Emigrating on a Dutch benefit: what comes with you and what stops, with Turkey as the example

Whether your benefit comes with you depends on two things: which benefit it is and which country you are going to. An incapacity benefit (WIA, WAO or WAZ) always comes with you within the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, and beyond that only to a country the Netherlands has a treaty with. Turkey is such a country. A WW unemployment benefit comes along for three months at most, and only within Europe. Wajong and social assistance stop. The pitfall lies in what hangs beside the benefit: the UWV supplement and the WGA follow-up benefit do not come along in full everywhere, not even to a treaty country.

Which benefit can I take with me when I emigrate?

Benefit	Within EU, EEA and Switzerland	Beyond
WIA, WAO, WAZ	comes with you	only to a country with a treaty; otherwise it stops
Ziektewet (sickness benefit)	comes with you	only to a country with a treaty
WW	at most 3 months, with form PD U2	does not come with you
Wajong	stops, with three exceptions	stops, with three exceptions
Social assistance (bijstand)	stops	stops
UWV supplement (Toeslagenwet)	does not come with you	in principle not; differs per country
Anw (survivors)	comes with you	depends on the country; sometimes lower or not at all
AOW	comes with you	comes with you; without a treaty only the amount for married people

About countries outside Europe the Dutch government says that it depends on a treaty the Netherlands has concluded with the other country, and on whether that treaty provides for it. UWV keeps the list and is firm about it: if a country is not on its page, you cannot take your benefit there. The list includes Turkey, Morocco, Suriname, Thailand, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, Panama and the islands of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. How the AOW behaves is in AOW on emigration.

I have been declared unfit for work: can I emigrate on a WIA or WAO benefit?

Yes, to the EU and to any country on the UWV list. If you move to a country without agreements, UWV is brief: your benefit then stops. What you arrange:

• Report it, at the latest two weeks before departure. In those two weeks you may still get a medical examination by a UWV doctor.
• Every year the form Verklaring van in leven zijn (proof of life). You return it completed and signed within six weeks.
• Cooperate with a reassessment. It takes place with a doctor in the country where you live. UWV can also oblige you to come to the Netherlands; your necessary travel and accommodation costs are then reimbursed.
• Does your health change, or are you admitted? You report that within one week.

So you keep the same duties as in the Netherlands, plus a few more. Emigrating does not make your benefit permanent.

Does my benefit stay the same amount abroad?

Not always. The country-of-residence principle adjusts some benefits to the cost level of the country: you then receive a percentage of the Dutch amount. It applies to the Anw, to the WGA follow-up benefit and the supplement on it, and to child benefit and the child budget. It does not apply to the AOW.

With the WIA it matters which part you have. The wage-related WGA benefit stays the same. For the WGA follow-up benefit UWV gives a country factor per country: 0,5 for Morocco, 0,7 for Bonaire, 0,9 for Curaçao, 1,0 for Aruba and Sint Maarten. A factor of 0,7 means you get 70% of what you would receive in the Netherlands. For most treaty countries, including Turkey, Suriname, Thailand and Indonesia, it says "In onderhandeling" (under negotiation): no factor has been agreed there yet.

The supplement UWV pays when your benefit stays below the social minimum is a separate story. It does not come with you to most countries, not even within the EU. Whoever lives on benefit plus supplement in the Netherlands therefore first calculates what is left without the supplement.

Emigrating to Turkey on a benefit: what comes with you?

Turkey is a treaty country and is on the UWV list:

Benefit	To Turkey
WIA and WAO	yes
WAZ	yes
Ziektewet and WAZO	yes
Country factor WGA follow-up benefit	under negotiation
UWV supplement	under conditions; UWV asks you to contact it for more information
WW	no
Social assistance	no

So in Turkey the supplement is the uncertain part: ask UWV in writing before you leave whether you meet the conditions, and plan with the amount without supplement as long as you do not have that answer.

Two things are attached to it. Your healthcare: with a WIA or WAO benefit you report to the CAK for the treaty route into the Turkish state system; how that works is in healthcare in Turkey. And your tax: the treaty with Turkey leaves benefits from the Dutch social security system with the Netherlands (article 18), so the wage tax on your benefit stays in place. The details are in AOW, pension and tax in Turkey.

And with WW, Wajong, Anw or social assistance?

WW. Outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland the WW does not come with you. Within Europe you may look for work for at most three months while keeping WW. You must then be fully unemployed, have had WW for at least four weeks and have been available all that time. You apply for form PD U2 at least one week before departure and register within seven days after departure with the benefits agency of the new country. That is job-seeking on a benefit, not emigrating on a benefit.

Wajong. According to UWV your benefit stops on the first day of the month after your departure. There are three exceptions: you need medical treatment abroad, you have more opportunities to work there, or your parents or carers have to move and you need their care. You request that by letter to UWV and report the move within one week after you know.

Anw. The SVB warns that in some countries it may not pay a survivor benefit, or only part of it. The country-of-residence principle applies here too. Ask the SVB beforehand what you get in your country.

Social assistance. You cannot take it anywhere: if you move abroad, your social assistance benefit in the Netherlands stops.

Child benefit and child budget. Outside Europe taking them with you is in principle no longer possible. What you stop yourself is in stopping benefits on emigration.

What is the pitfall?

Deregistering from the municipality is not a report to UWV or the SVB. Whoever leaves without reporting it first simply keeps receiving the benefit and later gets a claw-back. Report it beforehand, and ask per benefit and per supplement for a written answer about the country you are going to.

In Vertrekklaar this belongs to the phase Closing down the Netherlands of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See how the step-by-step plan works.