Invest In Brussels - English

Residence permit

Non-EU nationals wishing to remain in Belgium for over three months are subject to a visa requirement. Prior to entering the country, they will have to obtain a temporary entry visa from the Belgian diplomatic or consular authorities in the country in which they reside.

The applicant must fulfill the following conditions:

• Possess a valid passport.
• Have sufficient resources and means for the period he is resident in Belgium.
• Be able to prove the purpose of his visit.

Work permit procedures

Non-EU nationals must have a work permit, usually applied for by their potential employer, in order to be legally entitled to work in the country. Belgium generally requires you to have a work permit or evidence that your employer has applied for one on your behalf before you can apply for a residence permit or long-stay visa.

The employer, not the individual, files the work permit application, and before a permit is granted, the employer must prove that no Belgian or European Union citizen is able to do the job.

Applications relating to artists, au pairs, specialised technicians and trainees require slightly different processing.

Types of employment

There are two possible ways for a candidate to be employed with a work permit:

• As the direct employee of a Belgian company.
• As the employee of a foreign company that is providing services to a Belgian company. This foreign company must not be a recruitment agency and must produce a service contract as part of the application. The application must be made in conjunction with a Belgian accountant who must administer the payroll of the candidate to ensure that all tax and social security is duly paid.

Those who wish to be self-employed in Belgium must apply for a Professional Card.

Types of work permit

There are three types of work permit in Belgium:

• A C permit is valid for only one year, allowing the holder to work for multiple employers. This is usually issued to migrant agricultural or domestic workers. C permits generally are not renewable.
• A B permit is valid for one employer and runs for one year, after which it can be renewed (by the same employer, usually for the same job or job classification). If the worker changes employers, his new employer must apply for a new B permit. The worker may have to return to his home country and re-apply for a residence visa before he can start his new job. Once he has renewed a B permit four or more times, i.e. has lived and worked in Belgium for five years on the same permit, he can receive an unlimited A permit.
• An A permit allows the worker to work for any employer in Belgium for an unlimited period of time. These permits are issued only to the following categories of applicant: the spouse of an A permit holder, the non-EU spouse of a Belgian national, the non-EU spouse of an EU national legally resident in Belgium, and any foreigner with five years of uninterrupted (legal) residency in Belgium.

Exemption from the work permit

The main categories of foreign nationals exempt from the work permit requirement are:

• Nationals of a Member State of the European Economic Area (EEA) and their spouses, their descendants who are under 21 years of age or who are still dependent on them, relatives in the ascending line who are dependent on them and their spouses.
• The spouse of a Belgian and their descendants who are under 21 years of age or who are still dependent on them, their dependent relatives in the ascending line and their spouses.
• Foreign nationals in possession of a residence permit.
• Foreign nationals authorised or admitted for an unlimited period of time.
• People with refugee status in Belgium.
• Students staying legally in Belgium to work only during school holidays (the Christmas holidays, the Easter holidays and the summer holidays).
• Students on training courses, which are required for their studies in Belgium.
• Apprentices hired under the terms of an apprenticeship or course contract.

Applications for employment permits and work permits must be filed at the following address:
Ministry of the Brussels-Capital Region
Employment Policy and Plural Economy Department
Work Permits Section
Vooruitgangstraat 80
1035 Brussels
Noordstation
CCN 1,5