Belgium - Tax Guide for Freelance Contractors

Work permits and visas

Nationals of the EU-17 Member States, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are able to work without restriction in Belgium.

Nationals of the new Member States – Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – are able to work without restriction in Belgium.

Nationals from Bulgaria or Romania require a work permit during the third transitional period at least until 31 December 2011 with a possible extension until 31 December 2013, but could benefit from an accelerated procedure for obtaining a work permit when the job to be awarded is among the professions for which there is a labour shortage. Under this simplified procedure, the work permit is granted within five days of the request being lodged by the competent regional authority.

To obtain a work permit:

• The employer in Belgium must apply to the competent authority via the public employment services for an employment permit on behalf of the relevant national.
• If the employer is granted the employment permit, the worker will be granted a work permit. The main criteria is that a suitable worker can be found on the labour market to fill the vacancy within a reasonable time, even after providing the necessary vocational training.
• Jobseekers from the new EU Member States are not required to complete any formality in order to obtain a work permit, it is up to the employer to apply to the competent authority.
• A simplified procedure has been introduced for obtaining a work permit for positions for which there is a labour shortage. In these cases, the competent regional authorities grant work permits within five days.

For all other nationalities a work permit must be acquired and it is fair to say that the expansion of the EU has made obtaining a permit for non-EU nationals even more difficult.