Child benefit (kinderbijslag) in the Netherlands: check eligibility, claim on time and understand each quarter
Check whether you are insured, which children qualify, how newcomers claim, the 2026 quarterly amounts, cross-border coordination and how to challenge a Social Insurance Bank (SVB) decision.
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- By Inburgering.org team
- Reviewer
- Reviewed by Kirill Svavolia
- Last updated
Should I apply for kinderbijslag?
Apply or check your route if you care for a child under 18 and you live or work in the Netherlands. Kinderbijslag (child benefit) is a fixed quarterly payment from the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB, Social Insurance Bank); your income does not set its amount. But living or working here is only the starting rule, not an automatic approval. The SVB checks whether you are insured under the Dutch scheme, your lawful residence where relevant, your relationship to the child, where the child lives, support costs and extra rules from age 16. If you recently moved here or started Dutch work, use My SVB yourself instead of waiting for a birth-triggered letter. For the third quarter of 2026 the amounts are €298.40 for ages 0–5, €362.35 for ages 6–11 and €426.29 for ages 12–17. A quarter is assessed on its first day and paid after it ends.
Start with eligibility, not the amount table. This guide separates the parent’s insurance, the child’s conditions, the assessed quarter and the paying country. It then covers the claim, ordinary and double rates, kindgebonden budget (child budget), changes and bezwaar (formal objection). Use the toeslagen overview for a full benefits calculation and the childcare-benefit guide for daycare costs.
Check four gates before you count on a payment
Kinderbijslag is based on the Algemene Kinderbijslagwet (AKW, General Child Benefit Act). The SVB insurance rules says that, as a rule, someone who lives or works in the Netherlands is insured. The words “as a rule” matter because foreign work, postings, temporary study and international employers can change the result.
| Gate | Question | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch insurance | Do you live in the Netherlands, or work here and pay Dutch tax and social-insurance contributions? | Use the SVB check; if you work abroad, in several countries, for an international organisation or under a posting certificate, ask the SVB which country insures you. |
| Residence | Does the SVB regard your life as based in the Netherlands? | Municipal registration is evidence, not the whole test. The SVB residence assessment also looks at work, family, a home and the reason for coming. |
| Lawful stay | If you are outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, do you have the residence status required for insurance? | Check your current permit. The SVB says this check also applies when you are married to an EU citizen. |
| Eligible child | Is the child under 18 and your own, adopted, your partner’s child living with you, or a foster child meeting all conditions? | Check who cares for the child, who pays support, where the child lives and whether anyone else receives child benefit. |
| Age or living-away condition | Is the child 16 or 17, or living away from home? | Check the education route at 16–17 and the support-cost test when the child sleeps at home fewer than 4 nights a week. |
| Cross-border coordination | Does a parent work or live abroad, does the child live abroad, or does another country pay a family benefit? | Do not choose a country yourself. Give both parents’ work, residence and foreign-benefit details to the SVB. |
Use the claim route for your situation
Most claims run through Mijn SVB (My SVB) using DigiD (Dutch digital identity). The DigiD guide explains how to obtain and activate it. If the online route is unavailable, contact the SVB; the SVB claim route says it can help you claim another way.
