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Exemptions

Find out whether you are entitled to a exemption from some or all your exams for 21+-entrance.

Signing up for the 21+ entrance examination in the 2023-2024 academic year is no longer possible. Registration for 2024-2025 opens on 1 October 2024.

Is complete exemption possible?

If you have senior general education (HAVO) or pre-university education (VWO) modular certificates for all components and you meet the age requirement, you can request complete exemption from the 21+-entrance examination. In that case, you only need to pay a €50,- administration fee.

Download the application form

How can I request exemptions?

Exemptions are only possible if you have a senior general secondary education (HAVO) or pre-university education (VWO) modular certificate for the subject being tested. You can request exemption by sending a certified copy of this modular certificate and your list of final marks together with your registration. These documents must be uploaded together with your digital registration form.

A State Exam Dutch as a Second Language (NT2) Programme II certificate (= all four components have been passed) provides exemption from the 21+-entrance examination for the language test Dutch. Student Affairs will decide whether the evidence suffices.

With one of the following certificates you can get exemption for the language test English:

  • IELTS: Tst score 6,0 or higher (subscores can not be lower than a 5,5)
  • TOEFL: iBT 80 (subscores can not be lower than 20 / paper based: 550)
  • TOEIC: LR670+SW290
  • Cambridge ESOL CAE-C: Cambridge (FCE) scores level B: 173-175. Cambridge (FCE) level C: 169-172

The following certificates may not be older than two years:

  • IELTS
  • TOEFL
  • TOEIC

I have a disability. Will the AUAS accommodate this condition?

If you have a disability such as dyslexia, dyscalculia of ADHD, you may be eligible for an examination time limit extension. Send a copy of statement by a registered professional, perhaps including a report, attached to the digital registration form. You will receive notice whether you are or if you are not awarded an examination time limit extension.

If so, this examination time limit extension will amount to 25% with a maximum of 30 minutes.

I don't have to take any subject tests for the 21+-entrance examination, when do I need to take the language test?

  • Do you have an exemption from the subject tests? In that case, you can take the language tests on the test date indicated.
  • Do you need to take multiple subject tests and have you failed to receive an exemption from all of them? In that case, ensure that you have passed all subject tests in order to be allowed to take the language tests.

Are you taking a course with a concluding test that would give you an exemption from the 21+-entrance examination? In that case, you can choose between the following options:

  1. You can decide not to use the option of passing the subject test via the 21+-entrance examination. In that case, you will take the language test(s) on the scheduled date for the language test(s);
  2. You want to use the possibility of creating more chances to pass the subject test; you take the test during the 21+-entrance examination and perhaps also the course’s concluding test.

Please note that if you choose the first option, you need to inform AUAS prior to the registration deadline via toelatingstoets@hva.nl. If you do not get in touch, AUAS will assume that you have chosen the second option.

I would like to enrol in another degree programme. Can I request another Admissibility Statement?

The AUAS 21+-entrance examination which you have passed is for a specific degree programme. The degree programme in which you now would like to enrol is in the same field and has the same admission requirements. Download an application form for this degree programme.

A new Admissibility Admissibility Statement will only be awarded if you have passed the 21+-entrance examination and the newly selected degree Programme has the same admission requirements. 

Your Admissibility Statement must still be valid.

Have you checked the degree programme page for your selected programme to see which components will be tested in the 21+-entrance examination and do you feel that you are eligible for a new declaration.

Please note that the degree programme may have additional requirement. As a result, enrolment is not guaranteed if only the admission requirements for the 21+-entrance examination are identical. An additional procedure could be involved, an intake interview or physical admission requirements. Check whether there are additional admission requirements involved for the degree programme of your choice.

The Admissibility Statement cannot be extended when a new application is submitted. The period of validity of the original declaration will remain unchanged. An Admissibility Statement is valid for two consecutive academic years subsequent to its date of issue. Should your declaration no longer be valid, you will need to resit the 21+-entrance examination.

If you have selected a new degree programme, applying to enrol can take place until 1 January for the February intake and until 1 August for the September intake.

Can I do a 21+-entrance examination for a degree programme with an enrolment quota and a selection procedure?

Yes, you can take the 21+-entrance examination when enrolling in a degree programme with a limited intake capacity.

Consult the Selection page to see which degree programmes at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences have an enrolment quota or selection procedure.

If you apply to enrol in a degree programme with an enrolment quota, participation in the selection procedure is required, in addition to the 21+-entrance examination. The deadline for enrolling in a degree programme with an enrolment quota is 15 January 2023, with application via Studielink; after this date, the selection period commences. Please note that this deadline is different from that for the 21+-entrance examination.