Allocations Familiales comme jeune demandeur d'emploi

Child Benefit for school-leavers in Wallonia

Has your son or daughter completed their studies in Wallonia? Then they may still be entitled to Child Benefit as a school-leaver. We’ll be happy to explain the conditions to you:

School-leaver in Brussels

School-leaver in Flanders


Children born on or after 1 January 2001 – semi-automatic entitlement

A child born on or after 1 January 2001 is entitled to Child Benefit semi-automatically until the end of the month in which he or she reaches the age of 21. This means that the young person is entitled to Child Benefit regardless of whether they are still studying or registered as a jobseeker, except in the following cases:

  • If the young person is in receipt of unemployment or interruption benefit
  • If the young person works more than 240 hours per quarter. (hours worked as a student do not count)
  • If the young person works as a self-employed person with contributions paid as a self-employed person’s main occupation, unless he or she can prove that he or she does not work 240 hours per quarter.
  • If the young person is in receipt of social security benefits for sickness, invalidity, work accident or occupational disease resulting from an unauthorised activity mentioned above.

After the age of 21, the young person may continue to be entitled to Child Benefit if he or she continues his or her eligible studies or is registered as a jobseeker with FOREM and meets the same conditions as children born before 1 January 2001.


Children born before 1 January 2001

When are you entitled to Child Benefit as a school-leaver?

If you live in Wallonia and you finish your studies, we recommend that you register with FOREM as a job-seeking school-leaver as soon as possible.

This can be done via the FOREM website or by signing up in person at the nearest FOREM office.

As soon as you are registered, FOREM will start a 360-day vocational development phase. After this period, you can then benefit from an activation allowance from the National Employment Office (ONEM-ONEM).

KidsLife is automatically informed of the registration with FOREM via the Social Security Crossroads Bank. KidsLife will then automatically start an allocation period of 360 days during which entitlement to Child Benefit may still exist.

When does the allocation period start?

After you complete your studies, you may still have 360 days of entitlement to Child Benefit. The start of this period may vary. It starts:

  • On 1 August if you attended lessons until the end of the school year.
  • On the first day after the end of your studies if they are discontinued during the school year.
  • On the first day after you submitted your thesis or internship report if you completed a diploma year or thesis year of fewer than 27 credits.
  • On the first day after the end of your internship in the context of a public sector job or after an interruption of that internship.
  • On the first day following the end or interruption of an apprenticeship contract.

Please note: When the young person reaches the age of 25, entitlement to Child Benefit ends at the end of the month, even if the period of 360 days as a job-seeking school-leaver has not yet ended.


When does the allocation period start?

After you complete your studies, you may still have 360 days of entitlement to Child Benefit. The start of this period may vary. It starts:

  • On 1 August if you attended lessons until the end of the school year.
  • On the first day after the end of your studies if they are discontinued during the school year.
  • On the first day after you submitted your thesis or internship report if you completed a diploma year or thesis year of fewer than 27 credits.
  • On the first day after the end of your internship in the context of a public sector job or after an interruption of that internship.
  • On the first day following the end or interruption of an apprenticeship contract.

Please note: When the young person reaches the age of 25, entitlement to Child Benefit ends at the end of the month, even if the period of 360 days as a job-seeking school-leaver has not yet ended.


I was too late registering with FOREM.

Secondary-education students have until 31 August and higher-education students until 30 September to register with FOREM as a job-seeker. If the young person registers after this date, the registration is late and there will be no entitlement until the month following the date of registration. 

Without registering as a job-seeker, you are still entitled to Child Benefit as a student:

- until 31 August of your last year of secondary school or until 30 September of your last year of higher education and you do not work more than 240 hours in the third quarter.

- up to and including the month in which you submit your thesis in the case of a thesis year (fewer than 27 credits).
- up to and including the month in which your studies end if the studies are terminated in the course of the school or academic year.

Example:

Sam finished secondary school and did not register as a job-seeker with FOREM until 12 November. His eligibility period starts on 1 August and runs until 31 July of the following year, but he may only be entitled to Child Benefit as a school-leaver from 1 December until 31 July at the latest.


Werken als Schoolverlater

Working during the period as a school-leaver.