| Situation | Action | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| First child born in the Netherlands | Register the birth with the gemeente (municipality), then follow the SVB letter and complete the claim in My SVB | The current SVB pages give two windows: the claim flow says 3–6 weeks and contact after 6; the SVB claim FAQ says within 4 weeks. Check My SVB and contact the SVB if the letter is late. |
| You already receive child benefit and have another child in the Netherlands | Register the birth with the municipality; the SVB normally adjusts the payment and sends a decision automatically | If you live outside the Netherlands, report the birth to the SVB instead. |
| You recently started living or working in the Netherlands | Submit a claim through My SVB yourself as the SVB claim route instructs | Do not wait for a first-child birth letter. The SVB must still decide your insurance and the qualifying quarters. |
| Adopted child, partner’s child or foster child joins you | Use the situation tool in My SVB; register an adoption with the municipality and report the adoption, partner’s child or foster child as instructed | A foster child must live with you; you provide daily care and support; no fostering allowance is paid; and nobody else receives child benefit. |
| You cannot use My SVB | Contact the SVB before delay costs you quarters and ask for the paper or assisted route | Do not send identity or child documents to an unofficial intermediary. DigiD Machtigen can authorise a trusted person for online SVB affairs. |
The ordinary statutory limit is important but often described too loosely. Under the General Child Benefit Act, a right cannot start earlier than one year before the first day of the quarter in which the claim was submitted. If you apply on 20 July 2026, the application quarter began on 1 July 2026, so the earliest possible statutory start is 1 July 2025. That does not create entitlement from that date: you still need to have been insured and meet the child conditions on each quarter’s first day. For a new child, also follow the SVB claim route instruction to register the child with your health insurer within 4 months of birth, including a child born abroad who later comes here.
Use the amount for the quarter, then the payment date
Kinderbijslag is per child per quarter. It is not reduced because a parent or child earns more. The rate changed from the third quarter of 2026; recheck the current SVB amounts and payment dates before budgeting because rates are indexed on 1 January and 1 July.
| Child’s age on the quarter’s first day | 1st and 2nd quarters of 2026 | From the 3rd quarter of 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | €295.07 | €298.40 |
| 6 to 11 | €358.30 | €362.35 |
| 12 to 17 | €421.53 | €426.29 |
The SVB pays after the quarter ends. A payment date therefore names the quarter that has already finished, not the month ahead.
| 2026 payment date | Quarter paid | Rate used |
|---|---|---|
| 2 January 2026 | 4th quarter of 2025 | 2025 rate |
| 1 April 2026 | 1st quarter of 2026 | First-half 2026 rate |
| 1 July 2026 | 2nd quarter of 2026 | First-half 2026 rate |
| 1 October 2026 | 3rd quarter of 2026 | Higher rate from July 2026 |
The decisive dates are 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October. The child’s age on that day sets the age band for the whole quarter. A baby born after that day normally starts in the next quarter; a baby born on the first day can count in that quarter. The same snapshot principle applies to eligibility, so a move or insurance change during a quarter does not automatically create a right for that whole quarter.
Confirm which child and which parent the decision covers
The SVB eligible-children rules covers more than birth children, but each relationship has conditions. The claim is placed in one parent’s name unless co-parenting rules divide it.
| Situation | Core rule | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Own or adopted child | A child under 18 can qualify; an adoption must be reported and may need municipal registration | Use the claim route that matches whether the child lives in or outside the Netherlands. |
| Partner’s child lives with you | A spouse’s, registered partner’s or cohabiting partner’s child may qualify | Agree who claims and disclose any arrangement with the other parent. |
| Foster child | The child lives with you; you provide daily upbringing and support; no fostering allowance is paid; nobody else gets child benefit | Report the child in My SVB and keep proof of the living and support arrangement. |
| Child mainly moves to the other parent | The parent with whom the child lives receives the benefit; 4 or more nights a week with the other parent is a change to report | Report the child’s living arrangement, not only the legal divorce. |
| Co-parenting | Care and costs are shared roughly equally under a signed agreement or court decision; parents may agree the division, otherwise each gets half | Contact the SVB and make the choice with the child-budget effect in mind. |
Kindgebonden budget is normally paid to the parent whose name holds the kinderbijslag. In co-parenting, the lower-income parent may receive more child budget, but family and cross-border facts can change the calculation. Do not change the claimant only from a headline comparison; check both SVB and Dienst Toeslagen consequences under the SVB family-situation rules.
