Applying for social assistance

If you have too little money to get by, you may be entitled to social assistance (bijstand). You can apply for social assistance at your municipality or the werk.nl website, an online work platform operated by the Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen – UWV (Employee Insurance Agency).

You are entitled to social assistance if you:

are a Dutch citizen or lawfully resident in the Netherlands, and;
are aged 18 or over;
do not have enough income or funds to get by. Your (joint) income must be below the social assistance standard (in Dutch);
cannot claim any other provision or benefit;
are not in prison or in a detention house.

There are also a number of obligations when you receive social assistance (in Dutch).

This is how it works for you

Your (future) place of residence falls under:

Municipality of Nijmegen

Here is some information from your municipality.

Bijstandsuitkering / Social assistance

Please note: you can only apply for bijstand (social assistance) if you live in the Netherlands and are registered with a municipality.

You can apply for social assistance from the municipality of Nijmegen if you meet the following additional conditions:

You live in the municipality of Nijmegen.
You are 27 years or older.
You do not yet receive an Algemene Ouderdomswet – AOW (State Pension).
Do you live with your partner or have a joint household with someone? If so, the income and savings of that person are also taken into account.

For more information, and to apply for social assistance, you can go to werk.nl. You must first register as a job seeker on werk.nl. You can then apply for social assistance online.

Do you need help with the application? Then please contact one of the Stips in Nijmegen: call +31 24 350 20 00 or send an email to vraag@stipnijmegen.nl. A Stip is an information point that you will find in every quarter in Nijmegen. The staff in the Stip can help you with, for example, filling in forms.

Younger than 27 years

Are you between 18 and 27 years old? Then first make an appointment with the WerkBedrijf: call +31 24 751 75 00 or send an email to communicatie@wbrn.nl. A consultant of the WerkBedrijf will call you within 5 - 8 working days for an intake.

From the moment you have set an appointment, you are required to actively look for work or education during 4 weeks. Did you not succeed in finding work or education during these 4 weeks? Then you can apply for social assistance at Nijmegen. The consultant from WerkBedrijf with whom you had the telephone intake, ensures that you receive the data to submit the application.

You will find out within 8 weeks whether you will receive social assistance. You will receive social assistance from the date of the application.

Is the period of 8 weeks too long for you because then you will run into financial problems? Then call the municipality of Nijmegen on +31 24 329 90 00.