By Ngoc Thien An Nguyen, youth community journalist, supported by the YoCoJoin partnership.
In September 2024, the newly formed Flemish Government started considering applying a “funding cap” for Flemish universities: funds will stop as soon as students who come from outside the European Economic Area (non-EEA) represent more than 2% of a university’s total student population. This has raised questions about how Belgium can apply the policy without jeopardizing its inclusive and democratic higher education, yet the voices of those directly involved, the non-European students, are still lacking from the discussion. What do they have to say about this new policy, and how can it impact their future lives?
MIGRATION FOR EDUCATION: A GROWING TREND
In the autumn of 2022, 19-year-old A., a student from Armenia, set foot in Brussels for the first time, starting her international student life in the exciting multicultural hub that is proclaimed the capital of Europe. She was ready for a life full of experiences unfamiliar to her homeland, and she was not the only non-European young adult who came to Brussels with a dream.
With over 100,000 students, of which approximately 25% are foreigners, Brussels is the biggest student city in Belgium. This is the home of the most international universities such as the VUB and the KU Leuven Brussels campus.
The migration of foreign students to Belgium started in the early days of the country’s establishment (around 1830). Around the time of the Interbellum, non-European students had started to be represented and increased significantly during the period 1994-2011.
1. Stock of international students in Flemish universities by citizenship, 1999-2011 (without doctoral students) – EMN Study 2012
Belgium’s attitude towards international students was rather ambiguous, especially during economic crises and waves of nationalization: they expected to embrace internationality but were intimidated by foreigners’ competition in the employment market. Due to objection, non-European students have to satisfy higher requirements, like proving solvability and paying higher tuition fee, to enter Belgium. They are often not eligible for some benefits Belgian or European students have. Nevertheless, this cannot stop or reduce the growth of the international student population. To promote the massification and democratization of higher education, the benefits that non-European students have in Belgium are comparatively better than several other well-known destinations for international students.
Interviews with A. and other non-European students revealed that Belgium, and Brussels or Flanders in particular, is chosen mainly thanks to affordable tuition fees, the quality of education and multiculturalism. The most important is financially related.
C., a Vietnamese student, shared about her decision, “At first, I thought of studying in Canada, but it was impossible to afford all 4 years of tuition fees there with my financial abilities. Then I found Belgium whose education had a good ranking and the tuition fee was rather affordable. It was cheaper than in the Netherlands. In Germany, you have to be fluent in German to have affordable or free education.”
A lot of non-European students come to Belgium not only with studying in mind but also a plan for permanent settlement. Those who study natural science ,like D., a Colombian student who just got her Master’s degree in Marine Science and Management, see Belgium as providing more career opportunities than their developing home country, “I want to stay and work in Belgium, as Colombia is not a good place to find work in the field I study.”
The availability of English-taught programmes in Flemish universities also made higher education here more attractive. In Brussels, English has become more widely known, making languages less of a struggle.
BRUSSELS STUDENT LIFE THROUGH THE LENS OF NON-EUROPEANS
However, choosing a life in Brussels as a non-European student means bracing for multiple challenges. As for A., it started when her region in Armenia was no longer recognized by the government, making all her identity papers invalid and her financial situation seriously unstable. Following her story, typical obstacles that non-European students are no strangers to unravel.
Complicated registration: held back from the very first step
Right at the moment students start applying for their legal stay in Brussels, obstacles appear. The process, especially for the first registration, is usually time-consuming, with multiple visits and long waiting times for response. Delays in receiving a residence permit often lead to continuous delays in opening a Belgian bank account or looking for a part-time job. Even more serious, student visas can expire before the process is finished. At the time of the interview, A. was still waiting for her residence permit, which had already taken around 2 months.
Furthermore, the 19 different municipalities in Brussels have different procedures and many hardly, if at all, provide services in English. B., a Kazakhstani student, often found herself in this situation whenever she had to come in contact with the municipal office. “This year, I moved from Brussels centre to another municipality, so I needed to change my address. But when I went to the municipality office and asked stuffs, they didn’t understand English, and I also didn’t understand what they were saying. Maybe in the (city) centre, people know English, but in other municipalities, it was mostly fully French-speaking”, B. said.
Grappling with financial burdens
Although tuition fees are comparatively more affordable, an annual proof of solvability is not easy. Its two most common forms are opening a blocked account and having a guarantor. Scholarships or grants are rarely an option, as they are limited and usually have specific nationality requirements.
The blocked account contains a deposit that covers 12 months of living, excluding tuition fees. On the other hand, the guarantor sponsors the student and, thus, has to prove sufficient income.
