About CIZ

Long-Term Care Act

The Long-Term Care Act (in Dutch: Wet langdurige zorg or Wlz) is intended for people who need long-term intensive care. You can receive this care either at home or as a resident in an institution like a nursing home.

To arrange for this care, you will first need a Wlz indication, which you can obtain by applying to the CIZ. After receiving your application, we will assess whether you meet all the applicable requirements for care under the Wlz.

Applying for a Wlz indication is useful if:

• You have a disease, condition, disorder or disability; and
• You will need care for the rest of your life. By this, we mean that you will always need someone around you to care for you, even if your situation might improve in the future. We call this ‘permanent care’; and
• You are unable to get help yourself when you are in an unsafe situation. By an ‘unsafe situation’, we mean a situation where you cannot take proper care of yourself. For example: you are unable to wash, dress, feed yourself or ensure your safety. This has serious consequences for your health. Think of a risk of self-neglect, of infection, or of physical harm due to self-afflicted wounds, for example.
• An ‘unsafe situation’ can also mean that you may be vulnerable to sexual, financial or emotional abuse; and
• You need someone to be around you day and night because you cannot get help yourself when necessary.

Insurance excess
Please note that you will have to pay for part of the care provided under the Wlz yourself. This is called the ‘insurance excess’. You will not pay this amount to us, but rather to the Central Administration Office (CAK). The CAK will calculate your contribution as well. On the CAK website you will find a calculation tool which you can use to see approximately how much you need to pay yourself.

Submitting an application from abroad
Are you moving (or moving back) to the Netherlands and do you need long-term care? Then you can already apply for this care before you become an official resident of the Netherlands. Here you can read more about submitting an application from abroad.

Care and Compulsion (Psychogeriatric and Intellectually Disabled Persons) Act

The Care and Compulsion (Psychogeriatric and Intellectually Disabled Persons) Act (in Dutch: Wet zorg en dwang or Wzd) is intended for people with an intellectual disability or a psychogeriatric disorder like dementia. The Act ensures that they can be committed or they can receive long-term care if they really need this care but are not willing to cooperate, or if they do not have the capacity to make a decision about this. We refer to this as ‘involuntary committal’ or ‘involuntary care’. 

The person for whom you are submitting the application and the situation concerned must meet the following criteria:

• The person is intellectually disabled or has a psychogeriatric disorder like dementia. Or they suffer from one of the following conditions: Korsakoff syndrome, Huntington’s disease or an acquired brain injury (ABI).
• The person needs to be committed to an institution that is authorized to provide this involuntary care.
• The person is aged 12 years or older.

Double child benefit 

Parents whose children need a lot of extra care may be eligible for double child benefit. You will be eligible for this if your child lives with you and is at least 3 but not yet 18 years of age. You can submit an application for double child benefit to the Social Insurance Bank (Sociale Verzekeringsbank, SVB). Go to the SVB website. 

If your child receives an indication for care under the Long-Term Care Act (Wlz) for the first time, you may be entitled to double child benefit. Since 1 July 2024, the CIZ has been informing the SVB about children's Wlz care indications, provided their parents agree to this. The process for claiming double child benefit then starts automatically. You can read more about this in the information leaflet accompanying the letter you will receive about the Wlz care indication. 

Linguistic interpreter for home visit

Do you not speak Dutch? Then please indicate this on the Wlz application form or the application form for a committal and residence decision, also stating which language you do speak. In this case we will arrange for an independent interpreter who can assist when we visit you at home (either in person or digitally).