Scholarships for refugees

Target audience

• You have been granted a refugee status in Belgium.
  
• You are 17 to 25 years old, and plan to continue your studies: this means you have finished secondary school, achieved a qualification that allows you to enter higher education, and would like to start Dutch-language higher education.
  OR​
  You are above 25 and plan to continue your studies: this means you have already attained a bachelor’s or master’s degree and would like to continue studying in Dutch-language higher education.
• You are able to attend daytime classes in a full-time study programme.
  
  

Conditions

• You can prove your identity with a valid passport or identity card. Documents, such as an attest van immatriculatie (orange card) or a bijlage 3, 26, etc. will not be accepted as valid proof of identity without a valid passport or identity card
• Refugee status in Belgium: asylum seeker / refugee status / subsidiary protection / displaced persons from Ukraine with temporary protection​
• You have a copy of the degree certificate that gives direct access to higher studies in the country where you obtained your degree (if this document is in a language other than English, Dutch, French or German, you will need to submit a translation of this document into one of these four languages in addition to the original document).
• You have a copy of the original academic transcripts (if this document is in a language other than English, Dutch, French or German, you will need to submit a translation of this document into one of these four languages in addition to the original document).
• A score of at least 40 out of 48 on the COVAAR test for students aged 17-25 who only completed their secondary school (for more information about the COVAAR test, please contact the Agentschap Integratie en Inburgering)
  OR
  A Bachelor or Master degree. 
• Language proficiency: intermediate knowledge of English (CEFR level B1). You can also prove that you have studied English as a foreign language (either as a curricular course, or as an extra-curricular course consisting of at least 50 hours).
  
• Income criterion:You have a total gross family income of less than €3000 per month (or less than € 2000 per month for a single person).You can prove this using a recent document (less than one month old) in one of the following categories:
  • evidence that you receive a replacement income from the social security services (e.g. leefloon, stempelvergoeding, document from payment institution or public centre for social welfare/OCMW, etc.).
  • evidence that you or the person who supports you receive(s) a limited income (e.g. payslip, proof from accountant if self-employed, etc.).
  • If you are cohabiting or married your partner’s income will also be taken into account, so you will have to prove your partner’s replacement income or low income. You should also take proof of your family situation.

Deadlines and other important dates

• Applications will open on 1 May 2026.
• The deadline for submitting your online application is 5 July 2026.
• Your application and your documents are reviewed on 6 July 2026.
• On Friday 10 July 2026 the applicants selected for a written test receive an appointment by E-mail.
• The written test will be held on Tuesday 14 July 2026. The applicants that scored high enough on the written test will receive an appointment for an interview by email.
• The interviews will be held on Wednesday 15 July 2026. The applicants who have not been selected based on the written test and/or the interview are notified about this decision on the same day.
• In the second half of August or early September, an academic committee selects the candidates for the scholarships that are available. The committee also decides upon a list of alternate candidates. You will be notified of the committee’s decision as soon as possible.
• The programme starts with a welcome week on 14 September 2026 and ends on 30 June 2027.

How to apply

• You can apply for a scholarship by completing the online application form below (available and visible from 1 May 2026 until 5 July 2026).
• Important: Please be aware that a submitted application needs to be complete before the application deadline. An application will be evaluated on the predetermined date (see deadlines). If one or more documents are missing, the application will be rejected; you will not have the opportunity to add missing documents after the application deadline has passed.

Target audience

• You have been granted a refugee status in Belgium.
• You have already started or obtained a bachelor's or master's degree in a field related to the metal and technology industry (see example list in our FAQ) and plan to continue, complete or further your studies in this field in a Dutch taught programme.
  OR​
  You hold a bachelor's or master's degree in a field related to the metal and technology industry and want to improve your Dutch language skills in order to qualify for a job at the BA-/MA-level in the metal and technology indistry (see example list in our FAQ).
  OR
  You have a secondary school degree with school subjects related metal and technology industry (see example list in our FAQ) and you plan to study at a Flemish university or ‘hogeschool’ in this field in a Dutch taught programme.
• You are able to attend classes in a full-time or half-time study programme during the day or, if you have previous knowledge in Dutch, in an intensive evening programme.

Conditions

• You can prove your identity with a valid passport or identity card. Documents, such as an attest van immatriculatie (orange card) or a bijlage 3, 26, etc. will not be accepted as valid proof of identity without a valid passport or identity card
• Refugee status in Belgium: asylum seeker / refugee status / subsidiary protection / displaced persons from Ukraine with temporary protection​
• You have a copy of the degree certificate that gives direct access to higher studies in the country where you obtained your degree (if this document is in a language other than English, Dutch, French or German, you will need to submit a translation of this document into one of these four languages in addition to the original document).
• You have a copy of the original academic transcripts (if this document is in a language other than English, Dutch, French or German, you will need to submit a translation of this document into one of these four languages in addition to the original document).
  
• Language proficiency: intermediate knowledge of English (CEFR level B1). You can also prove that you have studied English as a foreign language (either as a curricular course, or as an extra-curricular course consisting of at least 50 hours).

Deadlines and other important dates

• Applications will open in the 1st half of May 2026.
• The deadline for submitting your online application is 5 July 2026.
• Your application and your documents are reviewed on 6 July 2026.
• On Friday 10 July 2026 the applicants selected for a written test receive an appointment by E-mail.
• The written test will be held on Tuesday 14 July 2026. The applicants that scored high enough on the written test will receive an appointment for an interview by email.
• The interviews will be held on Friday 17 July 2026. The applicants who have not been selected based on the written test and/or the interview are notified about this decision on the same day.
• In the second half of August or early September, a special committee selects the candidates for the scholarships that are available. The committee also decides upon a list of alternate candidates. You will be notified of the committee’s decision as soon as possible.
  

How to apply

• You can apply for a scholarship by completing the online application form below (available and visible from the 1st half of May 2026 until 5 July 2026).
• In order to demonstrate your motivation, you will be asked to answer the following questions:

  • Which programme do you want to enter? At which university or university of applied science (‘hogeschool’)? Describe why that programme interests you and why you chose it over others.  (Maximum 150 words)
    OR 
    What job(s) in the mtech⁺ sector do you want to do? How do you know you need to improve your Dutch language skills in order to qualify for the job(s)?  (Maximum 150 words)  

  • Tell us about a specific past experience that demonstrates the qualities and skills you think are most useful to acquire the Dutch language in an efficient way at a rapid pace. (Maximum 100 words)

  • What makes you a strong candidate for this scholarship? Give one or two specific examples of skills related to the mtech⁺ sector. (Maximum 100 words)

• Important: Please be aware that a submitted application needs to be complete before the application deadline. An application will be evaluated on the predetermined date (see deadlines). If one or more documents are missing, the application will be rejected; you will not have the opportunity to add missing documents after the application deadline has passed.