Unemployment
Going to another country to find a job there
Under certain conditions, you can take your Belgian unemployment benefit to another country while looking for a job there. You can usually take an unemployment benefit with you for 3 months, but this can be extended to a maximum of 6 months.
- Conditions and formalities before departure:
You must be fully unemployed and registered as a jobseeker in Belgium for at least four weeks after the start of your unemployment. Once these conditions are met, the RVA will provide you with a U2 form and a C3 form.
- Conditions and formalities on arrival:
Register with the national employment services within 7 days from the date you are no longer available for the job market in Belgium. Submit your completed U2 form at registration and consent to all checks carried out on recipients of unemployment benefits in your host country. During your stay abroad, instead of the normal control card, you must complete the C3 form and send it to your Belgian payment institution, which will pay you benefits based on this form.
- Extension of the term:
You can receive Belgian unemployment benefits for a total of 3 months (possibility to spread over several shorter periods). Exceptionally, the granted period can be extended to a maximum of 6 months. Your application for extension can only be submitted with a certificate from the foreign mediation services in which a positive advice is given. There must be solid evidence of intensive searching behaviour or of concrete employment opportunities.
Becoming unemployed in your host country
- Do you want to stay in your host country?
If you lose your job and want to continue living in the country where you worked, you have to apply for unemployment benefits there. You also have to register as a jobseeker at the employment office.
Check carefully:
- How long you should have worked to qualify for unemployment benefits
- How the amount of your benefits is calculated
- How long you will receive benefits
- Do you want to return to Belgium?
You will again be entitled to Belgian benefits if you re-register as a jobseeker with the employment agency (i.e. VDAB, Actiris, …). Do this within 8 calendar days. You can then submit a new application for unemployment benefits. If you have worked abroad, you should ask the foreign services for a U1 form with details of this employment and send it to the Belgian payment institution.
More information on the website of the RVA or at your (foreign) employment office.
Sources:
http://www.rva.be/nl/documentatie/infoblad/t122
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/unemployment-and-benefits/unemployment/index_nl.htm