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 Hoeksche Waard

Here is some information from your municipality.

Social assistance benefit.

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 Hoeksche Waard if you meet the following additional conditions:

You live in the municipality of Hoeksche Waard.
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.
You are participating in activities offered to you by the municipality to find work.
You must understand, speak, read and write Dutch to a sufficient standard. You are entitled to social welfare assistance even if your Dutch is not good enough. However, the municipality may reduce your welfare benefit if you do not do your best to learn Dutch.
Are you between 18 and 27 years old? If so, you can also apply for social assistance on the condition that, first, you actively look for work or education for 4 weeks.

To apply for social assistance benefits, you need this information from yourself and your housemates (for example, your partner, minor children or other housemates):

Full name, date of birth, social security number and nationality.
DigiD of you and your possible partner.
A valid passport or identity card (not a driver's license).
A legally valid residence permit (if applicable).
Income data (salary, alimony, tax refund).
Data on assets (assets, securities, amount of debts).
Amount of mortgage or rent.
Start and (possible) end date of your work with your last employer.
Bank account number(s) and the balance of the bank accounts.

Report via the website of werk.nl that you want to apply for a social assistance benefit from the municipality of Hoeksche Waard.

Does not apply.

-After sending your report, we will contact you by telephone within 3 working days. Make sure that you have entered your telephone number correctly and that you can be reached. If we cannot reach you by telephone, we will not be able to process your request.

-Have you gone through all the above steps correctly? And do we have no further questions? You will then receive a letter within eight weeks stating whether or not you will receive a benefit. This letter is called a 'decision'. If you do not agree with the decision of the municipality, you can lodge an objection within 6 weeks.

Please include the following information in your objection:

your name and address
the date of your objection
which decision is involved
why you do not agree with the decision
your signature

The notice of objection must be submitted to the municipality by post, by e-mail it is not possible to object. The municipality of Hoeksche Waard is advised by an Objections Committee.

You can send your notice of objection to:

P.O. Box 2003
3260 EA Oud-Beijerland

Does not apply.

More information