Summary
As a Belgian or foreign company, you can, under certain conditions, hire a non-European foreign national or second a non-European national to come and work in Belgium.
To do so, you must obtain a work permit for your employee.
The workers concerned must come from a region outside the European Economic Area. This area includes the countries of the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
The admission of foreign workers for economic immigration differs from other possibilities for foreign nationals to work in Belgium on the basis of asylum or family reunification. Access to the Belgian labour market guarantees a clear regulatory framework for workers (who will enjoy the same rights as Belgian workers) but also takes into account the needs of the labour market in Belgium and Wallonia. These needs are assessed on a regular basis.
In detail
You are:
- An employer in Belgium who wants to hire a non-European national in their company.
- An employer based abroad who is asking one of their workers to provide services in Belgium.
The worker must be authorised to reside in Belgium AND be authorised to work in Belgium.
The work permit application is primarily an application for economic migration. A person is needed to fill the position, but cannot be found in the local labour market and in principle, this is unrelated to the person's identity.
In some cases, you don’t need to apply for a work permit from the Region because the foreign national is exempt from applying a work permit. This depends on the worker's residence situation and the duration of the work in Belgium.
When you hire a foreign worker, you have obligations. You must:
Hire the foreign worker under the same conditions as a Belgian worker employed in a comparable job and insure the worker in terms of health insurance and work accidents;
Retain a copy of the work permit and the residence permit (which is a single document in the case of the single permit) of the foreign worker;
Not terminate the contract before its term (except for serious reasons)
Pay the travel costs from the worker's place of residence to the place of work (unless the worker is already settled in Belgium)
In some cases and to ensure the worker's security, you must, when the worker cannot yet benefit from it:
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Pay compensation in the event of involuntary unemployment if the worker cannot yet benefit from unemployment insurance
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Provide medical and pharmaceutical care and hospitalisation if the worker cannot benefit from the health and disability insurance
In some cases, you will also have to pay the worker's repatriation costs to their domicile/residence abroad (following an work accident for example).
In all cases, you must declare any changes in the employment conditions to our services: the worker leaves their job, you fire the worker, a change in salary, a change in position, etc.
Hiring a foreign worker doesn’t cost any less than hiring a Belgian worker: workers must be hired according to the working conditions applicable in Belgium (laws and joint committees).
As the employer, you must submit the application. You must be established in Belgium. Your Belgian representative can also submit an application for you if you are not an employer established in Belgium. This is a natural person who has their principal residence in Belgium and who acts on your behalf. If you are established outside Belgium, only this natural person is authorised to act. Please note: They must have a mandate. You can create your mandate using the Mahis online service.
For each category of woker, there are conditions and a specific procedure.
This authorisation is issued by the Employment and Work Permits Department of the Wallonia Public Service. Depending on the position held, the worker's country of origin and the duration of the contract, the type of permit to be applied for will differ.
Click here to determine the type of permit you need for your worker.
When to apply?
Your worker doesn’t have a residence permit in Belgium yet ? He must obtain his work permit before arriving in Belgium.
Your worker already have a residence permit in Belgium but this permis doesn’t authorize him to work ? He must obtain his work permit before starting work.
Most often, the request must be made before the worker’s arrival on Belgian territory.
There are some exceptions for people who already legally stay in Belgium ( authorized stay for more than 90 days) :
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People legally present in Belgium for other reasons than work (ex: students)
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Highly qualified workers
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Workers who already have a work permit in another Region, in the Brussel-Capital Region for example
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Workers applying for a permit extension
How to apply?
Applications for fix-term single permits of unlimited single permits must be submitted digitally via the federal Working in Belgium portal.
Applications for type B permits must be submitted using the paper forms provided for this purpose. They will gradually be integrated into the federal portal.
It takes a while to analyse an application in full. Be aware of this! The time taken depends on the checks that need to be made, but also the completeness of the application. The application for a single permit requires more time than the application for a type B permit, because the procedure includes "residence" formalities.
If you want to apply to renew a fixed-term work permit or make an application for an unlimited work permit, do so:
- At least 2 months and at most 1 month before the current type B permit expires.
- At least 4 months, at most 2 month before the current single permit expires.
In all cases, check that you have completed all the necessary information.
How long is my worker's permit?
The length of the permit depends on the duration set out in the employment contract and the type of authorisation received.
The permit can be extended if the employment contract is extended or if the worker is on a permanent contract. You must then apply for a renewal. After several renewals and under certain conditions, the worker can obtain an unlimited work permit.
Please note: Some jobs are time limited.
If the worker is legally resident in Belgium, the employer or their representative (lawyer for example) can challenge the decision of Wallonia. The details are given in the notification letter of the refusal decision.
The worker who is legally resident in Belgium, the employer or their representative has one month from the notification date of the refusal or the withdrawal of the permit to send a registered letter giving the reasons for appeal to:
Public Service of Wallonia, Directorate of Employment and Work Permits
Place de la Wallonie, 1
B-5100 Jambes