This right may be exercised by children up to the age of 18 who live in a household which does not own property or property rights to provide for livelihood and if they attend regular education.

The assistance is provided for one of the parents of the child, the guardian or the person who has been appointed by a competent social work centre to foster the child, to raise and educate the child and who provides accommodation for the child in their family under conditions determined by this law.

The rights to children's allowance is provided as of the date of submission of the application for children's allowance.

Eligibility Criteria

- A child living in a household with permanent residence in the Republic of North Macedonia, if the household does not own property or property rights that provide for livelihood and if the child is a regular student in RNM.

- A foreign citizen who has a residence and regulated stay in the Republic of North Macedonia, in accordance with the legislation and international agreements ratified according to the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia in the last three years before submission of application.

- Right to children’s allowance shall also be provided to a child from a household which has been entitled, i.e., benefits from rights of guaranteed minimal assistance, in accordance with the Law on social protection.

A child shall be entitled for children’s allowance if they come from a family whose total average monthly income for the last three months before application and during exercising the right pursuant to all criteria for all members of the household is up to the threshold for eligibility for the right to children's allowance, which is determined at 6.000 (six thousand) MKD, increased for each member of the household for a coefficient of the equivalent scale, at most for a total of eight members of the household, as follows:

• The second member for a coefficient of 0.5
• The third member for a coefficient of 0.4
• The fourth member for a coefficient of 0.4
• The fifth member for a coefficient of 0.2
• The sixth member for a coefficient of 0.1
• The seventh member for a coefficient of 0.1
• The eighth member for a coefficient of 0.1
• THE EQUIVALENT SCALE increases additionally by 1.2 for a single parent. So, for example, for a three-member household, the total average monthly income earned in the last three months before submitting the request and during the use of the right on all grounds of all members in the household must not exceed the amount of 12,920 denars, for a four-member household 15,640 denars , for a five-member household 17,000 denars, for a six-member household 17,680 denars, for a seven-member household 18,360 denars, and for an eight-member household 19,040.00 denars. For a three-member household with one single parent, the access threshold is 21,080 denars, for a five-member household with one single parent, the access threshold is 25,160 denars.

  When determining the amount of the threshold for access to the right to child allowance, for a family member or household member is not considered if:

• serving a prison sentence longer than 30 days

• with the decision of the center for social work is placed in an institution for non-family social protection, or is placed in a health or other institution for a period while the placement lasts and
  perpetrator of domestic violence.

The following shall be considered for total monthly income of all members of the household:

1. Income from work;

2. Retirement benefit realized in the Republic of North Macedonia;

3. Income from independent activity;

4. Income from copyrights and related rights;

5. Income from sale of own agricultural produce;

6. Income from industrial property rights;

7. Income from lease and sublease;

8. Income from capital;

9. Capital revenues;

10. Gains from games of chance;

11. Income from insurance;

12. Other income;

13. Right to social security of the elderly;

14. Unemployment benefits;

15. Military disability allowance;

16. Civil disability allowance;

17. Legal livelihood aid;

18. Parental child benefits;

19. Financial support in the field of agriculture and rural development;

20. Permanent allowance;

21. Salary allowance for part-time work, and

22. Allowance for education of a person who had a status of child without parents and parental care up to 18 years of age.

The right to children’s allowance cannot be exercised by a child if the household owns the following:

1. Other family house or an apartment in which they do not live or which is not used for living;

2. Apartment or a house under construction;

3. Business premises;

4. Savings in the amount over MKD 70.000, and

5. Securities.

In exercising the rights to children’s allowance the following shall not constitute income:

1. Financial allowance for care and assistance for other person;

2. Allowance due to disability;

3. Allowance for housing;

4. Single financial aid;

5. Monetary allowance for the costs for an institutionalized person and an allowance for taking care of a person in a foster family;

6. Single financial aid for a newborn;

7. Special allowance;

8. Guaranteed minimum assistance;

9. Allowance for education (for primary and/or secondary education);

10. Allowance for census takers for performance of tasks related to implementation of the Census of population, households and apartments in the Republic of North Macedonia, and members of the household, in the amount of MKD 15.000;

11. Monetary allowance paid within IPA projects, funded by the European Union and implemented in the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy;

12. Income based on community work, according to a Program from the Operational plan for active employment programs and measures;

13. Allowance for attending training, according to programs/measures from the Operational plan for active employment measures and programs;

