Unemployment Insurance in EU->Belgium
Unemployment insurance in Belgium
Type of scheme
How to join? Compulsory Unemployment Insurance. You will automatically be enrolled in unemployment insurance when you start working in Belgium, and the compulsory insurance ends with the end of the employment relationship.
Contribution: Contributions are paid by employers and employees.
Who is covered? All employees.
Benefit amount: Earnings-related.
For the self-employed worker there is a specific benefit ("droit passerelle").
This scheme is only for specific categories of self-employed (as main activity, helper or assisting spouse) and the benefit is only possible to receive in case of interruption or forced cessation or termination due to economic difficulties. To be covered the self-employed must join a social security fund.
Requirements for entitlement
- have worked in a job covered by social security deductions, with a remuneration that the legislation considers sufficient in 312 days (12 months) during the 36 months immediately preceding the application. This reference period can be extended in certain cases.
Some days are considered working days: for example, sick days (for which the employer has paid a guaranteed salary or supplementary compensation in addition to compensation paid by the mutual insurance company), period of compulsory maternity leave and days covered by holiday pay. - being involuntarily unemployed (due to circumstances beyond your control)
- Be able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work
- be registered as a jobseeker with the relevant regional employment service (FOREM, Actiris, or VDAB).
- participate in the support and training programs offered by the employment service
In what cases can the reference period be extended?
The following periods extend the reference period:
- Days of incapacity for work due to illness, work-related accident, or occupational disease covered by compensation.
- Periods of at least 3 months of employment in a profession not subject to social security, unemployment sector.
Example: periods of self-employment, civil service, or employment abroad, which are not taken into account.
Provided, however, that you did not receive any unemployment benefits during this period. - Periods of career break or time credit with interruption allowances.
- periods of pre-trial detention or deprivation of liberty.
Are there special rules for new graduates?
Yes, once you have completed your studies, you may, under certain conditions, be eligible for benefits when you are unemployed. These benefits are called integration allowances.
You can see more about which educations that qualifies for unemployment benefits at this website.
Graduates receives a flat-rate allowance. The amount of the benefit depends on your family category and your age.
Before being entitled to unemployment benefit, graduates must first complete a professional integration traineeship.
Regardless of your age, the professional integration internship lasts 156 days. During your professional integration internship, you must remain available for the job market.
If you have completed an apprenticeship and obtained a professional qualification, the 156-day professional integration internship is reduced by the number of days (excluding Sundays) that fall within the period covered by the apprenticeship contract.
After this qualification stage, the application for benefits must be filed before the graduate turns 25 years.
You are entitled to integration allowances for a period of 12 months, starting from the first day for which you claim the benefit of integration allowances. The period can be extended under certain conditions.
The amount of unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefits are income related. The basis for calculation is gross salary earned, with a lower and an upper ceiling.
There are different salary ceilings for the different compensation periods (see below). If your previous salary was higher than the mentioned salary ceiling, then your unemployment benefits is based on the salary ceiling and not on your actual salary.
The salary from your last occupation of at least 4 consecutive weeks with the same employer are taken into consideration.
The amount you receive will depend on your your family situation, your last salary received, and, in some cases, your professional history.
Salary ceilings (in 2026) for calculation are defined as follows:
What salary ceiling? | When is it applicable? | Salary limit per month |
|---|---|---|
| Upper salary ceiling | From the first to the third month of full unemployment | 4,265.98 euros |
| Intermediate salary ceiling | From the fourth to the sixth month of full unemployment | 4,010.98 euros |
| Basic salary ceiling | From the seventh to the twelfth month of complete unemployment | 3,262.99 euros |
The amount of unemployment benefits is split into two periods, with degression:
First compensation period: 12 months
All unemployed people receive:
- during the first three months of unemployment: 65% of the last salary received, limited to the upper salary ceiling
- from the fourth to the sixth month of unemployment: 60% of the last salary received, limited to the intermediate salary ceiling
- from the seventh to the twelfth month of unemployment: 60% of the last salary received, limited to the lower salary ceiling
Second compensation period: maximum 12 months
During the second period, you will receive a lump-sum allowance.
