Export of unemployment benefits
Normally within EU a person can export his cash benefits.
However, special rules apply to unemployment benefits. In general, to receive unemployment benefits you need to stay in the country which pays your benefits. However, under certain conditions, you can go to another EU country to look for work and continue to receive your unemployment benefits from the country where you became unemployed.
Staying abroad for 3 months
You can carry on receiving your unemployment benefit for at least 3 months from the EU country where you were last working - and up to a maximum of 6 months, depending on the institution paying your benefit.
You can only do this if you are:
- wholly unemployed (not partially or intermittently) and
- entitled to receive unemployment benefits in the country where you became unemployed.
Before leaving, you must:
- have been registered as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment services in the country where you became unemployed for at least 4 weeks (exceptions can be made)
- apply to your national employment services for a PD U2 form. The PD U2 (Portable Document U2) is an official EU/EEA document that allows you to take your home country's unemployment benefits with you.
- Together with the PD U2 form, you will also receive a form SED U008. SED U008 confirms that you have the right to be registered as a job seeker in the other EEA country.
On arrival in the new country, you'll need to:
- register as a jobseeker with the national employment services within 7 days from the date on which you ceased to be available to the employment services in the country you left
- submit your PD U2 and SED U008 forms when you register. The job centre in the EEA country will subsequently send a SED U009 to your national employment services, with information about when you registered.
- agree to any checks made on unemployment benefit claimants in your new country as if you were receiving unemployment benefits there.
The same amount as before will then be paid directly into your bank account in the country where you became unemployed.
Returning to your home EU country
The person concerned must return to the competent Member State before the period during which the unemployment benefit is retained, expires. (S)he will lose all entitlement to benefits of the competent Member State if (s)he does not return in time unless the provisions of the competent Member State are more favourable.
Staying abroad longer than 3 months
If you want to stay abroad for longer than 3 months, you will need to apply for an extension from the national employment service in the country where you became unemployed: they may extend the 3-month period up to 6 months.
Not all countries grant extensions. Ask the public employment service in your home country if, and under what conditions, extensions can be granted.
If you get a job in the other EEA country
If you find a job while you are travelling, you should contact your employment services/unemployment Insurance institution in your home country. As a general rule, you will be covered by the insurance in the other EU country (where you now work).
Once you are sure that you have been covered by the unemployment insurance of the other EEA country, you must cancel your membership/payment to unemployment Insurance in your home country. You may not be insured in more than one EEA country.
- Unemployment insurance in Europe →
- Social security coordination →
Export of unemployment benefits
You might also be interested in:
⇒Unemployment Insurance Schemes in EU
⇒Unemployment Insurance in the Nordic countries
Key points of EU Unemployment Insurance coordination
- Transferring periods of work and insurance between EEA countries As an EU citizen you can transfer acquired rights from Unemployment Insurance when moving between EU/EEA contries. In this way it may be easier to become entitled to unemployment benefit in the country you move to.
In the vast majority of the Member states the aggregation rule become fully applicable as soon as you starts to work in the country. However in Denmark, Belgium and Finland you must work some period there before you can use the aggregation rule.
You need a PD U1 document in the country you leave or if the involved countries use electronically exhange (EESSI) there will be issued a SED U002. The countries who issues the highest number of PD U1 documents are Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The countries who receives most PD U1 documents are Lithuania and Italy. - Transferring unemployment benefits Under certain conditions you can go to another EU country to look for work and continue to receive your unemployment benefits from the country where you became unemployed. The period you can export your unemployment benefits varies from 3 to 6 months in the different Member states.
You have to apply for a PD U2 document in the country you leave, or if you haven't done that the institution in the receiving country must request a SED U008 from the competent institution in your last country.
The countries who issues the highest number of PD U2 documents are Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark. Poland is the country who receives by far most PD U2 documents. - Unemployment benefits coverage According to OECD the net replacement of income after 2 months of unemployment, for a single person without children whose previous in-work earnings were 67% of the average wage varies from 33 percent (Ireland) to 91 percent (Belgium). Read more here..
- Having residence in another EU country than where you work? According to EU social security coordination rules you must only be insured against unemployment in one country at a time. As a generel rule this country is where you work.
In Member states who have compulsory insurance, you will automatically be covered when you start working there.
However you may be insured by your country of residence if you are posted to a EU/EEA country or work in two or more EU/EEA countries at a time. In these situations you can not your self decide where to have unemployment Insurance, but you (or your employer) must apply for a PD A1 document which states in which country you are covered by social security, including Unemployment Insurance. Special rule also apply for cross-border workers ("frontier workers"). - Third-country Nationals working in EU/EEANON-EEA citizens are covered by Unemployment Insurance in the EU countries who have compulsory Unemployment Insurance. In countries with voluntary Unemployment Insurance (Denmark, Sweden and Finland) third-country nationals can become member of an Unemployment Insurance Fund.
In the most countries Third-country nationals can also use the EU Coordination rules when moving within EU/EEA (however not in Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
Third-country nationals in short-tem working relations often faces problems with actually get Unemployment benefits, even though they have contributed to the system. This is due to the fact that one normally need a residence permit which allow one to take any job, and also because of a qualifying period in most countries between 6-12 months.