The financial situation for Spanish students looking to study in the United Kingdom will change from 2021 unless a new arrangement is negotiated. Currently it is expected that Spanish students as well as all EU nationals (except Irish) will be treated in the same way as international students. While we hope that no one chooses an education based solely on cost, we are realistic enough to know that this is sufficient motivation for many Spanish students to consider Dutch higher education.
For students starting in 2020 there will be no change for the duration of their studies and the following table gives an indication of the relative costs for Spanish students in England and The Netherlands.
| Amount per year | UK (England) | Netherlands |
| Tuition fees | €10,250 | €2,134 |
| Living costs | €10,500 | €10,000 |
| Total cost | €20,750 | €12,134 |
| Available loan | -€10,250 | -€2,134 |
| Required investment | €10,500 | €10,000 |
In all examples on this page Required Investment refers to the amount per year that students or their families must find from their own resources.
While studying at a university in England or The Netherlands will require a Spanish student to find a similar amount of money from their own resources (roughly €30,000 for a 3-year Bachelor’s degree) there is a significant difference in the amount of debt that the student would have to repay upon graduation.
From 2021 it is harder to generalise because every degree programme in the UK can have different tuition fees for international students. However, not only the fees will change. There will also no longer be access to student loans for Spanish students. Below we offer relative comparisons for four specific degree programmes, as well as one example from Scotland, to give an indication of the impact of these changes. We have used UK fees for the 2020/21 academic year because the exact costs for 2021/22 are not yet known.
We have made a comparison between British and Dutch universities of similar reputation and quality although any comparison can only be for illustration purposes and is not entirely reliable. However, every comparison will reveal that in the Netherlands the tuition fees will usually be exactly the same for every degree programme. The living costs used in these illustrations are taken directly from the named university’s own website where possible. In the 2020/21 example above we used an average calculation.
Business Management
| Amount per year | BA (Hons) Lancaster University | BA University of Groningen |
| Tuition fees | €21,420 (£19,474) | €2,168 |
| Living costs | €10,150 (£9,240) | €10,000 |
| Total cost | €31,570 | €12,168 |
| Available loan | -€0 | -€2,168 |
| Required investment | €31,570 | €10,000 |
| Amount per year | BA (Hons) University of Portsmouth | BBA Amsterdam School of International Business |
| Tuition fees | €15,730 (£14,300) | €2,168 |
| Living costs | €10,000 (£9,160) | €12,000 |
| Total cost | €26,230 | €14,168 |
| Available loan | -€0 | -€2,168 |
| Required investment | €25,730 | €12,000 |
| Amount per year | BA (Hons) University of Glasgow | BA University of Groningen |
| Tuition fees | €20,200 (£18,370) | €2,168 |
| Living costs | €14,300 (£13,000) | €10,000 |
| Total cost | €34,500 | €12,168 |
| Available loan | -€0 | -€2,168 |
| Required investment | €34,500 | €10,000 |
Mechanical Engineering
| Amount per year | BEng University of Manchester | BSc University of Twente |
| Tuition fees | €26,400 (£24,000) | €2,168 |
| Living costs | €10,500 (£9,580) | €10,000 |
| Total cost | €36,900 | €12,168 |
| Available loan | -€0 | -€2,168 |
| Required investment | €36,900 | €10,000 |
| Amount per year | BEng University West of England | BEng Hanze University of Applied Sciences |
| Tuition fees | €14,850 (£13,500) | €2,168 |
| Living costs | €11,330 (£10,300) | €10,000 |
| Total cost | €26,180 | €12,168 |
| Available loan | -€0 | -€2,168 |
| Required investment | €26,180 | €10,000 |