You will get an additional month for every 104 days of work history (in salaried employment generating social security contributions) and assimilated days, up to a maximum of 12 months.
The days used to establish your entitlement to unemployment benefits (312 days of work and/or equivalent days during a 36-month reference period) are not taken into account.
The amount you will get in the second period depends on your family situation and no longer on your last salary.
The 2 years limitation of unemployment benefits does not apply to people over 55 years of age, if they have a professional career of at least 31 years, and in each year have worked at least 156 days. This condition becomes gradual increased to 35 career years in 2030.
Payment of benefits
Payment of benefits is made by payment bodies. There is a public body - CAPAC - and payment bodies of a union: ACV-CSC, FGTB or CGSLB.
Tax treatment
Unemployment benefits in Belgium is subject to the income tax, but tax reductions exist.
Insurance periods from other EEA countries
You have to work 3 months in Belgium to be able to use insurance periods from other EU/EEA countries.
See key points of EU Unemployment Insurance coordination below or read our article "EU social security coordination".
How to apply for unemployment benefit
You must go in person to the payment body of your choice (either the public body: CAPAC, or the payment body of a union: ACV-CSC, FGTB or CGSLB) to submit a claim for unemployment benefits.
You must register as a job seeker with the regional employment service responsible for your place of residence (VDAB, ACTIRIS, Forem, or ADG - see below under "Contact") on the day of your application or within 8 calendar days of your application.
Read more about how to submit a claim at onem.be.
If you do not meet the requirements
Belgium do not provide a Unemployment Assistance programme. However it is possible to apply for the guaranteed minimum income benefit (Revenu d’Intégration Sociale).
This is a non-contributory benefit, means-tested and not taxable.
Who do yo need to contact?
The National Employment Office (ONEM)
Address (central administration): Boulevard de l'Empereur 7 - 1000 Brussels
Telephone number (main): +32 25154111
Find the office where you live at: https://www.onem.be.
Paying organisations:
Fédération générale des travailleurs de Belgique (FGTB) - Belgian General Federation of Labour
Address (central administration): Rue Haute 42 - 1000 Brussels
Telephone: +32 25068211
Website: https://fgtb.be/
Centrale générale des syndicats libéraux de Belgique (CGSLB) - General Federation of Liberal Trade Unions in Belgium
Address (central administration): Chaussée de Haecht 579 - 1031 Brussels
Telephone: +32 22463111
Website: https://www.cgslb.be
Confédération des syndicats chrétiens (ACV-CSC) - Confederation of Christian Trades Unions
Address (central administration): Chaussée de Haecht, 579 - 1030 Schaerbeek
Website: https://www.acvcsc.be/
Caisse auxiliaire de paiement des allocations de chômage (CAPAC) - Auxiliary Unemployment Benefits Fund
Address (central administration): Rue de Brabant 62 - 1210 Brussels
Telephone: +32 22091313
Website: https://hvw-capac.fgov.be
The regional employment services
FOREM is responsible for placement (for the Walloon region) and vocational training (for the French and German-speaking communities). Vocational training in French in Brussels is organized by IB.FFP (Brussels Training).
ACTIRIS is responsible for placement in the 19 municipalities of the Brussels region.
The VDAB is responsible for placement (for the Flemish region) and vocational training (for the Flemish Community). Dutch-language vocational training in Brussels is also organized by the VDAB.
The ADG is responsible for placement matters for the German-speaking Community.
Belgian words
Unemployment Insurance = Assurance chômage, werkloosheidsverzekering
Unemployment benefit = allocations de chômage, werkloosheidsuitkeringen
This page was last updated on August 17, 2026.
- Unemployment insurance in Europe →
Unemployment Insurance in Belgium
You might also be interested in:
⇒EU social security coordination
⇒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.