Unemployment benefit and its impact on your Dutch residence rights

If you have worked for at least 26 weeks in the last 36 weeks, you may qualify for unemployment benefit ("WW-uitkering" in Dutch). You can find the conditions of the unemployment benefit on the website of the UWV (the Labour Department). In this article, we will briefly discuss the impact of unemployment benefit on your residence rights (such as, highly skilled migrant permit).

Established case law

On the reverse sides of many residence cards, it mentions: “beroep op publieke middelen kan gevolgen hebben voor verblijfsrecht” (recourse to public funds can have residence right consequences). People often get their wires crossed about the meaning of this remark, mistakenly believing that they cannot ask for unemployment benefit. According to established case law of the Dutch Council of State, unemployment benefit (“ww-uitkering” in Dutch) is not seen as public funds. To qualify for unemployment benefit, one must have contributed social premiums during their paid employment. Thus, the Council of State holds that receipt of unemployment benefit cannot be seen as recourse to public funds. The same applies to sickness pay.

Moreover, according to IND Work Instruction, unemployment benefit can be seen as an independent source of income, as long as the length of unemployment benefit does not exceed 26 weeks. Under certan circumstances, the IND can take unemployment benefit into account, when assessing the issue as to whether one qualifies for permanent residence.

Nevertheless, one should be careful about other types of governmental benefits (eg. the universal credit, also known as “bijstandsuitkering” in Dutch). An application for universal credit (“bijstandsuitkering”) will most likely have a negative impact on one’s residence rights in the Netherlands.

Other ways of staying in the Netherlands

If you hold a highly skilled migrant permit or a European blue card, you are supposed to find a new job within the search period. If you cannot find a new job within the search period, the IND can potentially curtail your visa. If you are interested in knowing more about how to continue your legal stay in the Netherlands, please feel free to read this article.

Book a consultation

If you are interested in asking for permanent residence and have a checkered past of (un)employments and/or residence gaps, please feel free to book a consultation with one of our lawyers. We will examine the merits of your case in greater detail.