Other guides for similar situations:  

• Guide for leaving AUC because you are graduating
• [forthcoming] Guide for leaving AUC with an intention to come back (leave of absence)
• [forthcoming] Guide for leaving AUC as an exchange student

1. Talk to your tutor and inform AUC

1.1 Meet your tutor

If you decide to stop your studies and leave AUC, then the first step you should take is meet with your tutor who can guide you through this difficult decision. Your tutor will also be able to explain the exact procedure to you. 

1.2 Fill in withdrawal form to inform AUC 

When you are certain that you wish to stop your studies, and have discussed this with your tutor, you are asked to fill in the AUC withdrawal form. in the Digital AUC Servicedesk.  The form itself does not terminate your enrolment, but serves as an extra check for your tutor, and confirms to the AUC administration that you are actually intending to leave. Your tutor signs off on the form and it is then forwarded to the registrar's office and Senior Tutor. In some exceptional cases, the Senior Tutor may wish to discuss your situation with you. 

Once you have informed AUC that you intend to stop your studies, you will have to take two next important steps of formally terminating your university enrolment (in Studielink) and contacting DUWO to terminate your housing contract. For privacy and identity reasons, these steps can only be completed by yourself. 

2. Terminating your enrolment through Studielink

2.1 Put in a request to terminate your enrolment through Studielink

Enrolment in a Bachelor's degree programme can be terminated via Studielink.. This requires your DigiD.

• Go to 'My study programmes' in Studielink.
• Click on the study programme for which you want to end your enrolment.
• Select the option 'request to terminate enrolment' and follow the steps.

A step-by-step plan for terminating your enrolment through Studielink can be found here.

2.2 UvA or VU processes the request

After requesting to terminate your enrolment in Studielink , the UvA or VU (depending on whether you are a UvA-first or VU-first student) will terminate your enrolment on the last day of the month in which you wish to end enrolment, and per the first of the next month you will no longer be enrolled. If you submit your request after 31 May, your enrolment will not be terminated until 31 August because is too close to the end of the semester already. Enrolment termination with retroactive effect is not possible.

Please note that from 2024-2025 onwards, all AUC students are UvA-first and all withdrawals will be processed by the UvA.

After your last day of enrolment you are no longer a student, and you may no longer make use of the AUC/UvA/VU's educational facilities, and you may no longer have any achieved credits registered. Make sure you do not terminate your enrolment before all your grades have been registered, as it will not be possible to enter grades after you are no longer an enrolled student. From the moment  that your enrolment is terminated you have one month's legal notice to end your tenancy agreement and move out of the dorms. 

FAQ: Will I be refunded any tuition fees?

Tuition fees are refunded for the months in which you are not enrolled. Exception: If your enrolment termination date falls on 30 June, 31 July or 31 August, you will not be entitled to a refund of the tuition fees.

For questions about enrolment termination you can also contact the UvA or VU Central Student Service Desk.

2.2 De-registering from courses

After filling in the withdrawal form in the AUC Digital Service Desk , the registrar will automatically deregister you from your courses. You nonetheless may wish to inform your lecturers yourself that you will no longer be attending. 

2.3 Tuition fee reimbursement: UvA-first

If you terminate your enrolment, you are entitled to a (partial) refund of your tuition fees for the months that you are not enrolled. As an UvA-first student, you have to arrange the payment of tuition fees for the whole academic year at the start of that year. If you are only enroled for a part of that academic year, you will only have to pay for the months that you were actually enrolled. If you pay tuition fees in instalments, the UvA will cancel the monthly collections after termination of your enrolment has been processed. In case you have paid more tuition fees than necessary, you will receive a refund as well. If you leave AUC during the month, your enrolment will be terminated per the first of the next month. Your termination date is then the last day of the month in which you de-enrolled.