Congratulations, you’ve landed your first job! We encourage working during the period as a school-leaver, but in some cases your employment may suspend your entitlement to Child Benefit:

  • The young person may not earn more than 759,28 euros gross per month.

The number of hours worked is irrelevant. Even if the young person were to receive unemployment or other social security benefits, they may not exceed 562.93 euros gross.

  • The young person pursues a self-employed activity as their main or secondary occupation.

In this case, we automatically assume that the young person earns more than 759,28 euros gross per month.  A solemn declaration that monthly earnings were less than 759,28 euros gross can be accepted in order to resume payments.

A self-employed activity with exemption from social security contributions is allowed for the entitlement to Child Benefit.

  • Working during the last summer holidays after the studies: double check

During the last summer holiday after completing your studies (July-August-September), your young person may not work for more than 240 hours in order to retain the entitlement to Child Benefit. If the standard of 240 hours is exceeded, there is no entitlement to Child Benefit for the whole quarter. However, were a new school year to follow, even if it did not meet the conditions for entitlement to Child Benefit, the 240-hour standard would not apply.

A young person who exceeds 240 hours per quarter but who is registered with FOREM as a jobseeker in the meantime may be entitled to Child Benefit if he or she does not earn more than 562.93 euros gross/month.

Example:

Ine finished her higher studies at the end of the school year and registers as a jobseeker with FOREM on 5 July. Her eligibility period runs from 1 August to 31 July of the following year. During the period from 1 July to 30 September she works 400 hours.

  • As a student she is not entitled to Child Benefit for July, August and September, because she worked more than 240 hours over the whole quarter.
  • As a school-leaver, however, she may be entitled to Child Benefit for August and September if her gross income is less than 759,28 euros per month.

If Ine were to earn 1,000 euros per month in July, August and September, but worked only 230 hours for the whole quarter, then she would be entitled to Child Benefit as a student for the whole quarter.


Can the eligibility period be extended?

No problem! The vocational development phase at FOREM is in principle 1 year. Thereafter, the young person is entitled to a benefit, provided that they received 2 positive evaluations from FOREM during the search for work in the vocational development phase.

  • The vocational development phase is extended as long as the young person has not received 2 positive evaluations. The eligibility period at KidsLife is therefore extended so that the entitlement to Child Benefit can be maintained until 2 positive evaluations have been received. The condition, of course, is that the young person attends the evaluation interviews at FOREM and that evaluations continue.
  • In the event of illness, accident or hospitalisation, the eligibility period may be extended by the period of illness if the young person deregisters with FOREM due to illness and, after the period of illness, re-registers with FOREM as a jobseeker within 28 days. Any social security benefits the young person were to receive as a result of the sickness would be taken into account for the maximum monthly income of 759,28 euros gross.

Childbirth leave does not extend the eligibility period. Entitlement to Child Benefit continues during childbirth leave under the same conditions.

Your KidsLife advisor will assess your eligibility for this extension. For this we always require a copy of the last evaluation interview that took place.


The young person resides abroad during the eligibility period.

If your son or daughter is registered as a jobseeker with FOREM but travels abroad during the eligibility period, he or she retains his or her entitlement to Child Benefit. However, if the stay abroad lasts longer than 2 months, the entitlement to Child Benefit lapses. In that case, however, the AVIQ can grant individual dispensation and equate a stay abroad with a vocational development phase. If you can provide KidsLife with an attestation of this, the entitlement to Child Benefit can continue.


The young person is looking for a job after studying abroad.

If your son or daughter received Child Benefit on the basis of foreign studies and then registered in Belgium as a job-seeking school-leaver, he or she follows the same rules and conditions as students studying in Belgium.

If your son or daughter studied in a country of the EEA (European Economic Area) and registered as a jobseeker in that country, they may be entitled to Child Benefit as a job-seeking school-leaver under Belgian law. In that case, send KidsLife a certificate of registration from the competent service abroad. (e.g. the pôle d’emploi in France)


My son or daughter is looking for a job but wants to resume their studies.

Entitlement to Child Benefit as a student can be reopened if the studies meet the conditions and if the young person is under 25 years of age. In this case, be sure to inform FOREM that your son or daughter is no longer looking for a job.


Would you like to report a change in the (study) situation? Or do you have questions about Child benefit for school-leavers?

Check your online file Child Benefits