14. Stipend;

15. Income based on engagements for public works, seasonal work and other temporary jobs, according to the Labour Law;

16. Donations according to the Law on Donations;

17. Allowance for practical training of students and practical education of students;

18. Allowance for traineeship according to the Law on traineeship;

19. Allowance for volunteers according to the Law on Volunteering;

20. Financial aid for medical treatments in the country or abroad;

21. Allowance arising from activities related to the security and defence of the Republic of North Macedonia;

22. Reported or realized net income from the sale of own agricultural produce by all members of the household, in the amount up to MKD 300.000, and over this amount, 80% of the realized income in the last 12 months;

23. Reported or realized net income from other revenues by all members of the household, in the amount up to MKD 30.000 in the last 12 months; and

24. Legal livelihood benefit for a child, in the amount up to MKD 6.000

In exercising and using the right to children’s allowance for a child from a household which is beneficiary of a right to guaranteed minimum assistance according to the Law on Social protection, the financial status of the household shall not be determined.

If there is a child in the family who is of school age, the amount of the children’s allowance for one child shall amount to MKD 1.362 (one thousand three hundred sixty-two) monthly, and for two or more children in the family, it shall amount to MKD 2.178 (two thousand one hundred seventy-eight) monthly for all children.

If there is a child in the family who is not of school age, the amount of the allowance for one child shall amount to MKD 1.634 (one thousand six hundred thirty-four) monthly, and for two or more children it shall amount to MKD 2.568 (two thousand five hundred sixty-eight) monthly for all children.

If there are two or more children in the family, and if the children are not all of school age, the amount of the children’s allowance for all children shall be MKD 2.178 (two thousand one hundred seventy-eight) monthly.

Necessary documents for attainment and exercising the right to children’ allowance for all members of the household:

1. Valid ID card of the applicant, submitted only for inspection to prove the identity of the person, his/her citizenship and place of residence;

2. Excerpt from the Registry of births;

3. Excerpt from the Registry of marriages;

4. Excerpt from the Registry of deaths;

5. Court’s judgement on divorce of marriage;

6. Certificate of realized annual income;

7. Property list or Certificate that the person does not own property;

8. Certificate of realized income from work in the Republic of North Macedonia or abroad;

9. Certificate of a retirement benefits realized in the Republic of North Macedonia or abroad;

10. Judgement on established legal livelihood benefit;

11. Agreement on performance of work related to implementation of the Census of population, households and apartments in the Republic of North Macedonia;

12. Certificate of savings from a Bank;

13. Certificate of securities from the Central Depositary of securities;

14. Certificate from the Employment Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia of reimbursement of unemployment benefit;

15. Certificate of reimbursement of military disability allowance;

16. Certificate of reimbursement of civil disability allowance;

17. Certificate of Allowance arising from activities related to the security and defence of the Republic of North Macedonia;

18. Evidence that one of the parents is unknown;

19. Evidence that one of the parents is missing;

20. Evidence for time of imprisonment;

21. Evidence that one of the parents is deceased;

22. Evidence that they are placed with a social protection facility outside the family or health or other institution, according to a decision from the social work centre;

23. Evidence that one of the parents lives in marriage or extramarital union, and

24. Certificate of being a regular student

Termination of the right

A complaint to a decision adopted by the Social work centre on recognizing or revoking the right in the field of child's protection, and in the particular case, children’s allowance, shall be filed through the competent centre to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, within a period of 15 days as of the date of receipt of thereof. The complaint shall be filed in two samples, with evidence disputing the facts which influenced the centre to adopt the decision on termination of the right. The complainant may also state new facts in the complaint, and supply new evidence which had not been taken into consideration by the centre in the decision making. The Ministry shall be obliged to decide upon the complaint within 60 days.

The complaint shall not postpone the enforcement of the adopted decision, however, if the complaint is adopted by the Ministry of labour and social policy and the adopted decision is annulled and the case brought back for redeliberating, with instructions to determine the new factual state, the Social work centre shall be obliged to act upon the instructions and adopt a decision on recognition of the right.  In this case, the right shall be recognized as of the month when the right had been revoked, and the beneficiary shall be reimbursed in full retroactively. If the minister does not admit the complaint and reaffirms the adopted decision, the client shall be entitled to a lawsuit against the second instance decision to the Administrative court of RNM, within 30 days as of receipt of the decision.

The beneficiary of the right to children’s allowance shall be obliged to inform the competent social work centre for every change of facts and circumstances, which had been the basis for recognition of the right, not later than 15 days as of the date when such changes occurred, in contrary, the beneficiary's right shall be revoked, and also in case they have provided untruthful data.

When the right to a guaranteed minimum assistance shall be terminated for a household, in accordance with the Law on social protection, the social work centre shall ex-officio reconsider whether the conditions for extending the right to children's allowance are fulfilled.