Bijstand (social assistance) in the Netherlands: check eligibility and apply

Apply via your municipality and review the risks to your residence.

Apply for algemene bijstand through your gemeente (municipality) if your income and assets are too low. If you are under 27, you usually first search for work or education for 4 weeks. Before applying, check residence risks and other benefits. The standard deadlines are 4 weeks for an advance and 8 weeks for a decision. If food, medicine or shelter is at risk today, contact the municipality today.

Warning

If you have no money for essentials today

Ask the municipality how to record your application today and what emergency or local support is available. Keep proof of the application date. You can request urgent help while the application is assessed. The statutory advance is normally due within 4 weeks.

Eligibility, household circumstances and residence status

Bijstand supports adults in the Netherlands who have too little income to live on. Your municipality tops up eligible household income to the amount set for your situation. The Participatiewet (Participation Act) sets the rules. You must meet all of these Rijksoverheid (Dutch government) eligibility conditions:

• You live in the Netherlands. You are Dutch or have a valid right of residence.
• You are at least 18 and have not yet reached AOW (state pension) age.
• Your household has too little income and too few assets to live on.
• You cannot first use another form of support, such as WW (unemployment benefit) or student finance.
• You are not in prison or pre-trial detention.

At AOW age, ask the SVB (Sociale Verzekeringsbank, the social insurance agency) instead about AIO (aanvullende inkomensvoorziening ouderen, income support for older people).

Partners and other people at your address

Your household affects both whether you qualify and the amount. A spouse or registered partner normally counts as a partner. If you are duurzaam gescheiden (permanently separated), the law treats you as unmarried. For unmarried people, a gezamenlijke huishouding (joint household) normally means sharing your main home and caring for each other. Care can mean contributing to household costs or helping in another way. The same address alone does not settle the test. Describe your living, care and financial arrangements.

When you live in the same main home, certain situations are treated as one joint household without further question. These include a child you have together, one of you legally acknowledging the other's child, or a valid cohabitation agreement that says you both must pay towards the household.

Exceptions include first-degree relatives by blood or marriage, for example a parent and child. They also include an adult former foster child if the parent got foster-care payments or child benefit. A care exception applies when providing or receiving care leads a benefit recipient to live with someone else. It continues as long as that care continues, regardless of whether the two people are related.

Check the table to see if another resident's money is included when deciding whether you are eligible, or if it only changes how the costs are shared.

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Residence consequences before you apply

Bijstand under the Participatiewet is a benefit paid from public funds. The municipality decides if you qualify. The municipality informs the IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, immigration service) about your application. The IND makes a separate assessment of your right of residence. What happens next depends on your permit or your right of residence. An application may cause the IND to decide that your residence ends, but that is not automatic.

If you are a citizen of the EU (European Union), the EEA (European Economic Area) or Switzerland, or a family member of such a citizen, applying for public funds will not bring your permanent residence to an end. Find the row that fits your citizenship or residence status. Provide the IND with the precise purpose of your permit, its expiry date and your residence history.

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If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, or a family member of one, and you do not have permanent residence, the IND tests whether your work is genuine and effective. For 2026, that means you work at least 40% of a standard working week, or you earn at least 50% of the bijstand rate that applies to you. When you still satisfy this work test, your application will not end your residence. If you depend on other resources, ask the IND which income rule applies.

Warning

Residence advice when essentials are at risk

When waiting is safe for you, seek guidance on your permit prior to submitting an application. Should food, medication, or shelter be in jeopardy right now, reach out to the municipality today. Be sure to describe your immediate need and the question about residence. For an IND income requirement, bijstand is not considered independent income.

Even if your hours are under 40% of a normal full-time schedule and your earnings are below 50% of the bijstand rate that applies to you, this does not by itself mean your work is not genuine and effective. IND looks at your situation case by case, and it also considers whether you keep getting paid when you are on holiday or ill.

National bijstand amounts in 2026

The monthly net figures shown here already include holiday allowance. They are for individuals from age 21 until AOW age who have no counted income and no cost-sharing reduction. For couples, the rate covers the two people jointly.

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This base amount, known as the bijstandsnorm (social assistance rate), is what the municipality starts with; after that, it takes income, repayments, or penalties into account. The figures are adjusted on 1 January and 1 July.

Holiday allowance is saved separately

Vakantiegeld (holiday allowance) is part of the norms. Each month, the municipality sets aside 5% of the benefit and normally pays out that saved sum in May. On your benefit statement, look for the regular payment, the holiday-allowance reserve, and any other deductions.

