The kinderbijslag (child benefit) is a government allowance towards the expenses of raising a child. You are eligible for this allowance if you live and/or work in the Netherlands (or abroad but employed by a Dutch employer) and have a child or children under 18 years of age. There are no income or asset criteria. The procedure to claim child benefits is:
- Following the registration of your child’s birth at your gemeente (municipality), your data will be forwarded to the Social Security Office (Sociale Verzekeringbank – SVB)
- Within two to four weeks, the SVB will contact you about applying for the child benefit by mail or by submitting your application online using your DigiD (your digital identification code giving access to hundreds of Dutch Government websites).
- After you have requested the child benefit, the SVB will send you its decision, stating the amount you will receive per child and the starting date for your child benefit.
- The amount that you will receive is based upon the age of your child, number of children you have, and whether there are any special needs.
- A quarterly payment is made into your bank account until your child reaches age18. When your child is older than 16, you will only continue receiving the child benefit if he/she goes to school and receives an income of no more than an annually fixed amount.
The child benefit is not exclusively for bringing up and caring of your own children; it also applies to adopted children, foster children, stepchildren or other children you bring up and care for as if they were your own. In this case, you must contact the SVB yourself to ask them to send you an application form. It is the same procedure if you arrive in the Netherlands with children who were born abroad. You can find the forms and further information at: https://www.svb.nl/en/child-benefit.
If your child lives outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland, the amount that you receive for the child benefit may be adjusted to the price level in your child’s country of residence. Should the amount you are receiving be changed, you should receive a letter from the SVB informing you of the new amount.