If you fall behind in your studies due to circumstances beyond your control, you may be eligible for financial support in accordance with the regulations on financial support for students (in Dutch).

The following situations are considered to be circumstances beyond your control: 

• (chronic) illness;
• disability;
• pregnancy and childbirth;
• exceptional family circumstances (such as the loss of a relative);
• caring responsibilities;
• educational circumstances beyond your control (your study adviser can tell you whether this applies to your situation)

Is your study adviser not aware that you have fallen behind in your studies? If so, discuss your situation with him or her as soon as possible. Together you can draw up a revised study plan to prevent you from falling further behind.

You must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• You are receiving DUO student finance (at least a student OV card), but the total period in which you have received it is not longer than the nominal duration of your current study programme, or;
• You are receiving a basic student grant from DUO, or;
• You are paying institutional tuition fee, or;
• Your study progress has been delayed due to educational circumstances beyond your control (your study adviser can tell you if this is the case).*

In addition, you must meet all the following criteria:

• You are registered as a student of Leiden University.
• You are paying tuition fee to Leiden University.
• Your study progress has been delayed due to one or more of the following situations:
  • illness, pregnancy or child birth;
  • disability or chronic illness (psychical or mental);
  • exceptional family circumstances (such as the loss of a family member);
  • caring responsibilities;
  • educational circumstances beyond your control (you study adviser can tell you if this is the case).
• You reported your study delay to your study adviser within one month of it occurring. If you did not report the delay on time, you may still request financial support. But be aware that you will likely receive little or no financial support.

* Note: if your study progress has been delayed due to the adaptations to your study programme resulting from the corona measures, you are not entitled to financial compensation via the FOS.

If you meet the criteria, you can request financial support. To do so you must first register your study delay.

When?

You can register your study delay from 1 October till 1 March in the academic year following the year in which you fell behind in your studies.

Example: If you fell behind in your studies in the academic year 2022-2023, you can register your study delay in the period 1 October 2023 till 1 March 2024.

How?

Complete the requesting registration of study delay form. 

What happens next?

Within six weeks you will receive a message letting you know if your study delay has been registered, how many months of delay have been registered, and the maximum amount of financial support you could be awarded for this delay. Note: this does not mean that you will definitely receive financial support! This will be decided by the university once you submit a request for financial support.   

When?

You can request payment of financial support once the standard duration of your study programme has come to an end.

How?

Complete the Requesting payment of financial support for delayed study progress form. 

What happens next?

The university will decide whether you are entitled to financial support and if so, how much you are entitled to. You will receive notification within six weeks.
Here below you can find out how the university determines what you are entitled to. 

Whether you are entitled to payment of financial support and if so, how much, depends on the following rules and factors.

Number of months

• For every 5 study credits of the standard study schedule that you have missed out on due to circumstances beyond your control, you can receive one month of financial support - to a maximum of 6 months per academic year. In the case of study delay caused by top-level sports, you can receive a maximun of 3 months compensation. The number of months you are entitled to will be stated in the message you receive after registering  your study delay.
• If you make up (some of) the delay to your studies, the amount of financial support will be adjusted accordingly. If this occurs, you may receive less funds than originally determined.

Amount per month

• If you were receiving DUO student finance (not a basic grant) when you fell behind in your studies, you will receive 300 euro per month. If you were receiving a top-up grant, this amount will also be compensated.
• If you were receiving a basic grant from DUO when you fell behind in your studies, you will receive an amount equivalent to the basic grant. If you were receiving a top-up grant, this amount will also be compensated.
• If the delay was caused by educational circumstances beyond your control (and you are paying statutory tuition fee) you will also receive the amount of tuition fee paid during this period.
• If you were paying institutional tuition fee when you fell behind in your studies, you are entitled to pay the statutory tuition fee tariff for the number of registered months of delay for further studies.

Other forms of compensation

• If you will receive an additional year of DUO student finance due to the circumstances beyond your control, you will receive less or no financial support via the FOS.
• If you will not receive an additional year of DUO student finance but the university believes you are entitled to it, the student counsellor will assist you to submit a request for it. 
• If you have already received financial support via the FOS for student board membership or top-level sport, the university will deduct this amount when awarding funds for circumstances beyond your control.  

Do you have any questions about financial support for delayed study progress caused by circumstances beyond your control? If so, contact a student counsellor.