For example, suppose you are single, 30 years old, and eligible for the full July 2026 rate of €1,419.46. You have no counted income and no cost-sharing reduction. The 5% holiday reserve comes to roughly €70.97. That leaves approximately €1,348.49 for the normal monthly transfer, before any other deductions.

People who are 18 to 20 get a lower jongerennorm (youth rate). People who are 21 to 26 use the adult rate, but their application goes through a separate route. At AOW age, people whose income is below the guaranteed minimum can ask the SVB about AIO.

Huurtoeslag, zorgtoeslag and child-related allowances need separate claims. Use the toeslagen (allowances) overview.

The monthly amounts and single-parent rate are confirmed in the Normenbrief 1 juli 2026 (benefit rates letter for 1 July 2026), PDF, 206 KB.

Kostendelersnorm: reductions for shared homes

When adults aged 27 or over share your home, the kostendelersnorm can lower your benefit. The calculation includes you and your partner aged 21 or over, along with housemates who count under this rule. The combined column assumes that everyone counted receives bijstand; it does not promise that everyone qualifies.

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Each recipient gets a percentage of the couple rate.

The following other residents are excluded from the cost-sharing calculation:

• A person under 27.
• Your partner when no other counted person lives at the address.
• A commercial tenant, subtenant, boarder, landlord or sublandlord under a real commercial contract and price.
• A student who qualifies for student finance or a study-cost allowance, or one who is on the beroepsbegeleidende leerweg (BBL, vocational work-and-study route).
• A mantelzorger (informal carer) who temporarily moves in to provide care for an intensive care need under the 2026 rule.

A commercial contract that you make directly with a first- or second-degree relative by blood or marriage does not give this exemption. This covers parents, children, siblings, and grandparents. A separate exemption can apply if both of you have commercial contracts with the same third-party landlord. Keep the written contracts and proof of payment.

Partner and housemate are different tests

A regular housemate's income and assets do not count toward your eligibility, even if that person lowers your benefit. A partner's income and assets do count. Report each resident's age, relationship, contract, and payments. Keep proof of any commercial arrangement.

Income and assets

Your bijstand can be reduced by income, but certain payments are left out. Report the amounts that the application asks for. The municipality applies the rules below.

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Starting 1 January 2027, the 15% youth earnings rule officially takes effect. In 2026, municipalities have the option to apply it early. Before you calculate your payment, check with your municipality to see if they are doing so. The official parliamentary explanation of early adoption explains that option and the possibility of extending it after 1 year.

In certain cases, other types of employment income may be excluded. Make sure to submit your full payslip. You should ask the municipality which exclusion from article 31 of the Participatiewet they applied, and for what period.

Asset limits in 2026

The asset limits below apply to money and property counted under the ordinary asset test. Your main home has a separate rule.

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Bank and savings accounts, cash, investments, valuable items, and a second or holiday home in the Netherlands or abroad all count as regular assets. The municipality will only subtract debts if you can demonstrate that you are required to repay them. Student debt is not deducted. Debts that are not yet due for repayment, like certain family loans, are also not deducted. Never give away or conceal assets in order to qualify. Keep records showing how you spend assets over the limit on necessary living expenses.

For an owner-occupied home, the 2026 equity threshold is €67,500. Equity means the home's value minus any outstanding mortgage. You must live in the home and satisfy the other requirements. If your equity is below the threshold, assistance is provided as a grant. As a rule, you do not need to sell or take out an additional mortgage if your housing costs are similar to suitable rent. If your equity exceeds €67,500, municipal policy determines whether support is available. If it is, the assistance is a loan that must be repaid. The municipality may take security on your home for the loan. These same rules apply to a houseboat or caravan.

Warning

Vehicle asset rules depend on your municipality

How a vehicle is treated as an asset is up to your municipality. According to Rotterdam's bijstand rules for 2026, a motor vehicle valued at more than €2,500 is counted. Rotterdam does not count ordinary household items and urgently needed property, such as a modified car. This threshold is specific to Rotterdam. Be sure to check the rules of your own municipality.

Applications, decisions and advances

1. Look at your municipality's bijstand webpage to find the application form and the list of documents. A valid passport, identity card, residence document, or driving licence are all accepted forms of ID. Find out which bank, housing, household, income, and asset documents are required.

2. Before you apply, if you are younger than 27, look at youth application rules. Once you report, the usual rule is that you look for work or education for 4 weeks. You can apply straight to your municipality, or you can apply through werk.nl (work portal) by using official application routes. Keep the confirmation, the date, the time, and the files you uploaded.

