What information do I have to submit?

Not everyone needs to provide the same information when applying for social assistance. This depends on your personal situation. If you live alone, you provide different information than if you live with someone. We always need the following information:

• Information about who you are. For example, your passport, driver's license, or residence permit.
• Information about your (savings) money and assets. We usually look at the last three months. A photo of your bank account number isn't sufficient. We need a PDF, which you can create through online banking. You then indicate the period for which you want to see the debits and credits. If that's not possible, please contact us. We're happy to help.
• Information about your income. We usually look at the data from the last three months.

After the interview, you'll receive a letter detailing exactly what information we need from you. We usually ask you to send this information within two weeks. Sometimes you'll be given more or less time, depending on your situation.

From the moment you apply for benefits, you have a duty to provide information. This means you must report any changes in your situation to us. Do this as soon as possible. If you already know you're getting a new job today, please inform the eligibility consultant immediately. Not sure if you need to report anything? Ask your client manager or eligibility consultant. They'll be happy to help.

In any case, please provide:

• Work
  Anything related to work, including volunteer work. It doesn't matter whether you earn money or not. For example, do you do volunteer work? This is important for your reintegration: it increases your chances of finding paid work, but it can sometimes also be an obstacle.
• Income
  Think of salaries, profits, inheritances, insurance payments, rental income, etc.
• Gifts
  You can receive up to €1,200 in gifts per calendar year (January 1st through December 31st). If you receive more, please let us know. A gift is money or something of value that you receive without having to work for it or pay it back. For example, money from family or friends, groceries, or other items.
• Family and living situation
  Think of birth, death, divorce/separation, living together, or if someone comes to live with you or leaves.
• Place of residence (the place where you live or stay)
  Are you moving, temporarily living elsewhere, or going abroad? Please inform us in advance. You can only receive benefits in the municipality where you live.
• Properties
  Think of houses (also abroad), boats, caravans, antiques, art, jewellery, etc. These can be valuable.

In order to determine whether you are entitled to benefits, the municipality must know how and with whom you live. For example, your rights are different if you have your own home than if you have a rental home or stay in a care institution.

We also want to know who you share your home with. This is also important to determine whether you are entitled to benefits. We look at what kind of household you have. Do you live together? Is someone renting a room from you? Or are you friends and do you share a house? Do you take care of each other? And do you do the laundry together, do you do the shopping together and do you eat together?

Whether we need the details of your housemates depends on the way in which you share the house. For example, if you live in a student house or all have an independent tenancy agreement, then this is different than if this is not the case.

As a parent you get 'authority' when your child is born. Authority means that you are obliged to care for and educate your child. In addition, as a parent you are allowed to perform official acts for your child. Think of putting a signature for the application for a passport.

Paying for education and care

If you have parental authority, you must pay for the care and upbringing of your child(ren). This 'maintenance obligation' stops when your child is 21 years old. Even if you get divorced, you both still have the maintenance obligation until your child is 21 years old.

Manage child assets

If you have custody, you are legally obliged to manage your child's assets until he/she is 18.

The total assets of the family are important for the benefit. For example, if you save for your child on his/her savings account, this will be included in the calculation of your assets.

In order to receive your social assistance benefit, you are obliged to provide information about your income and assets. This is mandatory on the basis of the Information Obligation. Submitting bank statements is an example of this. You may not make the data of the income and deposits on these statements illegible.

You can do that with your expenses. Note: the latter is not always the case. Sometimes it is necessary to look at the expenses to determine your entitlement to the benefit. In this case, all your expenses must therefore also be visible on your statements.