Child benefit - Your child is leaving home (temporarily)

If it is not possible for you to raise and care for your child at home, you may still be able to get child benefit.

Child benefit for children living away from home

You get child benefit for a child who lives away from home if:

• you pay at least € 408 per quarter towards the support of your child
• your child earns less than € 1,754 net per quarter

The SVB will consider your child to be living away from home if he or she spends fewer than 4 nights a week at home. 

If your child is away from home for less than 6 months, for example, for a holiday, or to go into hospital, he or she will still be considered to be living at home. After 6 months, the SVB will consider your child to be living away from home.

If you and your partner are separated and your child lives with your ex-partner, your ex-partner may be entitled to receive child benefit. We usually pay child benefit to the parent with whom the child lives.

Child benefit at twice the basic rate in the case of high expenses for a child living away from home

If you have high expenses for a child who lives away from home, you may be able to get child benefit at twice the basic rate if:

• you pay more than € 1,081 per quarter towards the support of your child

• your child does not earn more than € 1,081 net per quarter

If your child is under 16, you can only get child benefit at twice the basic rate if the child lives away from home:

• because of illness or a disability, or
• for education

You cannot get child benefit at twice the basic rate for disabled children living at home

If you have a disabled child who lives at home with you, you cannot get child benefit at twice the basic rate, but you may be able to claim an allowance towards the costs of looking after the child. This allowance is called the TOG care allowance for disabled children living at home.

You cannot get child benefit at twice the basic rate if you visit your child 45 days or more during a quarter

If your child lives away from home, you can get child benefit at twice the basic rate as long as you do not spend more than 45 days a quarter visiting the child.

If you or the other parent pays a number of short visits to your child during a quarter (for example, 2 or 3 weeks), we will add the visiting periods together. We will also do so if you and the child's other parent visit the child in turn. If the child's parents, or one of the parents, spends more than 45 days a quarter with the child, we will consider the child to be living at home, and you will get child benefit at the basic rate.

If you visit your child in a particular quarter, and your visit continues into the next quarter, your visit may not last more than 45 days either.

Example: you start visiting your child on 21 June and your visit ends on 9 August. That makes a total of 50 days:10 days in the 2nd quarter and 40 days in the 3rd quarter. You will get child benefit at the basic rate for the 3rd quarter.

If your child regularly comes home for holidays or at the weekend, it makes no difference how long he or she stays with you.