THE ESSENTIALS
After your studies, if you’re between 18 and 25 and live in Brussels, register quickly with Actiris as a job seeker. It’s super important to start your 6-month “professional integration internship,” which allows you to keep your family allowances and open up rights to integration allowances after this period. Don’t delay, because the deadline is short for your internship to start at the right time!
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
When you’ve finished your studies (or if you stop them), you must register as a job seeker with Actiris if you’re domiciled in Brussels. If you finished your studies in June without a second session, register no later than August 8th for your professional integration internship to officially begin on August 1st. If you have a second session, an internship, or a thesis to present, your internship starts the day after your last exam or submission. If you stop your studies without a diploma, the internship can start on the day of your registration.
The professional integration internship lasts 156 days, or about 6 months (all days are counted except Sundays). During this internship, you must actively look for a job and be available on the job market. You’ll need to get two positive evaluations of your job search to be able to apply for integration allowances afterward.
If you’re under 25 and registered as a job seeker, you keep your family allowances during your professional integration internship, provided you don’t work more than 240 hours per quarter. You also remain covered by your parents’ mutual insurance.
From March 1st, 2026, the duration of the integration internship to open the right to integration allowances is reduced to 6 months. Integration allowances, which are unemployment benefits based on your studies, are now granted for a maximum of 12 months (compared to 36 months before January 1st, 2026), regardless of your family situation. The amount of integration allowances is fixed and varies between EUR 405.86 and EUR 1,800.76 per month (amounts indexed on January 1st, 2026), depending on your age and family situation (single, cohabiting, or cohabiting with family dependents).
Your registration with Actiris gives you access to a lot of services: help with job searching, support, access to professional training (especially via Bruxelles Formation), and even hiring aids.
HOW TO DO IT
- Register online or by appointment: For a first registration, the easiest way is to do it via My Actiris on the Actiris website, or to make an appointment at an Actiris branch.
- Prepare your ID card: You’ll need your national register number to register.
- Verify your registration: If you register online, don’t hesitate to call the Actiris Contact Center at 0800 35 123 to check that you are indeed registered for a professional integration internship.
- Update your My Actiris profile: Once registered, check and complete your personal data (address, phone, email) and create an attractive profile with your CV, your experiences, your skills, and your search criteria. This is super important for employers to find you!
- Actively look for a job: During your integration internship, you must prove that you are looking for work. Keep all your search proofs!
- Attend convocations: Actiris will call you for interviews to evaluate your job searches.
- Apply for your integration allowances: After your 6 months of internship and if you’ve had two positive evaluations, you can submit an application for integration allowances to a payment agency (CAPAC or trade union) with form C109/36-DEMANDE.
THE PITFALLS
- Missing the registration deadline: If you finish your studies in June and don’t register before August 8th, your professional integration internship will start later, which will delay your right to integration allowances accordingly.
- Not actively looking for a job: During your integration internship, you have job search obligations. If you don’t get two positive evaluations, your internship will be extended and you won’t be able to receive your integration allowances.
- Working too much during the internship: If you work more than 240 hours per quarter during your integration internship and you are under 25, you risk losing your family allowances for that quarter.
- Not being domiciled in Brussels: If you don’t live in Brussels, you cannot register with Actiris as a primary job seeker. You’ll have to register with Forem (Wallonia) or VDAB (Flanders). You can then register with Actiris as a free job seeker to benefit from their services, but this registration is valid for 3 months and must be renewed.
- Not updating your profile: Incorrect information or an incomplete profile on My Actiris can make you miss job offers or important convocations.
WHERE TO GET INFORMATION
For official and up-to-date information, you can contact:
- Actiris:
- Contact Center: 0800 35 123 (Monday to Friday from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM and from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM, closed Thursday afternoons).
- Their website: actiris.brussels
- Actiris branches: for registration or re-registration, by appointment only. Walk-in sessions are held on Tuesdays from 9 AM to 12 PM and from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM, and on Thursdays from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM for other services (re-registration after less than 6 months, certificate delivery, advice).
- Infor Jeunes Bruxelles: For personalized advice on your rights and procedures.
- ONEM (National Employment Office): For all questions concerning integration allowances and unemployment regulations.
- CAPAC (Auxiliary Unemployment Benefits Payment Fund) or your trade union: These are the allowance payment agencies.
- Bruxelles Formation: For professional training.
Verified sources
- bruxelles-j.be
- ijbxl.be
- inforjeunes.eu
- actiris.brussels
- jeminforme.be
- famiris.brussels
Information verified on 11/09/2026. Amounts and rules may change: always check with the official body.