Local welfare centres in Belgium will soon be allowed to hire investigators if they suspect recipients of social integration income are concealing property or associated earnings.
Currently, existing databases make it relatively straightforward to verify whether a claimant owns housing or receives rental income in Belgium. However, detecting properties abroad is far more challenging, according to Belgium’s migration minister, Anneleen Van Bossuyt.
Under her proposal, welfare centres would gain an additional means to uncover fraud when strong indications are present. While social investigations would remain the centres’ responsibility, private investigators could collect targeted information such as local registry data, land records, or official attestations.
Social workers would assess the findings, and final decisions would remain within the welfare centres’ authority. “These are targeted checks in cases of concrete evidence, conflicting statements, or unreliable documents,” said Van Bossuyt. “If there are signs that someone is hiding property or income from it, a welfare centre should be able to verify.”
Antwerp’s welfare centre collaborated in developing the measure and will be the first to implement it. The city, which has experience locating foreign properties in social housing cases, sees this as crucial for ensuring fairness in welfare assistance. “In a multicultural city like ours, where many residents have ties abroad, monitoring foreign properties is essential for equitable social policy,” said Nathalie van Baren, Antwerp’s councillor for social affairs.
Van Bossuyt emphasised that the plan includes safeguards for privacy, professional secrecy, and data protection. Additionally, individuals retain the right to be heard and to appeal decisions.
