The motion, which received the backing of three coalition parties in January, calls on the government to prepare an action plan aimed at “encouraging international students and talented individuals to stay in the Netherlands”.
Dutch Universities have welcomed the government’s efforts to retain international talent after graduation, pointing to recent data from the country’s Immigration and Naturalisation Service that revealed a falling number of skilled international workers.
Nuffic, the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education, said it was “happy” that three out of four coalition parties backed the resolution.
“It shows that [they] see the many benefits of international talent for the Netherlands; for Dutch HEIs and students, for the sectors with labour shortages and for the Dutch knowledge economy,” it noted.
However, a spokesperson for UNL – which represents 14 leading Dutch universities – called the resolution “contradictory to the legislation and budget cuts [that] these coalition parties are implementing”.
“The government can make plans to increase the stay rate, but if students stop coming at all – even in the sectors where there is a major labour market shortage – then this will be pointless,” they said.
And yet, given labour market gaps and the anticipated drop in international student numbers, others say the motion is a “logical” decision to tap into the potential international graduates.
“The government has made comments in the past that decreasing the total number of international students doesn’t have to lead to fewer international students staying after graduating,” said a Nuffic spokesperson.
“Why? Because the government also wants HEIs to offer more Dutch language and culture training to international students during their studies,” to help them find a job in the Netherlands after graduating.
Though it hasn’t previously resulted in concrete policies, there has long been wide political support for increasing the stay rate of international students, according to Nuffic.
Research by the organisation in 2023 found that over half of international students in the Netherlands left because they couldn’t find work, with seven in 10 of those who stayed experiencing challenges with Dutch language requirements in job vacancies.
The government can make plans to increase the stay rate, but if students stop coming at all … then this will be pointless
Universities of the Netherlands
Meanwhile, the government is still pursuing its ‘Internationalisation in Balance’ Bill, which aims to reduce the number of English-taught degrees and is expected to cause a “sharp drop” in international enrolments, according to UNL.
“This will have negative effects on the quality of our education, our research and on the labour market,” the spokesperson added.
The government’s stance on internationalisation has drawn criticism from border regions experiencing population decline and large corporations benefiting from international talent, though the adoption of the motion could signal a slight shift in direction.
Put forward by the Dutch chapter of the Volt Europa party, the resolution comfortably passed the House of Representatives with 101 votes in its favour. It was backed by VVD, NSC and BBB, but did not receive the backing of the largest PVV party.
During the debate, the Dutch minister of employment endorsed the resolution, which he said concerned “the retention of international students”, seemingly distancing it from the issue of students coming to the country and instead focussing on those who are already there.
Meanwhile, “it remains to be seen what exactly this will mean for the internationalisation policy of this government”, said UNL.
