Brussels scraps child benefit for foreign students

From 1 September, foreign students will no longer be entitled to child benefit in the Brussels region, the Brussels parliament has agreed.

A proposal for an ordinance by Benjamin Dalle (CD&V), co-submitted by Pascal Smet (Vooruit) and Sadik Köksal (Mouvement Réformateur), was given the green light at a recent plenary session in parliament.

Open VLD, MR, Les Engagés, Groen, N-VA, CD&V and Vooruit voted in favour. The Socialist and Ecolo (Greens) parties abstained, with the more left wing PTB and the new group Team Fouad Ahidar voting against the plan.

The measure applies to all students from abroad, including people from one of the 27 European Union member states, or foreigners carrying out vocational training, volunteering or working as an au pair.

The budgetary impact of the proposal is considerable. According to calculations by Brussels social services organisation Iriscare, the annual savings will increase from €700,000 in 2025 to €17.8 million in 2030.

“With this proposal, we want to secure the affordability of the Brussels child benefit system for the future. By acting today and taking targeted measures, we will avoid putting pressure on child benefit for Brussels families,” said Benjamin Dalle (CD&V), who noted that this is one of the first austerity measures to be voted on since the elections.

He said that this proposal brings the rules in the Belgian capital in line with Flanders and Wallonia, thus avoiding a “suction effect” to Brussels.