Working or living abroad
Wat is your story?
Living or working abroad: with KidsLife you are certain to receive every Child Benefits to which you’re entitled. Submit your application quickly and easily online, and we will set to work!
What are the P12, E401 and E402 forms and how do I let them complete?
Find the answers on this page below!
I live in Belgium and work abroad
You already are receiving Child Benefits or the Groeipakket in Belgium, and begin working abroad
Then please notify us immediately!
In any case, your entitlement to Child Benefit from Belgium will be reassessed. We update your situation, and depending on the country where you work:
- you receive child benefit from the child benefit fund in that country
- and/or your region in Belgium compensates the difference between the amounts paid abroad and the Belgian amounts
We will contact the foreign fund to find out how much child benefit you receive there. You will receive the Belgian child benefit depending on the date we receive this information. You may need to be patient.
Ben and Ella live with their 2 children in Antwerp and receive Child Benefits. Ella is a housewife. Wim is due to start a new job in the Netherlands on January. He applies for Child Benefits in the Netherlands. He’ll be entitled to Dutch Child Benefit in the Netherlands from January. Then Belgium will only be able to pay the difference between the Belgian and Dutch amounts in the event that the Dutch amounts are lower than the Belgian ones.
Ben & Ella
21/03/2023
You work abroad and are now coming to live in Belgium
Welcome to Belgium! You probably have a lot on your to-do list. KidsLife will guide you to get all the benefits to which your child is entitled.
Simply submit an application using our online tool or complete the application forms. Be sure to have the national register numbers of you and your family members to hand when submitting your application. Don’t have these (yet)? Then please supply us with the names and dates of birth of your family members.
You may have received or still be receiving Child Benefit abroad.
For a quick application, inform us of:
- the name of the foreign Child Benefit Fund in charge of the payment
- your file number
- if the Fund has stopped paying you: the last date you received family allowances (Do you have a document that proves this? In that case, save time and send it to us!)
Please note: If you live in Brussels or Wallonia, then you must also have a profesionnal activity (such as being employed or receiving unemployment benefits) in order to receive Child Benefits.
View all Child Benefits payment amounts here
Karl and Barbara are moving to Antwerp with their 2 children in January. They both work in the Netherlands and receive Child Benefit there. They also applies for Child Benefit in Belgium. Since the Netherlands has priority for paying Child Benefits, Belgium will only pay the difference between the Belgian and Dutch amounts from January, if the Dutch amounts are lower than the Belgian ones.
Karl and Barbara
21/03/2023
I work in Belgium and live abroad
Simply submit an application using our online tool or complete the application forms. Be sure to have the national register numbers of you and your family members to hand when submitting your application. Don’t have these (yet)? Then please supply us with the names and dates of birth of your family members.
To save time, let us know:
- is another fund paying you or have you ever received child benefit abroad?
- what is or was your file number?
- when was the last time you received child benefit?
Quentin and Klara are moving with their 4 children from Köln to Liège on January. Quentin starts working in Belgium on that same date, whilst Klara continues to work in Germany. Since they have a place of residence and employment in Belgium from January, Belgium has priority for paying their Child Benefits. Germany will check whether they can add a supplementary payment for the difference between the Belgian and German amounts, in the event the Belgian amounts are lower than the German ones.
Quentin and Klara
21/03/2023
Application
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Waiting time
Payment
Once your application done, you will receive 2 documents if you live in the EU
E401 form: please have it filled in by the local authorities in the municipality where you live. We need it to know your household composition, and it gives you the right to child benefits. In some cases, it is sent directly to the fund abroad to be completed.
P12 form: please fill it in yourself to inform us of your family's professional activities or a change in your family situation.
You’ll be required to complete both of these documents every year
They allow you to update your family and professional situation and to quickly receive the family allowances provided for your family.
My children live abroad
In a country within the EEA or in Switzerland?
KidsLife will check how many Child Benefits you may receive. Regardless of your circumstances, you must have a professional activity.
The EEA countries are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Czech Republic and Sweden.
Temporarily living in a country outside the EEA?
Then you may still receive Belgian Child Benefits if one of the following conditions is met:
a) He-She is studying abroad but is still a resident of Belgium
Please note: a secondary education diploma has to be already obtained in Belgium.
- secondary studies abroad: entitles you to Child Benefit for a period of 1 year.
- higher education abroad:
- in Wallonia and Flanders: child benefit is paid for the duration of the studies. Example: After graduating from secondary school in Belgium, Alex goes to Canada to pursue higher education. He stays in Belgium. He receives child benefit for the duration of his studies in Canada.
- in Brussels: the child benefit is paid for a maximum of 1 year.
Everything about studying abroad
b) He-She finished school but is still a resident of Belgium
In Belgium, after completing his or her studies, the young job seeker begins a 12-month period during which he or she can still receive family allowances under certain conditions.
c) He-She finished lives temporarily abroad but is still a resident of Belgium
Providing your child doesn’t reside abroad for more than 2 months, you’ll retain your Child Benefit entitlement. For a longer stay, please let us know.
Abroad with a parent working as seconded staff?
Are living abroad on behalf of a Belgian employer? Then you remain subject to Belgian Social Security and will retain your Child Benefit entitlement for the child travelling with you for a maximum of 1 year. If you have another child during that 1-year period, this child will also be entitled to Child Benefit.
Abroad for medical reasons?
Your child might be staying abroad for medical reasons, such as undergoing a specific treatment. It can be on the part of your child, you (as a parent) or your partner. You’ll keep receiving Child Benefits for a maximum of three years. Please note: you must be able to demonstrate (by means of a medical certificate) that returning to Belgium is not an option.
Raised in a country with which Belgium has concluded a treaty?