When there’s no relative or acquaintance who has enough income to be a guarantor, students resort to finding guarantors-in-paper, who provide solvency papers but not actual financial support. Students, then, shoulder their own burden. This was A.’s situation after the political chaos came to her hometown, “I lost a scholarship I received the past 2 years that covered the blocked account money. My family has lost their jobs, so I decided to take all the responsibility on myself. I found a wealthy Armenian man to be my guarantor. I didn’t know him, he was just a connection from somebody, who helped me sign the papers. Before, I also reached out to some Belgians and Europeans, and they wanted to help but refused because, like, what if I become paralyzed, what if I can’t pay my rent, they didn’t want the responsibility.”
While the blocked account is easy to open, it can take up a whole year of the family’s savings all at once. To prepare for the coming year, most students try to help their families with student jobs. In 2024, the required deposit for solvability has increased from 11,400 EUR to 12,000 EUR for a year. This, together with the increase in tuition fees, electricity bills and housing rent, has put more weight on students’ shoulders.
With the new policy, universities have to decide between increasing admission requirements and increasing tuition fees for non-Europeans. Either way, it means the access to Belgian higher education will be much more restricted, and students are increasingly plagued with financial insecurity.
After hearing about the policy, R., a 21-year-old Burmese student, said with a heavy sigh, “Because there is a civil war in Myanmar, it’s very hard for my family to send money, so I have to find the money myself. I have a part-time job. I tried applying for scholarships and grants, but later, I found out that there are different requirements, like you cannot be an international student. I feel scared because I’m really on edge right now. If it ever gets more expensive, I might have to go back to my country because I feel like the part-time job does not cover everything.”
International student life: an unimaginable Work – Life – Study Balance
Like other students, A. started a part-time job to somehow pay for her daily expenses. In Belgium, students work under a “student contract”, which allows them a package of 600 hours working with low social security contribution (2023 – 2024). As soon as students go over the 600-hour quota, they are required to also pay the usual tax rate of about 13%. To sustain their studies, some students decide to exceed their quota and work an equivalent of a full-time job while still pursuing their full-time studies.
“I think it is possible to afford a job. Try to save and anybody can do it. But honestly, it depends on your job. Mine is good, and I increase my hours: I work like 30-40 hours a week,” said G., an Iranian Master’s student around the age of 30, who was still diligently washing and wiping dishes during her interview.
From 2025, the quota returns to the pre-2023 period, which is only 475 hours. This is a small problem for some, but an alarm rings for others who are struggling more financially. M., a 29-year-old Tunisian student handling almost every payment herself, expressed with a sigh, “I was very frustrated…about not having 600 hours. You actually need the money, you need to live on.”
“It does stress me out a little because if you split those hours for 12 months, I think it comes out to less than 600 EUR a month, and that is not possible to live on if you’re paying by yourself rent, tuition, food. And Belgium has such a big problem with under-the-table working. It’s not like if you cut hours, people are going to work less. They’ll just find other ways to make money, and then that’s when you have bigger problems,” said I., an American student.
By recklessly working, students also run the risk of being unreliable employees. While some employers are fine with paying taxes for student employees, those unwilling to pay can opt for an easier decision – to terminate the contract and fire them. Otherwise, they may keep the students working illegally: overnight shifts, harassment, untransparent working contracts, and insufficient salary. “For example, what they can do is that they will make fake papers. When the police come, they show the fake ones. Those will have fewer hours; you could work for 30 hours, but then they only file 13 or 10. Because you only work legally for 10-13 hours, they pay for these hours via banks, and the rest is paid in cash,” said O., a Nepalese student.
D., a Colombian student, recalled, “Before my current job, I used to work at a bar, and I had to work until 3-4 A.M. until I was tired of not feeling my own feet and of hearing men casually hitting on me thinking Colombian girls were all easy. And on top of that, I never received enough salary. There was no clear payslip, and the manager gave no response to it. I had no choice because I needed money, but then I quit after a few months.”
Randstad, an agency that provides work opportunities and has conducted surveys on working students in Belgium, objects to the over-600-hour idea. As reported by the Brussels Times, Wim Van der Linden, Randstad’s spokesperson, said, “The question arises whether this is desirable, as studies should obviously still be given priority”. However, non-European students do consider it a choice, as student jobs are necessary to afford life, even at the expense of their study performance. It will only be more so with the increasing fees.
How have universities helped?
Help has been offered in multiple ways by universities, either in-person or online. For example, according to B., a current student from KU Leuven, the university provides online Faculty Academic Advisors who receive any questions and transfer them to the right staff for answers. D., a former student at KU Leuven, also shared that the university offers first-year students some practice sessions instructed by seniors.