At 16 and 17, check education and living arrangements
Additional education conditions begin at 16. A startkwalificatie (school-leaving qualification) means a HAVO or VWO diploma or an MBO diploma at level 2 or higher. The Dutch school-system guide explains the Dutch school types.
| Situation at 16 or 17 | Condition | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| No school-leaving qualification yet | The child follows full-time education and attends classes | Confirm the course and attendance; examples include VMBO, HAVO, VWO, VAVO, HBO and MBO level 2 or higher. |
| Already has a school-leaving qualification | Child benefit may continue under the SVB education rules | Use the SVB education rules for ages 16 and 17 situation tool; do not assume that the diploma alone ends or guarantees payment. |
| Exempt from obtaining the qualification | An exemption can follow special education, mental or physical disability, a training-school programme or compulsory-education exemption | Keep the decision or school evidence the SVB requests. |
| Child lives outside the Netherlands | Separate conditions cover full-time study, a useful vocational qualification, completed study, or inability to study because of illness or disability | Use the foreign-child route rather than copying the Dutch-school test. |
A paid job does not reduce kinderbijslag, whatever the child earns, and the income need not be reported under the SVB earnings rule. Student finance also does not itself end child benefit. If the child sleeps at your home fewer than 4 nights a week, the child is normally “living away”; you need to contribute at least €540 per quarter for the ordinary rate. The SVB living-away rules also counts a child as living at home in a quarter when either parent stays with the child for a combined 46 days or more.
Double kinderbijslag has separate home and living-away routes
Do not use “extra care” as a single test. The home-care route, living-away route and yearly extra payment have different conditions, evidence and deadlines.
| Route | Main conditions | Claim or decision | Timing point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensive care while living at home | Child aged 3–17, sleeps at home at least 4 nights a week, and has extensive care needs established because of illness, disorder, condition or disability | A CIZ (Care Needs Assessment Centre) Wlz (Long-term Care Act) indication dated on or after 1 July 2024 can trigger an automatic SVB check if data-sharing permission was given; otherwise claim in My SVB | The SVB double-rate home-care route says backdating is at most 2 quarters; the SVB FAQ says a claimed case is decided within 8 weeks. |
| Child living away for education, top-level sport, illness or disability | Exact qualifying reason, at least €1,432 support per quarter, and generally fewer than 46 parent-stay days in that quarter | Use the SVB double-rate living-away route questions or contact the SVB; foreign study must also be comparable and not available within 25 km of home | Hospital stays and institutional funding have specific rules; do not infer the result from distance alone. |
| Extra yearly payment after the home-care double rate | Double rate for all 4 quarters of one calendar year, plus the tax-partner work-income conditions | Apply for the calendar year through the SVB; only one extra payment is possible even with more than one qualifying child | The statutory application deadline is before 1 December of the following calendar year; check the current SVB yearly-extra-payment rules year, amount and income limit. |
“Automatic” applies only to the stated post-1-July-2024 Wlz information route with permission and the age and home-living conditions. It does not make the yearly extra automatic or remove the separate income test. Preserve the CIZ and SVB letters, dates of the care indication, nights at home and support costs.
Cross-border cases need one coordinated decision
A child’s country is only one part of the case. The SVB also needs where each parent lives and works, any posting certificate, and every family benefit from another country.
| Situation | Possible effect | Action |
|---|---|---|
| You live in the Netherlands and work abroad | Dutch insurance may stop and the other country may become responsible | Check before or immediately after work starts; a posting certificate can change the answer. |
| You live abroad and work in the Netherlands | You may be Dutch-insured, but the SVB living-or-working-abroad rules limits payment in some situations to an EU, EEA or treaty country | Give the SVB residence, employer, tax, contribution and posting details. |
| You work in 2 or more countries | EU coordination can assign insurance based on residence, employers and the share of work | Ask the SVB for an insurance assessment; do not apply a simple “Dutch employer” rule. |
| The child lives abroad | Payment is possible only for a child in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or a treaty country, and some destinations use a statutory price-level percentage | Use the SVB child-abroad checker country checker and report the move. |
| Another country also pays family benefits | You cannot receive both countries’ full family-benefit amounts | Report the foreign benefit and amount so the institutions can apply priority and any supplement. |
Kinderbijslag and kindgebonden budget are different payments
Kinderbijslag is the fixed quarterly SVB payment in this guide. Kindgebonden budget (child budget) is a monthly, income- and asset-tested payment from Dienst Toeslagen (the benefits service). The names and recipient are linked, but the eligibility and payment systems are different.