3. Say when your income stopped. If you ask for backdated support for up to 3 months, explain the reason and give evidence. The municipality may approve it, but it does not have to.

4. Answer requests for missing information by the written deadline. If you need more time, ask in writing and keep proof.

These time limits apply to a normal application. Ask your municipality to confirm any extension and the reason in writing.

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Starting 1 January 2026, the minimum advance increased from 90% to 95%. The government application page has not been updated and still shows 90%. Under article 52 of the current Participatiewet, the figure is 95% of the assistance you are expected to receive after counted income.

Warning

An advance is only provisional.

Advances may be subtracted by the municipality from the final award. Should your award be lower, or should your application be rejected, you might need to pay money back. Save the decision about the advance.

Applying when you are younger than 27

When you are under 27, look at the rules below that fit your household and situation.

• As a rule, after you report you must first look for education or work for 4 weeks. Keep the proof that the municipality asks for. If the municipality accepts your evidence of searching and you satisfy every condition, you are entitled to bijstand during the search period.
• You may apply immediately if your spouse, registered partner, or partner who qualifies as part of a joint household is 27 or older. Even then, you must still search during the 4 weeks. A regular housemate who is 27 or older does not end the waiting period.
• Support can be given right away to a vulnerable young person or to someone facing a difficult situation; the municipality makes this decision based on the personal circumstances.
• People aged 18 to 20 get the lower youth rate.
• To work out your payment amount, use the national-rate, cost-sharing and income tables above. If you recently left education that qualified for student finance or a study-cost allowance, the municipality may reduce your rate for as long as 6 months after you left.

Your parents are required to support you until you turn 21. When you are 18 to 20, the municipality has to increase your youth rate if your parents have no means, or if you cannot reasonably enforce your right to maintenance. This can include situations such as parents who have died or a disrupted relationship. Starting in July 2026, the increase is €762.24 each month. The total cannot go above the matching adult rate. The municipality may recover the increase from parents who do not meet their maintenance duty.

Obligations for benefits and changes you must report

Your inlichtingenplicht (information duty) begins at the moment you apply. Work and reintegration duties begin when you report in order to apply, which is before the benefit decision. Any relevant change must be reported as soon as it occurs.

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Exemptions from work obligations

There are exemptions for some work duties. If you are a single parent with full care of a child younger than 5, you can ask for an exemption. You must still take part in employment support, for example language or application training. If you are a single parent with a child under 12, the duty to accept work applies only when childcare is available. The municipality must also verify that your training is sufficient and that you can handle the work. The municipality may give a temporary full or partial exemption when there are compelling reasons, including care duties. Someone who is an informal carer can be temporarily exempt. A person who is permanently and completely unable to work has no work duty, reintegration duty, or counter-performance duty.

Save evidence when you report a change

As soon as a relevant fact changes, use the reporting channel provided by the municipality. Keep the confirmation and any supporting documents, for example a payslip, bank record, or contract. Reporting remains your responsibility, even when your employer, housemate, or another government body is aware of the change.

Should you have received an inburgering (civic integration) letter too, see Who must integrate in the Netherlands? for that separate obligation.

Frequent problems: extra costs, reductions, and refusals

If an unusual necessary cost is too high for you to pay, ask about special assistance. When you get a decision refusing, reducing, or requiring repayment, look at the reasons and the deadline for objection.

Special assistance for additional costs

Bijzondere bijstand is for necessary unusual costs that special circumstances cause, when your income or assets cannot cover them. Algemene bijstand pays for ordinary living costs. The municipality determines whether the costs qualify. Where possible, ask before you commit to the cost. Ask for the local written rule and the evidence that is required.

Repayments, fines, and reductions of benefit

Incorrect or incomplete information may result in a correction that applies retroactively or in the benefit ending. When a breach of your information duty led to an overpayment, the municipality usually has to recover it. Other overpayments may also be recovered. If there are dringende redenen (urgent reasons), the municipality can choose to recover less money or none. The municipality imposes a fine when information was deliberately withheld or made incorrect. It weighs blame, how serious the matter is, and your financial situation. The fine may not be higher than the overpayment. In limited cases, a warning might be given instead.

When there is a work or reintegration breach, the municipality must look at whether you are to blame and at your personal circumstances. If you are not to blame, the municipality may not reduce the benefit. If possible, send evidence about illness, care duties, or accessibility needs before a duty is missed.

