Has your employer told you that they have submitted an application or renewal request for your single permit, but you have not yet heard anything? If you have an electronic residence card, you can check the status of your application via
- Flemish Region
- Walloon Region
- Brussels-Capital Region
- German-speaking Community (see the right-hand column for contact information)
- Link to the Office des Étrangers (Immigration Office)
If your employer tells you that you can start working, even if the application has not been approved, BE CAREFUL. To work in Belgium, you must have a document issued by the authorities confirming that you have the right to work. This is clearly stated in these documents. If you are applying for a single permit, there are only three options available:
- an Annex 49 while waiting for the residence card, temporary residence card (FR: Carte A; NL: A-Kaart) issued by the municipal authorities once registration is complete
- a temporary residence card
- any other Belgian residence permit confirming your access to the labour market.
It is important to check this information and not to start working without proper authorisation. This could leave you vulnerable to abuse. Without a valid residence permit, you will not be able to open a bank account, for example, which is the legal and secure way to receive your earnings. You must also always keep your payslips.
In addition, if you are working without proper authorisation, you may lose your right of residence in Belgium, without the possibility of applying for a new single permit within Belgium. In such cases, you would then have to return to your country of origin or to any country where you have right of residence, just to start all over again.
Any interruption to your right of residence resets your residence history in Belgium to zero, which will affect your future rights!
