “likelihood of staying.” Ultimately, a European HBO student generates 13,000 euros for the treasury, while a European university student generates 82,500 euros.

Students from outside Europe have to pay for their education entirely themselves. All the taxes they pay therefore represent a gain for the government. This starts with the part-time jobs they have alongside their studies. On average, international HBO graduates from outside Europe generate 117,000 euros for the Dutch government, while university graduates generate 243,000 euros.

As early as 2012

The CPB reached a similar conclusion back in 2012. At the time, politicians complained that so many German students were coming to the Netherlands, while relatively few Dutch students were going to Germany.

Halbe Zijlstra, who was State Secretary at the time in the outgoing government, was pleasantly surprised by the CPB’s calculation and adjusted his position on international students. “We cannot ask other EU countries: would you like to pay for students who provide us with an economic benefit? That is a difficult argument to make.”

More positive about migration

Because the world cannot be reduced to economic figures alone, the CPB also looks at the “broader effects” of internationalization. The researchers point out that English-language education can have value, but so can Dutch-language education.

International students do not appear to have any demonstrable effect on the academic success or employment prospects of Dutch students. “But more contact with international students does appear to lead to more international social connections and a more positive attitude toward migration,” the CPB writes.

Brain drain

Another argument against internationalization is that young people from distant, and often poorer, countries might be able to put their talents to better use in their home countries: does this not amount to a brain drain? The CPB puts this into perspective, saying that it can actually create mutual benefits.

There are indeed gains and losses: brain gain and brain drain. But talented migrants can be more productive in more developed economies, the CPB argues, and they can “partly compensate” their countries of origin for the loss, for example by sending money to their families. In addition, those countries can also benefit from trade and from highly educated people who eventually return.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.