Studying abroad

Your child studies in a country within the European Economic Area.

To be entitled to child benefit, your child must follow a course recognised by the government of the country in which they are studying or a course that is equivalent to a course that is recognised. Should your child’s course not be recognised by the government of the country in which they are studying or the course not be equivalent to a course that is recognised, you are still entitled to child benefit if your child follows at least 17 course hours per week.

If your child’s course meets these criteria, we look at how much time your child spends abroad:

• You are entitled to child benefit if your child returns to their parents in Belgium every day.

• If your child stays abroad, you should take the following steps depending on your child’s situation:
  • Should your child study abroad with a grant or as part of a European project such as Erasmus, you need not do anything. Your child’s study information will be passed onto us automatically.
  • Should your child study abroad without a grant and not as part of a European project, we will send you a copy of form E402. Have this form completed by the education institution abroad and send it back to us. We will then investigate your entitlement to child benefit.

Your child studies in a country outside the European Economic Area.

There are three general conditions if your child studies outside the European Economic Area:

• Your child remains registered in Belgium.
• Your child is not entitled to child benefit through another regulation within or outside Belgium.
• Neither parent nor other persons with whom your child forms a family work in the country in which they study.

To have us investigate your entitlement to child benefit, you should take different steps depending on your child’s situation:

• Should your child study abroad with a grant or as part of a European project such as Erasmus, you need not do anything. Your child’s study information will be passed onto us automatically.
• If your child is following vocational education abroad and they already have qualifications from secondary education, send us form P7int. You will then receive a maximum of one academic year’s child benefit.
• If your child is following higher education abroad and they do not yet have a higher education diploma, send us form P7int.
• If your child is following higher education abroad and they already have a higher education diploma, send us form P7int. You will then receive a maximum of one academic year’s child benefit.

If none of the situations above apply to your child, you can apply for individual dispensation from FPS Social Security. If they approve your application, you can contact us to receive your child benefit.

Your child studies in a country with which Belgium has concluded an agreement regarding child benefit.

You maintain your right to child benefit in Belgium and therefore receive it from us. All you need to do is fill in the correct form and send it to us. The regulation varies per country. If you provide us with more information, we will send you the correct form.