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4 programs for Belgium. Explore the options and get an expert assessment.
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.
The Professional Card is Belgium's route for self-employed people and freelancers, rather than employees. It's regionalised — you apply to Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels — and each region weighs your business plan and its usefulness to the local economy.
It's a faster lane within the single permit for graduates and specialists. With a higher-education degree, a contract of at least a year and a salary clearing the regional threshold, you skip the standard labour-market test.
Skilled workers usually come on the Single Permit, often via the Highly Skilled Worker fast lane or the EU Blue Card. Your employer files the work application, and the region of your workplace sets the salary threshold you need to meet.
For business activity, Belgium's route is the Professional Card for self-employed people, freelancers, company directors and entrepreneurs. It's regionalised, and each region weighs your business plan and its usefulness to the local economy.
Start by deciding which region your job or business sits in, since that drives the rules and thresholds. Then match your purpose: employees usually weigh the highly-skilled single permit against the Blue Card, the self-employed take the Professional Card, and students and families have their own routes.
Yes. The Student Residence Permit usually allows some part-time work alongside your course. After graduating, qualified graduates often move onto a work route such as the Highly Skilled Worker single permit or the EU Blue Card.
The Single Permit is Belgium's combined work-and-residence permit for non-EU nationals working more than 90 days. One application covers both, and your employer files it.
After five years of continuous legal residence in Belgium you can apply for EU long-term resident status. Expect to show stable income and health insurance, and to meet integration conditions, which can include language and vary by region.
Take the assessment or ask Acey, our immigration assistant.
Work abroad — Belgium