Child benefit at twice the basic rate for a child living away from home
If your child is living away from home for the purpose of their education, or it is not possible for your child to live at home because of illness or disability, you may be able to get child benefit at twice the basic rate. To qualify for this, you will have to pay €1,358 per quarter towards your child’s support.
Please note: if you or the other parent stay with your child for a large part of the time, your child will be regarded as ‘living at home’.
Answer a few questions to see whether you qualify for child benefit at twice the basic rate.
You stay with your child for 46 days or more
If the total number of days you and/or the other parent stay with your child is 46 days or more in a quarter, you cannot get child benefit at twice the basic rate for that quarter.
The days that each parent visits the child in a particular quarter are added together. This includes visits that start in one quarter and finish in the next quarter.
If the child is going to another country for the purpose of their education, you can get child benefit at twice the basic rate if the child’s education:
- is comparable to a course of education in the Netherlands
- does not take place within a distance of 25 kilometres from your family home
Example: your child is being educated outside the Netherlands
If your child goes to the United States for 1 year and attends an American high school, you cannot get child benefit at twice the basic rate. American high school is not comparable to educational courses or institutions in the Netherlands.You stay with your child for 46 days or more
If the total number of days you and/or the other parent stay with your child is 46 days or more in a quarter, you cannot get child benefit at twice the basic rate for that quarter.
The days that each parent visits the child in a particular quarter are added together. This includes visits that start in one quarter and finish in the next quarter.
If your child lives in an institution because of illness or a disability, you can get child benefit at twice the basic rate if the costs of the institution are covered by:
- the Long-term Care Act (the Wlz scheme)
- Youth Act (‘Jeugdwet’)
- your health insurance
Your child goes into hospital
If your child goes into hospital for a short time, they are still regarded as living at home. In that case, you cannot get child benefit at twice the basic rate.
If your child has been in hospital for more than 6 months, or if it is clear from the beginning that your child’s stay will last more than 6 months, you may well qualify for child benefit at twice the basic rate.
You stay with your child for 46 days or more
If the total number of days you and/or the other parent stay with your child is 46 days or more in a quarter, you cannot get child benefit at twice the basic rate for that quarter.
The days that each parent visits the child in a particular quarter are added together. This includes visits that start in one quarter and finish in the next quarter.