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Statute of limitations for foreign claims

November 7, 2016 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Stefan Steininger

My son studied Business Administration in Amsterdam until 2008 and also received study financing there.

Now, to his complete surprise, repayment is being demanded from him.

It turns out that all previous letters requesting repayment of the study financing were addressed to his old address in Amsterdam, so he never received them. He has only now become aware of them through copies.

My primary question now:

I. Is this repayment demand subject to Dutch or German (enforcement and statute of limitations) law?

If German law applies, the following additional questions are unnecessary.

If Dutch law applies, a few more details:

Repayment was requested with a letter from 2010. The repayment installments were supposed to start from January 1, 2011.

II. Has the repayment claim already arisen in 2010 or only with the first repayment request in 2011?

Stefan Steininger

Dear inquirer,

The enforceable claim in the Netherlands will be subject to Dutch law.

Therefore, Dutch limitation periods apply.

The limitation period for monetary claims is 5 years.

This period begins from the moment when the claim could first be enforced, which is one day after the payment deadline. So if payments should have been made in 2011, that year is crucial.

Additionally, a specific reminder letter stops the limitation period - unlike in Germany.

Therefore, the initial assessment is against the claim being time-barred.

I hope this information helps you for now.

Best regards.