21 rules
I receive a benefit or a pension
So you do not lose your benefit: limits on staying abroad and what you must declare.
- ☐ Not allowed: Is it a crime to ask for money with a fake bank text message? What should I do if I get one? — Yes, fraud is a level 3 crime. If you get such a message, do not click the link, do not share codes or card details, and report the message.
- ☐ Not allowed: Can I work undeclared (off the books) while I receive unemployment benefit? — No. Working undeclared while receiving benefits is social fraud. Your benefit is stopped, the money you received wrongly must be paid back, and a criminal case can be started.
- ☐ Not allowed: Can I register at another address, or register someone at my address, to get more benefits? — No. Registering at an address where you do not really live, or registering someone else there, is a false statement. It can lead to prosecution for forgery or fraud.
- ☐ Not allowed: Can I use a fake payslip, tenancy agreement or diploma to rent a home or get a job? — No. Making a fake document and knowingly using one are both criminal offences (level 3). Even if someone else made the document, anyone who uses it knowing it is fake is responsible.
- ☐ Not allowed: Can I stay off work with a doctor's note I bought or tampered with when I am not ill? — No. A fake or altered doctor's note is forgery (level 3). You can also lose your job and your benefit.
- ☐ Required: Do I have to declare my house, plot of land or field abroad to Belgium? — Yes. If you pay taxes in Belgium, you must declare each property abroad separately to the tax authorities. A newly bought property must be declared within 4 months; someone who has just moved to Belgium must declare their existing property within 30 days.
- ☐ Required: Do I have to declare property I own abroad when I receive social assistance from the OCMW / CPAS? — Yes. When you apply for social assistance (leefloon / revenu d'intégration), you must declare all property and income, including abroad.
- ☐ Required: I am going to stay abroad for several months or over a year. Do I need to tell the municipality? — In most cases, yes. Foreign nationals with a residence card must tell the municipality in advance about any absence of more than 3 months. An absence of more than 1 year can cost you your right of residence.
- ☐ Required: I am ill and cannot go to work. When must I tell my employer, and do I need a doctor's certificate? — Yes. You must tell your employer straight away. If a certificate is requested, you usually have to hand it in within 2 working days. Twice a year, you may not need a certificate for the first day of illness.
- ☐ Required: Do I have to file a tax return every year? Do I need to do anything about the 'proposal' from the tax authorities? — Yes. From the age of 18, you must file a return every year, even if you had no income. If the tax authorities have sent you a ready-made proposal, checking it may be enough.
- ☐ Depends: Can I bring my own medicine, or medicine for my mother, from a country outside the EU? — You can bring medicine for your own use, with a prescription or a doctor's report, in an amount that fits your treatment. Before you travel, ask the official authority to confirm the maximum amount allowed. Selling medicine is forbidden.
- ☐ Depends: How long can I stay abroad while I receive the income guarantee for older people (IGO/GRAPA)? — At most 29 days a year. You must report every trip abroad longer than 5 days (6 nights) to the Federal Pensions Service before you leave. The days of departure and return do not count.
- ☐ Depends: Can I go on holiday abroad while I receive unemployment benefit? — Yes. You have the right to 24 days (4 weeks) of holiday a year, and you can spend this holiday abroad. For a longer stay, ask your payment organisation in advance.
- ☐ Depends: Can I live in social housing if I own a house abroad? — As a rule, no. In Flanders, you can only get social housing if you do not fully own a house or a building plot anywhere, including abroad. You declare this in writing. For Wallonia and Brussels, ask your own social housing company about the conditions.
- ☐ Depends: Can I go abroad while I am on sick leave (receiving sickness benefit)? — Yes, but before you leave the EU, you must get permission from your health insurance fund's doctor. For travel within the EU, it is enough to let them know in good time.
- ☐ Depends: Do I have to pay for my mother's or father's care home fees? — It depends. Children have a duty to support parents in need. If the parent does not have enough money, the OCMW / CPAS pays the difference and may ask you to pay back part of it, depending on your income.