Example : You quit AUC on 21 November. Your termination date is 30 November and your enrollment is terminated per 1 December . You will receive a refund for the remaining months starting with December.
Exceptions: If your enrollment termination date falls on 30 June, 31 July or 31 August, you will not be entitled to a refund of the tuition fees.

Note:

• Enrolment termination by retroactive effect is not possible
• The rules for UvA and VU are very similar and the main difference is in the wording on their websites.

2.4 Tuition fee reimbursement: VU-first

If you terminate your enrolment, you are entitled to a (partial) refund of your tuition fees for the months you are not enrolled. As a VU-first student, you have to arrange the payment of tuition fees for the whole academic year at the start of that year. If you are only enrolled for part of that academic year, you will only have to pay for the months you were actually enrolled. The VU has the following rules for restitution of tuition fees:

• If you’ve payed your tuition fees in advance (either in full or through partial instalments), you will be refunded for the months you weren’t enrolled in 2 to 3 weeks. This will happen automatically when terminating your enrolment in Studielink.
• The restitution is calculated through 1/12 of the full tuition fees. So, you’ll be refunded for each month that you are no longer enrolled starting from the first full month after you terminated your enrolment).
• If you terminate your enrolment on or after 1 June, your tuition fees for June, July, and August will not be refunded.

Note:

• Enrolment termination by retroactive effect is not possible
• The rules for UvA and VU are very similar and the main difference is in the wording on their websites. 

3. Ending your housing contract with DUWO

3.1 Contact DUWO through the DUWO contact form to request to cancel your housing contract
As soon as you have submitted your enrolment termination request in Studielink, you must also contact DUWO to confirm the termination of your housing contract. This can best be done by logging in to your DUWO account, and using their contact form. The contact form is personalised and connects you through to the right person in the DUWO office. Taking into account the legal one-month notice, you will be able to end your housing contract per the last day of the month that follows your enrolment end date.  

3.2. DUWO confirms with AUC that you are no longer a student and formally ends your contract
After you have contacted DUWO, DUWO will check if you have any outstanding administration issues, and they will contact AUC to confirm that you are intending to terminate your studies and leave AUC. Once AUC confirms, DUWO will end your housing contract with one month's notice and will inform you of the practicalities of moving out. 

3.2 FAQ: Moving out earlier or later than one month's notice
When you are no longer an AUC student, you no longer fall under the residential requirement of AUC. You can only terminate your housing contract (tenancy agreement) with one month’s notice from the moment that you are no longer a student. During the month that you are no longer a student, but still have a housing contract, you may of course continue to live in the dorms. Ending your tenancy agreement sooner than the one month’s notice is not possible. Naturally, you are free to move out whenever you want, but you will still have to pay rent as long as you have a housing contract.

Should you need more time to move out for any reason, then you may always contact AUC’s Student Life Officer for a housing contract extension arrangement.  DUWO and AUC understand there may be circumstances that prevent students from moving out rapidly, and the Student Life Officer can ask DUWO for a personal arrangement. Your case will be treated confidentially by the Student Life Officer and will not be shared with DUWO.  

4. Residence permit/visa

4.1 Leaving the Netherlands

As a non-EU/ EEA student, terminating your enrolment means your residence permit will expire per the official date of that you terminate your enrolment from the university (when you are no longer officially a student). By terminate your enrolment, UvA/VU are legally required to inform the IND and stop your residence permit. You are then required to leave the Netherlands within 28 days. 

N.B. If you decide to terminate your enrolment after 31 May this will not be processed until 31 August. 

When leaving the Netherlands make sure you:

• Deregister from the municipality
• Pay any outstanding bills
• Cancel your Dutch health insurance or other local insurances if you have them
• Close your Dutch bank account

For more information on residence permits visit the UvA website.

4.2. Staying in the Netherlands

EU/EEA students can stay in the Netherlands without restrictions.

If you are a non-EU/EEA student and your residence permit will be withdrawn but you wish to remain in the Netherlands, you will have to apply for another residence permit or another type of visa. More information on extending your residence permit can be found through the IND or here. If you switch to another study programme within the Netherlands, then your new host university will also be able to offer you a new residence permit.

