Welfare caseload rises for a third year
The number of people in the Netherlands receiving a general social assistance benefit rose again in the second quarter of this year. At the end of June 2026, 413,000 people below the state pension age were receiving bijstand, four thousand more than a year earlier. It is the twelfth quarter in a row that the figure has risen compared with the same quarter a year before, although the total is still slightly below where it stood before the coronavirus crisis.
The sharpest increase is among young people under 27. Their number rose by 5.7 percent to 44,000, the fourteenth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth, and the group has grown by 27 percent since the end of 2022. More people are also entering the scheme than leaving it: in the first quarter of this year 23,500 people started receiving bijstand while 18,500 stopped, the fourteenth quarter in a row in which inflow exceeded outflow.
For anyone who is not a Dutch national, there is a second layer to this that the figures do not show. Whether you can claim bijstand at all depends on your residence status, and claiming it can affect later applications. For naturalisation and for a permanent residence permit, the Dutch authorities look at whether you have independent, sufficient and lasting income, and a period on social assistance can weigh against you or delay an application. That is a reason to get advice before applying, not a reason to go without money you are entitled to.
If you are receiving bijstand now, two practical things matter. Report every change in your situation to your municipality straight away, including work, income, a change of address or someone moving in with you, because unreported changes are the most common cause of a demand to repay months of benefit later. And if you are also in an immigration procedure, ask your municipality or a legal aid desk how the benefit interacts with your permit before your next application falls due.