Objections and urgent help from the court

1. Look at the decision date, the calculation, the facts, and the bezwaar (objection) instructions. As a rule, you have 6 weeks after the decision was announced in which to object.

2. Submit your objection before the deadline, even if you still need advice. Put your name and address, the date, the decision, your reasons, and your signature. Use the channel that the decision letter names.

3. Include evidence and ask the municipality to confirm that it received your objection. There is no charge to file an objection. A lawyer is not required.

Talk to a sociaal raadsman (social adviser) about free help. If your income and savings meet its conditions, the Juridisch Loket (legal advice service) offers free personal advice.

When your situation is so urgent that you cannot wait for a decision on your objection, you can request a voorlopige voorziening (provisional measure) from the court. An objection or appeal must already be underway.

Warning

Eviction or disconnection of utilities caused by debt

Tell the municipality about the debt crisis and state what the threat is. In a threatening debt situation, such as a risk that you will be evicted or have utilities disconnected because of debt, the first interview must happen within 3 working days. See the debt-help guide for the municipal and court routes. This deadline is separate from bijstand decisions and advances.

Checklist for your application

1. Determine the household type: partner or joint household, ordinary housemate, or a commercial arrangement with documentation.

2. Make a list of all household income, bank accounts, cash, investments, valuable property, debts, homes, and vehicles, including items located abroad.

3. Look up the July 2026 rate that applies to your situation. Take into account holiday allowance that is saved separately, counted income, and any cost-sharing reduction.

4. When your right to reside has conditions, obtain IND or immigration advice about your permit. If basic essentials are at risk, contact the municipality today.

5. Apply without delay and keep proof of the date. Respond to requests for missing information. Mark in your calendar both the 4-week advance point and the 8-week decision point.

6. Once you are approved, use the local channel to report relevant changes as soon as they occur, and keep evidence.

The eligibility rules for bijstand and WW are different. Before you plan your household budget, compare the final amount awarded with your actual bills and with any separate allowances.

• Lost your job? Apply for WW unemployment benefit.
• Cost of living in the Netherlands: build your monthly budget.
• Free and subsidised legal help in the Netherlands.