Steven Verhulst, coordinator at the VUB International Relations Office Welcome Desk, is in charge of first-line support for international students. According to him, the office tries to tend to all inquiries coming from students every day. They have more than 5,000 office visitors every year and also offer help via email or phone. The staff try to respond to all incoming emails within one day and provide support in a timely manner. Seminars, info-sessions, guidebooks, and an information-rich website are very helpful sources for newcoming students.
Students who were interviewed still expressed their need for more personalized advice, including about studying and mental health. Regarding their experience with advisory departments from universities, some felt satisfied, while others believed the advice was “too general”. These are mainly caused by cultural differences. Non-European students are striving harder to keep up with their European peers in an unfamiliar education system. With different mentalities, it is more difficult for them to be understood.
Verhulst also shared about the new personalized help the VUB International Relations Office are trying to offer. They have recruited some international students to join the office and assist their fellow students in their own language. Special help is also needed in exceptional cases. A., who recently started her new year in VUB, talked about her own application process, “When I applied to VUB, there was a problem with my secondary education certificate. As where I come from doesn’t ‘exist’ anymore, my school and I don’t ‘exist’, and there’s no way to prove that this person graduated from this school. It took a lot of emails and time to convince them (the university) to make an exception for me”.
Yet, it has to be acknowledged that an important condition to ensure effective help from universities is sufficient funds.
Funding under pressure: what does this mean for universities?
In recent years, higher education in Flanders is receiving less and less governmental support, specifically the underfunding situation called out by the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR). Because of structural measures and cuts from the government since 2008, 350 million euros less was funded in 2022.
“Because of the systematic lack of resources, universities have to make savings and postpone necessary renovations and investments in teaching and research infrastructure. There are not enough staff to adequately guide the growing number of students in their studies. This affects the quality of research and teaching. And therefore, also on the development opportunities of students and their future. At the same time, students foot the bill via rising tuition fees and increasingly expensive student facilities (study materials, restaurant meals, accommodation, etc.). Thus, a lot of students drop out for financial reasons.”
Above is an excerpt from the VUB Student Council’s Open letter addressing the implications of the underfunding situation the past few years.
The new funding policy can put more pressure on universities, as it means that they may lose millions of euros more. The policy applies a threshold of 2% representation in the total student population, while in universities like the VUB or KU Leuven, non-European students at the time have already occupied more than 7%.
3. VUB Facts and Figures 2022-2023
The major reason for the new funding policy is to prioritize Flemish students and prevent the “de-Dutchification” of universities. The concern appeared as Flemish universities increasingly welcomed international students and English-taught programmes grew more popular. In February 2024, tensions already occurred when the government refused 10 applications for the opening of new English-taught master’s degrees in the VUB, KU Leuven and UGent. To have a more detailed understanding of the government’s decisions, I tried several times to contact Zuhal Demir, the Flemish Minister of Education from the NVA, the Flemish nationalist and conservative political party. However, the Minister was not available to provide more information.
On the contrary, universities consider the rise of international students a huge success. It is important to attract prospective talents and for universities to retain top rankings. In an interview with the Belga News Agency as reported by the Brussels Times, Jan Danckaert, the VUB rector and chairman of VLIR, claimed, “A university, by definition, should have an international outlook. The word ‘universe’ is embedded in ‘university.’”
When famously international universities in Belgium have to curb internationalization, it poses a question of whether this democratic and inclusive nature of the Belgian education system could remain.
The possibility of Belgium losing the interest of talents for both the academic sphere and the labour market was also raised. Jan Danckaert expressed, “It is contradictory that our companies need to attract more highly educated workers from abroad, particularly in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), yet our universities are restricted from educating them here.”
BELGIAN INTERNATIONALITY: WHAT IS WAITING AHEAD?
According to research, objections against non-European students or international students in general have taken place multiple times, yet it could never put the internationalization process at risk. Internationality has become an indispensable and almost unstoppable part of the globalizing world today. We cannot help but ask: is the policy the best way to curb internationality and uphold the “Flemish character” of universities? Is there an alternative to balance between Flemish and international students but still embrace democracy and quality of education?
Currently, Flemish universities are working together to negotiate about the policy and results have not been announced. Meanwhile, students are still doing their best to push forward and pursue education without giving up. As for A., she got her first support from the university and a scholarship from an Armenian foundation that helped cover her tuition. Not losing the determination, she was ready to navigate herself through the rest of the hardships ahead to sustain her Brussels life, believing “it will be alright”.
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Disclaimer:
Names and private information are not revealed at the request of students in the interviews.
This article is produced by a youth community journalist, supported by the YoCoJoin partnership. YoCoJoin received EU funding from Creative Europe.
