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Is unemployment benefit no longer unlimited? How long can I receive it after the 2026 reform?

In short

No, for most people it is no longer unlimited. Since 1 March 2026, benefit for new claims lasts at most 24 months; some groups are exempt from this limit. To qualify, you must have worked long enough, be registered as a jobseeker and be available for work.

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This rule in 67 seconds
Video transcript

You've lost your job. You think the benefit will last for years, like before. It depends: Since 1 March 2026, new claims get benefit for at most 24 months. You must have worked 312 days in the last 36 months. The right way: Register with your region's employment service, actively look for work, keep your control card. When your benefit ends, go to the OCMW / CPAS. Duration: Basic period: 12 months; Every 104 days worked: +1 month; Maximum: 24 months.

What is not allowed, what is required?

  • To qualify, you must have worked 312 days (or equivalent days) in the last 36 months, and you must be unemployed through no fault of your own. You apply through a trade union or through HVW / CAPAC.
  • Duration: a basic period of 12 months, plus 1 month for every 104 days of work history, up to 12 extra months. In total, at most 24 months. The benefit for school leavers (inschakelingsuitkering / allocation d'insertion) lasts at most 1 year.
  • For people who were already receiving benefit, the end dates are phased in group by group (1 January 2026 – 1 July 2027). On 10 September 2026 the Constitutional Court largely upheld the reform (judgment 96/2026). It only annulled the transitional rule that cut benefit for the longest-term unemployed to less than 12 months (9, 8 or 6 months). RVA / ONEM will inform the people affected.
  • You must register with your regional employment service: VDAB (Flanders), Actiris (Brussels), Forem (Wallonia) or ADG (German-speaking Community). Until the age of 60 you must actively look for work, accept suitable work and keep a control card (controlekaart / carte de contrôle).
  • Some groups are exempt from the time limit, for example people who become entitled to benefit at 55 and have a long work history (31 years in 2026). If your entitlement ends and you have no income, you can apply to the OCMW / CPAS.

Penalty and indirect consequences

PENALTY NOTICE
Fine / payment
Not a fine, but loss of benefit: refusing suitable work, leaving a job without good reason or failing to attend when the employment service calls you in can lead to your benefit being suspended for a time.

Legal basis:RVA – Verplichtingen tijdens werkloosheid

Court / prison
No prison sentence. However, working without declaring it while receiving benefit is social security fraud and can be prosecuted.

Legal basis:Sociaal Strafwetboek, art. 233 §1-§2

What really matters: the indirect consequences

Why does this rule exist?

Unemployment benefit gives people who lose their job an income until they find a new one. The government introduced a time limit to get people back to work faster and to help fund the system. The registration and availability conditions make sure the benefit goes to people who are genuinely looking for work.

Check your own situationWill my benefit be stopped?Enter your days away and see how long you can stay abroad while receiving IGO or unemployment benefit.

Where can you go?

  • Accountant or social secretariatDimona, e-invoicing and tax obligations
  • Organisations for self-employed peopleFlanders: Unizo · Wallonia and Brussels: UCM
  • Tax office (FOD Financiën / SPF Finances)Declaring foreign property and accounts
  • Social interpreterAt the municipality, the OCMW/CPAS, school and hospital, you can ask for an interpreter in your language; it is often free.

This site does not handle individual cases; it points you to the right service. All help addresses

Source and reliability

Official source
Source check
17 / 17 statements in an official source
Checked: 22.10.2026
Last checked
22.10.2026
Rules can change
Show the 17 checked statementsopen

The checked statements are in Turkish, as in the source text. This check does not replace legal advice.

General information, not legal advice. For your own situation, ask a lawyer or free legal aid. How was this information prepared?

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