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8 programs Browse by destination and category, or jump straight to the one that fits.
For non-EU students admitted to a recognised Belgian institution. It lets you live in Belgium for your studies and usually allows some part-time work alongside your course. Tuition, recognised admission and proof you can support yourself are the pillars here.
The EU-wide permit for highly qualified professionals, issued in Belgium with one important local twist: the minimum salary differs by region, so the same job can clear the bar in one region and miss it in another. It's a strong choice if you want recognition across the EU and a clearer path to long-term residence. Compare it against the highly-skilled single permit before you commit, since the thresholds and rules differ.
A faster lane inside the single permit for graduates and specialists. If you hold a higher-education degree, have a contract of at least a year, and your salary clears the bar, you skip the standard labour-market test. It's a common alternative to the EU Blue Card, and you can often qualify for both, so it's worth comparing which fits your salary and contract.
For staff being moved within their own company from a branch outside the EU to a Belgian branch. It covers managers, specialists and graduate trainees on assignment, and lets you carry the role across to other EU countries during the transfer. Like other work routes, the work side is handled by the relevant Belgian region.
This is Belgium's main route for non-EU workers, and the one most people end up on. A single application gets you both the right to live in Belgium and the right to work, instead of chasing two separate documents. The catch that surprises everyone: your employer files it, and it goes to the region where you'll actually work (Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels), not to one national office. The region checks the job; the federal Immigration Office checks the residence side.
After five years of continuous legal residence in Belgium, you can apply for EU long-term resident status, the closest thing to settling permanently. It gives you near-equal treatment with Belgians and easier movement to other EU countries. Expect to show stable income, health insurance and to meet integration conditions, which can include language and which vary by region.
If you want to run your own business or work as a freelancer in Belgium rather than be hired by an employer, this is your route. Like work authorisation generally in Belgium, it's regionalised, so you apply to Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels depending on where your activity is based, and each region weighs your business plan and its usefulness to the local economy. You'll usually pair it with a type-D long-stay visa.
Lets a non-EU person already living legally in Belgium be joined by close family. Spouses and registered or legal partners (both usually over 21), minor children and certain dependents qualify. You generally have to show stable income, suitable housing and insurance, though some categories (like highly skilled workers and recognised refugees) get exemptions from parts of that.
