Whether or not this is your first time away from your country, you are probably thinking about the different aspects of living in a new culture. Most grantees find that they must make some adjustments, since many things are new or unfamiliar. The process you will go through may be difficult, but it is also exciting and contributes to your personal enrichment and understanding of other ways of life.

Adapting to another culture may be frustrating at times, but there are people at your host university and at LASPAU who are able to help. Temporary problems should not discourage you. A growing familiarity with the new culture and with the resources available to you will greatly increase your enjoyment of your surroundings. You can read more about the process of cross-cultural adjustment by downloading this document in PDF format.

Immigration, Education, and Culture

The Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education (Nuffic) maintains the Study in the Netherlands website which contains useful material for international students. In particular, the "Living in the Netherlands," section provides information on immigration and employment regulations, the Dutch system of higher education, typical costs of living, and Dutch culture.

Health Care

If included in your contract, LASPAU will automatically enroll you in the Virginia Surety insurance plan once you become a LASPAU-administered grantee, unless you inform us that you have alternative coverage. The Virginia Surety insurance plan, provided at no cost to you, is only for you and does not include any of your dependents. LASPAU will pay for insurance for your dependents, but you are responsible for arranging this coverage. Please click here for more information on the Virginia Surety insurance plan, as well as on how to obtain coverage for your dependents.

Employment

If you or your dependents would like to work while in the Netherlands, you must be certain that both your program sponsor and the Dutch government will allow you do so:

• To verify whether your program sponsor will allow you to work, please contact your LASPAU program advisor or coordinator.
  
  
• To verify whether the government of the Netherlands will allow you to work, please consult Nuffic's fact sheet "Foreign students and part-time jobs" (PDF) and talk to your international student advisor at your host institution.
  

Housing and Your Mailing Address

Local newspapers, websites such as apartmentservices.nl, craigslist.org or viavia.nl, and your host university's international office can serve as excellent resources when searching for off-campus or on-campus housing.

Make sure your mailbox at your home, dormitory, or residence hall indicates your full name (first and all surnames), since some postal carriers in the Netherlands may not be accustomed to multiple surnames.

The Netherlands Post Office may provide a mail redirection service if you move while in your host country. This is generally done by filling out a mail redirection form and there is sometimes a small fee for the forwarding service. Visit the Netherlands Post Office website to find the nearest post office to your place of residence.

Shipping

When preparing to leave, you will probably find that you will need to send some of your belongings home. Visit the local Post Office, which offers a reasonable international shipping service called "Worldpack Special," or check with your international student office at your host institution to see if they have any information about other reliable shipping companies.

Please note that the external websites listed above are not maintained by LASPAU, and LASPAU is not responsible for any of their contents. Please let us know if you find other online resources that might be helpful to international students in the Netherlands.

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