5. Leaving the dorms

5.1. Moving out

Once DUWO terminates your tenancy agreement, you will receive an email from DUWO with all the details regarding moving out. This will include the exact date you have to move out and how to return your keys. If you’re leaving without graduating, you will first have to wait to receive the official end date of your studies. Once you know this date, you must contact DUWO to request a termination of your tenancy agreement. If you’d like to get in contact with your future tenant, you can send DUWO an email asking them to send your contact details to the future tenant. You are allowed to leave behind furniture or painted walls as long as this is discussed with your future tenant. More details about this are enclosed in the email you will receive from DUWO.

For more information on leaving your room visit the DUWO website.

5.2 Change your address or deregister from the municipality

If you’re moving out of the dorms and thus changing address, you are required by law to de-register from your address in the dorms at the municipality of Amsterdam. Please consider the following scenarios:

• If you have a new address in Amsterdam, you have to inform the municipality of your new address. You can do this online using DigiD or by visiting the municipality office (stadsloket). The closest one to AUC is located in Oostpoort.
• If you have a new address somewhere else in the Netherlands, you will have to register at your new municipality (either online, through mail or in person). This will automatically de-register you from the municipality of Amsterdam.
• If you are leaving the Netherlands, you will need to de-register from the municipality of Amsterdam (online, mail, or in person). You can find more information on how to to this via the City of Amsterdam website here.

Note: Make sure to change your address in Studielink if you are enrolled in a programme that uses Studielink.

5.3 Rent and health benefit (huur-/zorgtoeslag)

If you receive rent benefits and are leaving the dorms, you will need to notify the tax office (belastingdienst) to let them know that you are moving out. You can do this by going to Mijn Toeslagen on their website. Fill out the exact date you are moving out to make sure you receive all the benefit you’re entitled to. Make sure you do this on time (preferably 2 months in advance) to ensure it will be processed on time and that you won’t receive any benefits that you are not actually entitled to. If you receive rent benefits when you are no longer entitled to it, you will have to pay everything you have mistakenly received back.

If you receive a health insurance benefit and are cancelling your insurance because you are leaving the country, you will also have to notify the tax office (belastingdienst) of this in Mijn Toeslagen. If you start working after leaving AUC, you need to notify the tax office of your new income and check whether you are still eligible for health insurance benefits. Even if you are still eligible for the health insurance benefit, you will need to inform the tax office of your new income in Mijn Toeslagen on their website.

Note: The tax office (belastingdienst) website is only in Dutch. If you don’t speak Dutch, you can contact the Peer Supporters about helping you. 

5.4 Checklist for leaving your room

When you leave, DUWO expects you to leave your room in a hygienic state (room, bathroom/toilet, kitchen and common room facilities). This means that it must be thoroughly cleaned. You will receive an email from DUWO with a checklist for how to leave your room once your contract is terminated.

5.5 Returning your keys

You must hand in your keys of your room before 10.00 on the day of your departure. You can return them to the DUWO mailbox at Carolina Macgillavrylaan 794A. Put your key(s) in an envelope and write your address on the envelope or attach an address label to the key(s). In some cases, you can give your keys to the new tenant of the room and DUWO will inform you if that is a possibility.

6. Other things to consider

6.1 Canvas and student email

After leaving AUC, your UvA and VU accounts will only stay valid for a limited time. Make sure to download anything from Canvas you’d like to use in the future.  Also make sure to change your email address if you are using your student email on any platforms such as Studielink or social media.

 6.2 DUO grant, loan or student OV card

If you have a loan or student OV card from DUO and you leave AUC (whether because of graduation or other reasons), you need to stop your student loan from DUO yourself. If you do this too late, you will need to pay back the money (and costs of the OV card) for the months that you were not officially enrolled.

For more information on terminating your DUO finances visit the DUO website.