After they complete their聽studies, all students should consult the聽(French, English, Dutch, German) to find out whether they are entitled to unemployment benefits.
As a general rule, grant-assisted PhD students and employed researchers and lecturers can only claim unemployment benefits if they are legally resident in Belgium upon completion of their employment contract. Once their residence permit has been extended and they have obtained a C4 form from the Personnel Department, they can go to the聽聽and apply for unemployment benefits. In addition to this legal residency requirement, they must also prove that they satisfy other conditions before they can claim benefits. These include having worked for a certain number of days during the reference period, the exact number varying according to age.
(*)听Unemployment cover only applies to EU nationals and nationals of Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Quebec, Chile, Iceland, India, Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldavia, Morocco, Norway, the Philippines, Democratic Republic of Congo, San Marino, South Korea, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, the United States, Uruguay and the independent states of the former Yugoslavia.