Poppin' bottles, graduation parties and the search for a job and your own place, it's all part of the life of a nest leaver. But what is it really like to be a recently graduated citizen? And what do you need to think about? With this checklist you will soon be in order with the most important things!
#1 Join a health insurance fund
As a student, your medical expenses are covered by your parents' health insurance. But once you reach 25 and graduate or as soon as you start working, you have to affiliate with a separate health insurance fund. When you join, ask about hospitalization insurance as well. The younger you join, the less you pay.
#2 Register with VDAB or Actiris
Haven't signed a work contract immediately after your studies? Unfortunately you are not yet entitled to unemployment benefit in Belgium. For this you must first complete your vocational integration period. This period lasts 1 year and starts counting from the day you register with VDAB (in Flanders) or Actiris (in Brussels). Go Do it!
#3 Fill in your personal taxes on time
Do you feel sick to your stomach when you think of filing your personal taxes? No worries, there's a good chance that you will receive a proposal for a simplified tax return. Log on to Tax-on-web, check all the data and correct them if necessary. Are all the data correct? Then you do nothing and your tax return will automatically come your way. The deadline for an online tax return is mid-July. It feels a bit like an exam, where all the answers are already filled in. Piece of cake!..and over before you know it!
#4 Take out a family insurance policy
Your parents probably have family insurance, but as a nest leaver, you are no longer covered by your parents' policy. This insurance is not compulsory, but it is reassuring, because it covers the damage to third parties that you caused as a person: you hit a Chihuahua on your bike, break an expensive vase at your grandmother's, your cat eats the neighbor's parakeet... With good insurance, you don't have to empty your virtual piggy bank. Read more about insurance on our blog!
#5 Dream about your (youth) holidays
Bali, Norway, Mexico... the first year of work you can cross that dream trip off your bucket list. Because if you are under 25 and work for at least one month during your graduation year in Belgium, you are entitled to youth holidays. These supplement your limited number of paid vacation days, up to four weeks! RVA tells you all the details about youth vacation.
#6 Tell your parents about the child benefit (which euh... stops)
So what's the deal with the child benefit system in Belgium? Well, actually you don't notice much of it yourself, but your parents do. Because as soon as you graduate or turn 25, they don't get any more child allowance. The only thing you can do is notify them.
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