THE HAGUE – Interest rates on Dutch student loans will increase in 2027 for approximately 250,000 former students, including potentially Curaçao residents who financed their studies through the Netherlands’ student loan system.
Former students who are required to repay their loans within 15 years will face an interest rate of 3.28 percent, nearly one percentage point higher than the current rate.
The increase applies to student loans administered by DUO, the Dutch agency responsible for student finance. Curaçao students and former students who obtained Dutch student financing may therefore also be affected.
For borrowers who have 35 years to repay their student debt, the interest rate will rise by 0.37 percentage points to 2.7 percent.
The repayment period depends largely on when the student entered the system. Those who took out student loans before 2015 generally fall under the 15-year repayment system, while students who started later can have up to 35 years to repay their debt and are subject to a different interest rate.
Not every former student will immediately face the new rates. DUO fixes the applicable interest rate for five-year periods after study. The 2027 rates will therefore apply to borrowers whose current five-year fixed-interest period expires and to those who were still receiving student financing this year.
Interest on Dutch student loans remained at zero for several years before increasing again. In January 2023, the rate was set at 0.46 percent, followed by an increase to 2.56 percent a year later.
The Intercity Student Consultation (ISO), a national organization representing students in the Netherlands, described the latest change as a “substantial increase.”
According to ISO, higher interest rates could result in some former students paying thousands of euros more over the lifetime of their loans. The organization argues that borrowers are being made to bear part of the cost of broader economic uncertainty.
The impact on individual borrowers will depend on factors including the size of their outstanding debt, their repayment system and when their five-year interest-rate period is renewed.