Belgium has agreements with several countries and this allows us to pay family allowances. As the conditions are different in each country, we advise you to write to us!
Here is the list of countries concerned: Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Morocco, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Tunisia and Turkey.
Abducted and taken abroad?
You’ll receive Child Benefits until the child has reached the age of majority (18 years old).
I gave birth abroad
In the following scenarios you can claim the Maternity Allowance and Child Benefits in Belgium. First of all, send us a copy of your child’s foreign birth certificate without delay.
Already receiving Child Benefits in Belgium for an older child?
- Yes, and your family lives in Belgium: you receive the Maternity Allowance if your child is registered in Belgium within 2 months.
- Yes, and your family lives abroad: we’ll send you a document about your new family composition and you have to ask the municipality where you live to fill it.
Is your child born in France or the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg?
In this case, the local authorities will pay the Maternity Allowance and not Belgium.
Not yet receiving Child Benefit in Belgium?
Just apply for your Maternity Allowance via our online tool or the application forms. Please note that we do not pay the Maternity Allowance before the birth for families abroad.
International forms
What are the P12, E401 and E402 forms and how do I complete them?
If you live abroad, then we’re unable to view your family composition via the Belgian National Register (database containing the personal details of Belgian residents). We therefore send you the E401 document on an annual basis. This document must be completed by the Population Department of the city or municipality in which you live and is confirmation of your family composition abroad. It serves as proof that you still live at the same foreign address and lists all of the people who reside with you at this address.
If you live abroad, then we’re unable to view your professional situation via the Belgian databases. We therefore send you the P12 document on an annual basis. You must complete this document yourself. You use the P12 document to specify any changes to your professional situation or family circumstances in the past year. It’s important that we’re kept up to date on your professional activities abroad, as this may affect which country is responsible for paying your Child Benefit. Please indicate any change in employment status for the year indicated on the form.
One way to continue receiving child benefit after age 18 is to study. If your child has reached the age of majority and is studying abroad, we will send you a certificate of attendance to be completed each year.
Child Benefits in Poland
Data exchange with Poland
If you live in Poland and work in Belgium or vice versa, you may receive Child Benefits in Belgium. The European documents are used to check the amount of Child Benefits you may receive. In Poland, the regional Voivodeship will complete these documents.
Theoretical amounts
If you’re entitled to Polish Child Benefit in Poland, then Belgium may pay the difference between the Belgian and Polish amounts. Of course, they can only do that if the Belgian amounts are higher than the Polish ones. If you’re theoretically entitled to Child Benefit in Poland, then Belgium must take this theoretical amount into account, even if you’ve never submitted an application for Child Benefit in Poland. In this case, Belgium will pay the difference between the Belgian amounts and the theoretical Polish amounts.
Family 500+ Allowance
A new Family Allowance was introduced in Poland on 1 April 2016: the Family 500+ Allowance or PLN 500 for raising a child. This allowance is awarded to parents or guardians of children up to the age of 18 based on the family income.
This benefit was made available to all children, regardless of their age and family income, from 01/07/2019.
From 01/07/2019, this Family 500+ Allowance must also be included when calculating the difference between the Belgian and Polish amounts. If you’re theoretically entitled to Child Benefit in Poland, then the Family 500+ Allowance must also be included in the calculation, even if you’ve never submitted an application for Child Benefit in Poland.
Child Benefits in France
Conditions in France
You receive Child Benefits in France depending on your income. You get a monthly basic allowance and could also receive potential supplements.
- If there’s only 1 child in your family, then you get Child Benefit until this child reaches 3 years of age (unless it concerns a child with a disability or an orphan, for example). You also receive annual ARS (Allocation Rentrée Scolaire or study allowance) payments until your child reaches 18 years of age.
- If there are several children in your family, then you may be entitled to Child Benefit up until 20 years of age.
Example: Camille and Nicolas have 1 daughter, Léa. Léa is entitled to Child Benefits until she reaches 3 years of age. At the age of 5, Léa has a little brother, Thomas. Both children are once again entitled to Child Benefit from Thomas’s birth. Once Léa turns 20, Thomas’s Child Benefit entitlement also ceases, because he’s now the only child in the family younger than 20 but older than 3 years of age.
Do you live or work in Flanders?
The Groeipakket (Child Befits name in Flanders) came into effect in Flanders on 01/01/2019. We’ll investigate your entitlement to both types of family allowance over the last 5 years.
Do you live or work in Brussels or Wallonia?
In Belgium, Child Benefits are different in the 3 regions. The amounts will be different if you live (or work) in Brussels or in Wallonia. In addition, you must have a professional activity in order to receive Child benefits in Brussels and Wallonia (such as being employed, or receiving unemployment benefits).
Practical information to make your application go as quickly as possible
- Simply submit an application using our online tool.
- Be sure to know the national register numbers of you and your family members when submitting your application. Don’t have these (yet)? Then we’ll request the names and dates of birth of your family members.
- We need the bank account number to which you’d like us to make your payments. Don’t have a bank account (yet)? No problem! We’ll issue a circular cheque instead.
- If you received Child Benefits abroad, then we’ll also require the name and address of the Child Benefit Fund abroad. We’ll request confirmation that they’ve ceased their payments. Already have such a confirmation in your possession? Then please add it to your application to save time!
- If you still receive Child Benefit abroad, then we’ll also require the name and address of the competent foreign Child Benefit Fund. We’ll then communicate with this foreign Child Benefit Fund in order to determine which country is responsible for paying your Child Benefit.
- We check your right to Child Benefits over the last 5 years.
The expert for your personal situation
We hope that you have found the answers to your questions on this page. Whatever your personal situation, KidsLife has more than 80 years of expertise in serving families abroad, for all regions in Belgium. As we say, every child has the right to happiness!