Claim benefits

You may apply for benefits from the UWV in the following cases:

• You are about to or have recently been unemployed
• You are ill
• You have a disability that makes it impossible to work
• You are pregnant

Make sure to check with the UWV if you have a right to, for example, unemployment benefits or sickness benefits.

If you (no longer) have a right to benefits from the UWV, then you can request for welfare benefits from the Almere municipality. If you need any help with this application, you can call 14 036.

• You live in Almere or have a postal address here
• You are a Dutch national, are an EU citizen or you have a valid residence document
• You are older than 18, but are below the AOW age
• You do not have enough income to live
• You receive no other benefits
• Your savings or valuables does not exceed the vermogensgrens (asset limit)
• You are not an entrepeneur. If you are a self-employed entrepeneur and you have financial issues, you can claim benefits for freelancers (bijstand voor zelfstandigen, Bbz). Apply at the Zelfstandigenloket Flevoland (in Dutch)
• You do not currently receive WW-uitkering (Werkloosheidswet, unemployment law benefit). You can apply for welfare benefits 4 weeks after your WW-uitkering has stopped.

If you are homeless and you want to claim benefits, then please go to the Spreekuur Intake (speaking hour).

• If you do not have a DigiD account, then you will have to make one. It takes about 5 working days before your DigiD arrives.
• Make sure to directly apply at Almere Municipality through the report form (meldingsformulier). That way you will indicate that you applied for benefits today, but that you have to apply for a DigiD account first. The date of today is then recorded by the municipality. This is called the report date (meldingsdatum). This is important because your benefits (if these are accepted) will can only enter from the report date.

• We need your email address to send documents to you.
• If you do not have an email address, then you can make one. If this does not work, then friends, family or an aid worker could help you out.
• If this also does not work, or you do not have internet access, then you can send your application without an email address. Contact the municipality as soon as possible. Call 14 036 and say that you are calling to claim welfare benefits.

• We need proof of you to see if you are applicable to claim benefits. Documents that you send to us as proof for your case are called supporting documents.
• You can send the documents that you have now online with your application, such as bank statements.
• The sooner you hand in all the requested information, the faster we can process your application.

• Older than 27 years: go to step 5
• Younger than 27 years: go to youth application (in Dutch)

• Fully completing the application takes about 30 minutes.
• Make sure to have the required documents on hand and that they are saved on your computer.
• If you do not touch a key for 15 minutes or do not fill in anything, then you will have to log in again with your DigiD. The answers that you already filled in will be saved.
• You may see that we already know a few details about you. This is called the Digital Customer Dossier (Digitaal Klantdossier).
• Do not use a mobile phone for your application. There is a chance that your application will not be send to us correctly. If you did fill in the questionnaire on your mobile phone, please check to see if you received an email confirming that you sent the application. If this is not the case, then make sure to contact the municipality as soon as possible. Call 14 036 and say you are calling about your request for welfare benefits.
• If there is a system malfunction, please try again later in the day. If this also does not work, then you can at least fill in the online report form. That way your request will at least be registered on the date of today.

Make sure to check if you received a confirmation on your email account. If you cannot find an email, please look into your spam folder. This is important, because if you have not received this email, then we did not receive your application. Because of this, we would not be able to process your application.

If you did not receive an email, please contact the municipality as soon as possible. call 14 036 and say that you are calling about your application for welfare benefits.

• If you received an application on the email address that you submitted, then your application was successful. Please make sure to also check your spam folder if you cannot find an email.
• If something went wrong with your application, or you need help, please contact the municipality as soon as possible. Call 14 036 and say that you are calling for your welfare benefits application. You can also visit the Sociaal Domein counter in City Hall.

• After your application we will invite you for an application interview. This is done by the employee that is handling your application: the income consultant. This interview is compulsory.
• The income consultant will call you after your application to schedule an appointment. This appointment will be confirmed with a letter. In this letter you see if we may need more information from you.

We will take a decision if:

• You submitted all the requested information
• You were present at the application interview
• We have no further questions

You will receive a letter within 8 weeks which will show if you can or cannot claim benefits. This letter is called a verdict (beschikking).

• When applying for benefits, it is possible that this can take some time before you will receive any money.
• If the processing of your application lasts longer than 4 weeks, then we will pay you an advance (voorschot). This advance is 95% of the welfare standard (bijstandsnorm) that is applicable to you. You will receive the other 5% later if you can successfully claim your benefits.
• You have a right to receive advances for as long as your benefits application has not been processed yet. You do have to send all the necessary details our way.
• You will not receive an advance if it is immediately clear that you do not have a right to welfare benefits.
• It is possible that you will receive an advance, but that during the processing of your application it is revealed that you are not eligible for benefits. You will then have to pay back the advance.
• On the page Uitkeringsbedragen en vakantiegeld, you can read how much money you will receive and how much.

It is possible that you may have to submit additional documents (bewijsstukken) after you have sent your application. You can upload all the documents through My Income (Mijn Inkomen).

A client manager (klantmanager) of the municipality will invite you for an interview to see if you are able to return to the workforce. If it is not possible for you to work, then we can discuss different ways to remain active and the care that you need.

You can watch a video here on how to prepare yourself for this conversation (in Dutch). The video is available in multiple languages.