Applying for special social assistance

If you have a low income and it is impossible for you to pay exceptional and unexpected costs, you may be entitled to extra financial support from the municipality. This is called special social assistance (bijzondere bijstand).

Special social assistance is subject to the following conditions among others:

you are lawfully living and staying in the Netherlands.
you do not have enough income and funds to pay the costs yourself.
you are at least 18 years old.
you have expenses due to an exceptional or urgent situation, such as surgery or moving house.
you cannot cover the costs in any other way.;

Your municipality can tell you what other conditions apply in your situation.

This is how it works for you

Your (future) place of residence falls under:

Municipality of Westerkwartier

Here is some information from your municipality.

Municipality of Westerkwartier: Applying for special social assistance

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

You can apply for special social assistance from the municipality if you:

live in the municipality of Westerkwartier;
incurred the costs in the Netherlands;
have insufficient resources of your own.

The amount of special assistance is granted according to ability to pay. This means that the municipality looks at how much you can pay yourself on the basis of your income and assets. It is therefore possible that you will only be reimbursed part of the costs. For most types of costs, 35% of the income above the social assistance standard is for your own account. This is your carrying capacity. Your ability to pay will be deducted from the special assistance granted. For housing costs, a carrying capacity of 100% applies. We determine the carrying capacity per year.

For application forms, please contact the municipality of Westerkwartier on 14 0594, directly through your consultant work and income or via werkeninkomen@westerkwartier.nl. Our employees will send the form to you the next working day.

Fill in the form. Send it back to the municipality. You must also send the following documents:

A copy of your valid ID.
Evidence of your income.
The latest statements from all current and savings accounts.
Evidence of assets and/or debts.
A quotation or invoice of the costs for which you are requesting special assistance.

The municipality will send you a letter within 8 weeks. It will state whether you will receive special social assistance and how much you will receive. It will also state whether you will receive special welfare assistance in the form of a loan or non-repayable allowance.

Special assistance