There are many restaurants, cafes, stores, bars, etc. that offer students discounts on their products. These vary from city to city however so be sure to keep your eyes and ears open to find out about the best deals where you live. You can also make an International Student Identity Card which will give you discounts internationally at many different establishments. You can find out where in your area by clicking on the 'discounts' tab and searching for your location.
Some schools provide you with a list of the businesses in town that have student discounts, but these aren’t necessarily exhaustive. The best way to find out about discounts and deals is through word of mouth and by being socially involved in your community. If you get involved in student societies such as your local ESN network, you can also find out about student deals and discounts and will also be able to attend the frequent drink events or borrels they organize that feature cheap drink specials. (You can also go even if you don’t belong to the ESN network, but will have to pay full price for the evening). Be sure to take part in social activities and make new friends while you’re in the Netherlands in order to make the most out of your experience abroad.
Once you’ve applied for and received studiefinanciering (study finance), you are able to apply for an OV-Chipkaart that allows you to travel at a discounted rate or for free using almost all public transport (bus, metro, train, tram, etc.). You can select between either weekday or weekend travel.
This is called a student travel product or 'studentenresiproduct' but unfortunately, the site is currently only available in Dutch. For the most part, all you need to know is that you are able to apply if you’ve already applied for study finance. You also need to log in to your DUO (Mijn DUO) account with your DigiD user name and apply for the card there.
There are different types of OV-chipkaarts available. To apply for the student OV-chipkaart, you must have a personal OV-chipkaart.
You can find out more about the OV-chipkaart and how it works for students, as well as the process of getting one by following the link. (Sorry, currently in Dutch only but we're working on that...).
These guides are never finished.
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