- ☐ Depends: My mother can no longer manage her own affairs. Can I deal with her bank and make decisions for her? — Not automatically. You need a representative appointed by the justice of the peace, or a care mandate that your mother gave in advance and that has been registered.
- ☐ Depends: Can my relatives and friends help me for free when I build or renovate my own home? — It depends. Occasional, unpaid help from a close relative, without you giving them instructions, is usually not a problem. Regular or paid help, or undeclared help from someone receiving unemployment benefit, does cause problems.
- ☐ Depends: Is unemployment benefit no longer unlimited? How long can I receive it after the 2026 reform? — 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.
- ☐ Depends: I am going on holiday abroad; if I get ill there, is my Belgian health insurance valid? — Partly. The European Health Insurance Card is only valid in EU countries and a few other European countries. If you are going to a country that has a social security agreement with Belgium, ask your health insurance fund (ziekenfonds / mutualité) for a form for that country. For other countries, check your travel insurance.
- ☐ Depends: What is a flexi-job? Who can do one, how much can I earn tax-free and what should I watch out for? — A flexi-job is a side job for people who work at least 4/5 in their main job or who are retired. The worker pays no contributions; if not retired, the worker also pays no tax up to €18,440 a year in 2026. If the conditions are not met, it counts as an ordinary job.
Do not do this (5)
Criminal lawNot allowed· Criminal Code, level 3
Is it a crime to ask for money with a fake bank text message? What should I do if I get one?
Yes, fraud is a level 3 crime. If you get such a message, do not click the link, do not share codes or card details, and report the message.Open the rule Work and moneyNot allowedCan I work undeclared (off the books) while I receive unemployment benefit?
No. Working undeclared while receiving benefits is social fraud. Your benefit is stopped, the money you received wrongly must be paid back, and a criminal case can be started.Open the rule Identity and addressNot allowed· Criminal Code, level 3Can I register at another address, or register someone at my address, to get more benefits?
No. Registering at an address where you do not really live, or registering someone else there, is a false statement. It can lead to prosecution for forgery or fraud.Open the rule Criminal lawNot allowed· Criminal Code, level 3Can I use a fake payslip, tenancy agreement or diploma to rent a home or get a job?
No. Making a fake document and knowingly using one are both criminal offences (level 3). Even if someone else made the document, anyone who uses it knowing it is fake is responsible.Open the rule Criminal lawNot allowed· Criminal Code, level 3Can I stay off work with a doctor's note I bought or tampered with when I am not ill?
No. A fake or altered doctor's note is forgery (level 3). You can also lose your job and your benefit.Open the ruleYou must do this (5)
Work and moneyRequired
Do I have to declare my house, plot of land or field abroad to Belgium?
Yes. If you pay taxes in Belgium, you must declare each property abroad separately to the tax authorities. A newly bought property must be declared within 4 months; someone who has just moved to Belgium must declare their existing property within 30 days.Open the rule Social rightsRequiredDo I have to declare property I own abroad when I receive social assistance from the OCMW / CPAS?
Yes. When you apply for social assistance (leefloon / revenu d'intégration), you must declare all property and income, including abroad.Open the rule Identity and addressRequiredI am going to stay abroad for several months or over a year. Do I need to tell the municipality?
In most cases, yes. Foreign nationals with a residence card must tell the municipality in advance about any absence of more than 3 months. An absence of more than 1 year can cost you your right of residence.Open the rule Work and moneyRequiredI am ill and cannot go to work. When must I tell my employer, and do I need a doctor's certificate?
Yes. You must tell your employer straight away. If a certificate is requested, you usually have to hand it in within 2 working days. Twice a year, you may not need a certificate for the first day of illness.Open the rule Work and moneyRequiredDo I have to file a tax return every year? Do I need to do anything about the 'proposal' from the tax authorities?
Yes. From the age of 18, you must file a return every year, even if you had no income. If the tax authorities have sent you a ready-made proposal, checking it may be enough.Open the ruleIt depends (11)
Travel and customsDepends