The risk-free statement means fewer costs for your employer because you will qualify for the risk-free scheme for employers (‘no-riskpolis’). This advantage of this scheme is that if you are unable to work due to your illness or disability, we will pay you a sickness benefit (‘Ziektewet-uitkering’).

To apply for a risk-free statement, you will need to meet all of the following criteria:

• Your illness or disability is impacting your ability to study, or it has done so in the past. 
• You are 16 to 30 years old, or you have an exemption from compulsory education (‘leerplichtontheffing’), or you need the risk-free statement for an apprenticeship (‘leerwerkplaats’). 
• Your last course finished less than 5 years ago and it was not adult secondary education (VAVO).

In addition, 1 of the following situations must also apply to you:

• Your last form of education was either SEN education (‘speciaal onderwijs’), practical secondary education (‘praktijkonderwijs’) or level-1 vocational higher education (‘MBO-niveau 1: entreeopleiding’). 
• You received SEN support (‘onderwijsvoorziening’) during the course. The support you received was in the form of help or disability equipment, and you received this support for more than 1 year. 
• You received SEN support (‘passend onderwijs’) in a mainstream school. 
• You were unable to complete the course because of your illness or disability, or you finished the course with a delay.

To apply for a risk-free statement, complete the Risk-free statement application form (‘Aanvraag no-risk verklaring’). You will need your DigiD account to do this. Save a copy of the completed form for your own records.

Make sure you keep the following close to hand when completing the form:

• the contact information of all of your employers, past and present
• the contact information of all educational institutions you have attended
• the details of the contact person for the course you are currently following (if applicable)

As part of your application, you will need to send us the following documents (if applicable):

• a SEN statement (‘toelaatbaarheidsverklaring’), specifying you qualify for SEN education 
• an individual development plan (‘ontwikkelperspectiefplan’), written by the school for a pupil who needs extra support
• the decision made about the direction you will take (‘uitstroomprofiel’) after leaving SEN secondary education (‘voortgezet speciaal onderwijs’) 
• an exemption from compulsory education issued by the school attendance officer (‘leerplichtambtenaar’) or the Inspectorate of Education (‘Onderwijsinspectie’)
• any education-related certificates and transcripts (‘getuigschriften’) 
• an official notice of departure from the school (‘verklaring beëindiging school’)
• any decisions taken by UWV or the local council (‘gemeente’) about your right to SEN support at school

We will confirm that your application has been received within 5 days. You will usually receive a decision about your application within 8 weeks of sending us the form. You may also be asked to attend a doctor’s appointment.