Netherlands Reverses Course on English-Taught Degree Cuts: What Changed for 2026
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026 • Canadian Universities & Colleges, Canada Higher Ed News & Policy
The Netherlands walked back its plan to force English-taught bachelor's programs into Dutch. On July 3, 2026, Education Minister Eppo Bruins told Parliament the Foreign Language Education Test will not apply to programs already running, so psychology, economics, and business administration degrees keep their English tracks.
📩 Existing English-taught bachelor's programs are safe from the test
New programs still need to show one of four things: a labor shortage link, a shrinking-region need, a genuinely international purpose, or being the only program of its kind offered nationwide
Amended law expected in Parliament by the end of 2026, with room for targeted enrollment caps
Some universities now cap English-track spots inside a program while leaving the Dutch track open
What the Internationalisation in Balance Act tried to do
The Netherlands passed the Internationalisation in Balance Act, known as the WIB, to slow the growth of English-taught degrees at Dutch universities. The law introduced a Foreign Language Education Test, the Toets Anderstalig Onderwijs or TAO, which would have forced universities to prove that teaching a bachelor's program in English, rather than Dutch, was necessary and added measurable value.
Programs that failed the test faced conversion back to Dutch.
Why the Netherlands moved to limit English-taught programs in the first place
Dutch politicians pushed the original policy after years of fast enrollment growth strained student housing in cities such as Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Groningen. Some parties argued that English-taught programs pulled in more students than the country could house and pushed local rents higher for Dutch citizens too. Even with Dutch tuition still affordable by European standards, rising rents are one reason some Canadian applicants weigh the Netherlands against the real cost of a degree in Germany or Switzerland instead.
The 2026 reversal
A new coalition government reversed course. In January 2026 it halted planned funding cuts to education and research, a shift welcomed by university leaders after years of budget pressure.
On July 3, 2026, Education Minister Eppo Bruins told Parliament in writing that the TAO will not apply to programs already running.
The reversal keeps existing English-taught bachelor's programs in psychology, economics, and business administration in English, degrees that were on track to lose their English-taught status under the original law. Universities of the Netherlands , the sector association, called the original test a risk to education, the labor market, and border and shrinking regions.
What still faces limits
The reversal covers existing programs only.
A university that wants to launch a new English-taught bachelor's still needs to show one of four things: the field links to a sector with labor shortages, the program serves a border or shrinking region, the subject is inherently international in nature, or the program is the only one of its kind offered nationwide.
Amended legislation carrying these rules is expected to reach Parliament by the end of 2026, and it includes room for targeted enrollment caps on specific programs rather than blanket language rules.
Several universities already use that kind of targeted cap, and a growing list of Dutch bachelor's programs now cap their English-taught intake this way. A program now splits its intake into an uncapped Dutch track and a separate, capped English track, letting a school limit its international enrollment without converting the whole program to Dutch.
What this means if you are applying to a Dutch bachelor's
Existing popular English-taught programs, including psychology, economics, and business administration at most research universities, stay open in English for your application.
Check the program page for a numerus fixus notice and a track-specific cap before you apply, since a growing number of programs cap the English track while leaving the Dutch track open.
Run through the same checklist you'd use for any English-taught European program before you commit, since admission tests and language rules still vary by country.
What this means for a program you already started or plan to start soon
If you started an English-taught bachelor's program before the reversal, nothing changes for your current enrollment.
If you are choosing a program to start in 2027 or later, ask the admissions office directly whether the university counts it as an existing program or a new one under the amended rules, since a program relaunched under a new name or structure could fall under the stricter new-program test even if it ran in English for years already.
Once you finish, the Dutch orientation year visa gives Canadian graduates a year to look for work without needing a job offer lined up first.