| Situation | Application route | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| You already receive childcare, rent or healthcare benefit | Dienst Toeslagen normally considers child budget automatically and sends a notice if you qualify | The SVB child-budget rules says to check after 8 weeks following a birth and apply if no notice arrives. |
| You receive no other benefit from Dienst Toeslagen | The parent whose name holds child benefit applies through Mijn Toeslagen under the Dienst Toeslagen application rules | Apply promptly and estimate income accurately; child budget is not automatic in this route. |
| Co-parenting | Parents choose whose name holds child benefit and child budget follows that claimant | Compare the full household effect; division of child benefit does not mean Dienst Toeslagen splits child budget the same way. |
| Cross-border coordination | The SVB may include child budget and childcare benefit in a Dutch supplement | Do not expect a separate Dienst Toeslagen payment for the coordinated amount. |
Child budget normally stops when the child turns 18, but “no kinderbijslag means no child budget” is not absolute. The SVB child-budget rules describes limited cases for a 16- or 17-year-old after child benefit stopped, including conditions concerning school and support when the child lives away. Use the specific checker rather than ending the budget yourself.
Check whether the municipality reports a change or you must
Some Dutch events flow from the municipality to the SVB; many child, support and cross-border changes do not. Start with the SVB child-change list and SVB adult and cross-border change list lists instead of assuming that one government database tells every organisation.
| Change group | Examples | Reporting route |
|---|---|---|
| Municipality normally informs the SVB when you live in the Netherlands | A whole-family move within the Netherlands, a birth, marriage or registered partnership, divorce, nationality change, or a death in the Netherlands | Report the event to the municipality on time; still report any separate child residence, care or payment change that follows. |
| Child or support change you report directly | Child moves away or home, enters care or detention, support amount changes, parents stay with the child 46 days, or a foster allowance starts | Use “Report a change” in My SVB and keep dates and cost evidence. |
| Education change | For a 16- or 17-year-old, direct SVB reporting is particularly required for a private school or a school or institution abroad; living-away education changes have additional cases | Use the exact SVB child-change list checklist for the school and living situation. |
| Cross-border or foreign-benefit change | A parent starts or stops foreign work, family leaves the Netherlands, foreign family benefit begins or changes, or a death occurs abroad | Report directly to the SVB and provide the foreign decision or work evidence. |
Read the decision by quarter and object on time
The SVB decision—not a web example—sets your result. Check each quarter and act on the deadline printed in the letter.
| Step | Check or do | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Read the decision | Covered child, claimant, insured status, quarter start, age band, living-at-home status, support costs, country coordination and payment amount | A correct total can still hide a wrong starting quarter or claimant. |
| Ask for an explanation | Call the number in the decision and ask which fact or rule controlled the result | A call does not pause the objection deadline. |
| Submit bezwaar | Follow the decision’s route and ensure the SVB receives your objection within its stated deadline; the usual period under the Rijksoverheid objection guide is 6 weeks | Include name, address, date, the decision, reasons, requested outcome and signature; attach relevant evidence. Objection itself is free. |
| After the objection decision | If you still disagree, follow the appeal instructions in that decision | The court route and deadline are stated in the letter; do not substitute a service complaint for an objection. |
At 18, the quarter ends the claim
The SVB age-18 rule says kinderbijslag stops automatically. If the child is already 18 on the first day of a quarter, that quarter is not paid. Otherwise you receive the full quarter in which the 18th birthday occurs, with payment after it ends. The young adult may separately qualify in their own name for DUO student finance, an allowance for study costs or healthcare benefit; none is an automatic replacement. Child budget also ends at 18.
A safe workflow is short: establish insurance, match the child and parent, submit the correct claim, read the quarter dates, disclose all cross-border facts, report changes and keep the decision. Recheck rates and support thresholds when the relevant quarter begins. If you are still arranging BSN, DigiD and insurance after arrival, use the first 90 days checklist to put those steps in order.