Official Sources

• Rijksoverheid: Wanneer heb ik recht op algemene bijstand? - the national eligibility conditions, household income and assets, the 2026 asset limits, treatment of provable debts and second homes, and routes to free advice
• Rijksoverheid: Hoe wordt de hoogte van mijn bijstandsuitkering berekend? - the national norms from 1 January and 1 July 2026, that the amounts include holiday allowance, and the lower norm for people aged 18 to 20
• Rijksoverheid: Krijg ik vakantiegeld als ik een uitkering heb? - that a municipality saves 5% of bijstand each month as holiday allowance and usually pays it in May
• Participatiewet, artikel 3: Gezamenlijke huishouding - the statutory test, deemed cases and family or care exceptions for treating an unmarried person as having a partner or joint household
• Rijksoverheid: Wat is de kostendelersnorm in de bijstand? - the cost-sharing percentages, the age threshold of 27, the excluded residents, and the distinction between a partner and an ordinary housemate
• Rijksoverheid: Welke inkomsten worden van mijn bijstandsuitkering afgetrokken? - which income is normally deducted, the statutory exclusions, maintenance income, damages and the gift rule of €1,200 per calendar year
• Rijksoverheid: Wanneer heb ik met een eigen huis recht op bijstand? - the 2026 owner-occupied-home equity threshold of €67,500 and when assistance is a grant or may be a municipal loan
• Gemeente Rotterdam: Bijstandsuitkering - a local example of vehicle valuation and exclusions, showing why a municipal car threshold must not be treated as a national rule
• Rijksoverheid: Waar kan ik mijn algemene bijstand aanvragen? - where to apply, accepted ID, the normal start date, possible backdating up to 3 months and the 8-week decision period; use article 52 below for the current advance percentage
• Participatiewet, artikel 52: Voorschot - the interest-free advance due within 4 weeks, at least 95% of expected assistance after counted income, the repeated advances and grounds for withholding
• Rijksoverheid: Welke regels gelden er voor de bijstand voor jongeren tot 27 jaar? - the youth work-or-study search, immediate help for vulnerable young people, recent school-leaver reductions and parental maintenance; use current articles 20 and 41 below for the precise youth-rate and partner rules
• Rijksoverheid: Nieuwe regels bijstand 2026 en 2027 - 2026 backdating, gift thresholds and reapplications; the listed 15% youth earnings rule can be adopted early by municipalities, as the parliamentary letter below explains
• Rijksoverheid: Wat zijn mijn rechten en plichten in de bijstand? - the information, work, reintegration, cooperation and identification duties, work-duty exemptions, language rule, holiday limit and consequences of non-compliance
• Rijksoverheid: Moet ik een tegenprestatie doen voor mijn bijstandsuitkering? - the municipal rules and limits for unpaid socially useful activities requested as a counter-performance
• Rijksoverheid: Wat is het verschil tussen algemene bijstand en bijzondere bijstand? - the distinction between general assistance for living costs and special assistance for necessary unusual costs
• Rijksoverheid: Wat gebeurt er als ik onjuiste informatie geef over mijn recht op bijstand? - retroactive correction or termination, recovery of overpayments, when a fine is assessed and when a warning may be used
• IND: Benefits from public funds - that a bijstand application is reported to the IND, that the residence assessment depends on the permit or residence right, the EU rules, and the benefits that do not end residence
• IND: Independent, sustainable and sufficient income - that bijstand is not independent income for an IND income requirement and which common social-insurance benefits can count
• Rijksoverheid: Hoe kan ik bezwaar maken tegen een beslissing van de overheid? - how to object to an individual government decision, the 6-week deadline, required contents and the fact that filing an objection is free
• Rechtspraak (Dutch judiciary): Voorlopige voorziening bestuursrecht - that urgent provisional relief requires an ongoing objection or appeal and a situation whose outcome cannot be awaited
• Rijksoverheid: Waar moet ik schuldhulpverlening aanvragen? - municipal debt-help access, the normal response periods and help within 3 days for threatening debt situations such as eviction or utility disconnection
• SVB: What is an AIO supplement? - income support administered by the SVB for people who have reached AOW pension age and live in the Netherlands with income below the guaranteed minimum
• Rijksoverheid: Normenbrief 1 juli 2026 - the January and July 2026 norms for single adults, single parents and couples, holiday allowance of 5%, and the €1,200 calendar-year gift threshold
• Juridisch Loket: Hoe we werken - the income and savings conditions for free personal legal advice
• CBS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, Statistics Netherlands): Beroepsbegeleidende leerweg (bbl) - the official name and meaning of the vocational work-and-study route
• Inburgeren.nl (official civic integration website): U gaat inburgeren - the integration letter and obligation, for readers who must also follow civic integration rules
• Participatiewet: current consolidated text, 1 July 2026 (XML) - articles 3, 9, 11, 19, 19a, 20, 22a, 28, 31, 41, 52, 58 and 62: household exceptions, duties and exemptions, residence, rates, cost sharing, income, school leavers, youth applications, advances of at least 95% and recovery
• Staatsblad (government gazette) 2025, 312: Participatiewet in balans (Participation Act reform) - the enacted changes to the household-care exception, youth-rate increase and advance percentage
• Staatsblad 2025, 313: commencement of Participatiewet in balans - 1 January 2026 commencement of the household, youth-rate and advance changes
• Wet gemeentelijke schuldhulpverlening (Municipal Debt Assistance Act): article 4 (XML) - the first interview within 3 working days when a threatening debt situation is reported
• Kamerstuk (parliamentary paper) 36582, K: early adoption of benefit changes - municipal discretion in 2026 to exclude 15% of under-27 employment income for 1 year, with possible extension; national commencement is 1 January 2027
• IND: Uitkering uit algemene middelen - the residence consequences and the genuine-and-effective-work thresholds of 40% of a normal working week or 50% of the applicable bijstand rate
• IND: Zelfstandig, duurzaam en voldoende inkomen - the distinction between independent social-insurance income and public-funds assistance
• SVB: Wat is de AIO-aanvulling? - the income-support route at AOW age, residence condition and guaranteed-minimum test
• Centrale Raad van Beroep (central appeals tribunal): repayment exceptions, 30 June 2026 - paragraphs 4.8–4.9 confirm mandatory recovery after an information-duty breach and full or partial waiver for urgent reasons under article 58(8)
• Protocol No. 4 to the European Convention on Human Rights: article 3 - the protection against expulsion of a state's own nationals and denial of their right to enter that state
• IND: U wordt Nederlander. Wat mag en moet u doen? - page 2 confirms that Dutch citizens, including dual nationals, no longer need a residence permit or permit renewals
• IND: Staying in the Netherlands as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen - Working fewer than 40% of normal full-time hours and earning less than 50% of your applicable bijstand rate does not automatically rule out genuine and effective work. The IND assesses your circumstances individually, including whether pay continues during holidays or sickness.