Official Sources
Official source checked: August 2026.
- SVB: Child benefit amounts and payment dates - The 2026 age-band amounts, four payment dates, payment after each quarter, and the first-day-of-the-quarter rules for age and a new child.
- SVB: How to claim child benefit - The first-child, later-child, adoption, foster-child and newcomer routes; the current 3-to-6-week letter window; My SVB; offline help; and the 4-month health-insurer deadline.
- SVB: Questions about claiming child benefit - The separate current statement that a first-child letter arrives within 4 weeks, plus separation, co-parenting and double-rate decision information.
- SVB: Insurance under the child benefit scheme - The “as a rule” test for living or working in the Netherlands and exceptions for foreign work, postings, diplomats, international organisations, transport and temporary study.
- SVB: Wonen in Nederland - That municipal registration alone does not establish residence for child benefit, the factual residence factors, lawful-residence requirement and temporary-study or visit limitation.
- Wetten.overheid.nl: Algemene Kinderbijslagwet - The statutory insurance, indexation and claim rules, including the one-year ordinary backdating limit and six-month limit for the double rate.
- SVB: Which children qualify? - Own, adopted, partner’s and foster children, including the foster-child residence, daily-care, support, no-allowance and no-other-claimant conditions.
- SVB: Changes in your family situation - First and later children, separation, co-parenting, who receives child benefit, child-budget consequences and changes that may stop entitlement.
- SVB: Living at home or away from home - The 4-night, 46-day and €540-per-quarter support tests, plus care, hospital and co-parenting situations.
- SVB: Education at ages 16 and 17 - The study, school-leaving qualification and exemption routes; full-time education; rules for a child abroad; student finance; and €540 support for a child away.
- SVB: A child’s earnings - That a child’s paid work and earnings do not affect child benefit and need not be reported.
- SVB: Your child turns 18 - Automatic stopping, the first-day-of-the-quarter rule, the last payment and possible next routes in the young adult’s own name.
- SVB: Double rate for extensive care at home - Age, nights-at-home and care conditions; CIZ and Wlz routes; automatic award with permission; claim route; and a maximum of 2 backdated quarters.
- SVB: Double rate for a child living away - The €1,432 support test, qualifying education, sport, illness or disability situations, the 46-day parent-stay rule and foreign-study conditions.
- SVB: Extra yearly child-benefit payment - The all-4-quarters calendar-year condition, tax-partner work-income test and rule that the payment is available once even with more than one qualifying child.
- SVB: A child living outside the Netherlands - Eligible EU, EEA, Swiss and treaty-country destinations and possible price-level adjustment.
- SVB: A parent living or working outside the Netherlands - How foreign residence or work can end Dutch insurance and the destination restriction for some people working in the Netherlands while living abroad.
- SVB: Family benefits from two countries - The priority-country rule, prohibition on receiving both full amounts and the Dutch supplement when the priority country pays less, including coordinated child budget and childcare benefit.
- SVB: Changes in a child’s situation - Municipality-fed child changes and child moves, care, education, allowances and deaths abroad that must be reported directly.
- SVB: Changes in your, your partner’s or ex-partner’s situation - Municipality-fed adult changes and direct reporting of separate moves, support, foreign work, foreign benefits and other family benefits.
- SVB: Reporting a change - The My SVB and paper routes, 4-week deadline in the Netherlands, 6-week deadline abroad and DigiD Authorisation.
- SVB: Fines and measures - Repayment, warnings, fines for late or incorrect information and measures for not responding to SVB requests.
- SVB: Child budget - The separate monthly, income-tested payment, automatic and manual routes, co-parenting, the 8-week letter check and limited cases without child benefit.
- Dienst Toeslagen: Applying for child budget - Automatic consideration for recipients of childcare, rent or healthcare benefit; otherwise application through Mijn Toeslagen by the child-benefit claimant.
- Rijksoverheid: Objecting to a government decision - The usual 6-week objection deadline, required contents, free procedure and instruction to follow the decision for the exact route.
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