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I am a non-EU citizen. I have a single permit.
Are you a non-EU citizen? Then you must obtain a single permit in order to come and work in Belgium.
What is a single permit?
A single permit is a document that gives you both a right of residence in Belgium and a right to work in Belgium.
There are two types of single permits.
Fixed-term single permit.
Indefinite-term single permit.
The law uses the terms “fixed-term” and “indefinite-term,” which we believe is misleading. The difference between the two authorizations has nothing to do with duration, but rather with the scope of access to the labor market. This is either “limited: you can only work for a specific employer in a specific role” or “unlimited: you can work for any employer in any role.” It would have been better to speak of a “Limited Single Permit” or an “Unlimited Single Permit.”
The combined permit for a fixed period:
- only gives you permission to work for an employer who applied on your behalf;
- only gives you permission to work on the job stated in the application;
- must be renewed every year by the employer.
So if you want to change employers, your new employer will have to apply for a new combined permit. If you want to change jobs, your current employer will need to apply for a new combined permit.
The document you will be issued with as your combined permit for a fixed period is an electronic A card which states ‘Access to the employment market: Limited’. This document is your unique, fixed-term permit.
Important! Your stay is dependent on this card. If your employer is too late in requesting a renewal or fails to fill in the application correctly, you may lose your residence rights for Belgium. Once you have lost your right to reside, it is impossible to reestablish it once more by working in Belgium. Promptly remind your employer that they must request a renewal and check with the authorities that it has been successfully completed.
The procedure to renew your combined permit can take up to 120 days to complete. To avoid receiving a late response which may result in you not being able to work for a period of time, it’s best to submit the renewal application four and a half months before your combined permit for a fixed period expires.
The combined permit for an indefinite period:
- allows you to work for any employer;
- allows you to work in any job;
- must be applied for by the employee;
- is renewed every year if you have worked sufficient days.
This permit gives you unlimited access to the Belgian employment market. You can apply for this card only after you have worked with a work permit for a certain number of years during the period preceding the moment you submit your application. The period used to calculate the required number of years worked ranges from 5 to 10 years, depending on the competent region. You must still have a right of residence at the time of application.
Employees who obtained a combined permit for a fixed period through the ‘Longterm resident’ procedure may apply for the combined permit for an indefinite period if they worked 12 of the 13 months before applying for the permit for a fixed period.
The document you receive as your combined permit for an indefinite period is an electronic A card which states ‘Admission to the employment market: Unlimited’. This document is your unique, indefinite-period permit.
Don’t forget that you must renew this card yourself, on time.
How can I get a fixed-term single permit?
The following only applies if you are coming to work in Belgium for more than three months. For more information on staying and working for less than three months, you can find more information here.
There are several general conditions to be eligible for this authorization if you are coming to work for more than three months.
- You cannot apply yourself. You must find an employer who agrees to apply for you. The employer must submit the application via “working in Belgium”. Applications for all regions are submitted on this site. However, you must naturally meet the conditions of the region where you will be working; see below for more information.
- The application must be made while you are still in a country where you have a right of residence. This means your country of origin or a country where you have a valid residence permit.
It is therefore better to travel to Belgium once you have already received authorization to work there. You cannot come to Belgium as a tourist and then start working. If an employer asks you to come to Belgium before receiving a positive response, it is best not to do so. They may not be able to get everything in order once you are in Belgium. It is very likely that you will then have problems once in Belgium and may never be able to work.
In certain very limited situations, it is indeed possible to come to Belgium before obtaining authorizations and to apply for authorization on-site while you have a three-month right of residence. You can find a list of these exceptions here.
Even in these situations, we advise against coming to Belgium before obtaining authorizations. Processing times are long, and it is very likely that your legal stay will expire before you receive a response, leading to problems in Belgium. Only travel to Belgium when all documents are in order.
What is the procedure to follow to come to Belgium as a worker?
This depends on the region where your employer is established and the type of work you will be performing. There are three main alternatives:
- You work as a highly qualified person and must earn more than 46,000 euros gross annually in Flanders and more than 50,000 euros gross in Brussels and Wallonia (the threshold varies by region and is indexed annually). Note: in Flanders, in certain sectors (e.g., nursing, etc.) or if you are under 30 years old, you only need to earn 80% of the amount mentioned above.
- Or your employer wants to hire you for a role recognized as having a labor shortage. This is only possible in Flanders or Wallonia. The list of shortage occupations varies by region; there are 29 in Flanders and 68 in Wallonia.
- Or your employer can demonstrate that no one on the Belgian and European job market can perform this role.
Access to the Belgian labor market is therefore strictly limited. Consequently, it is very likely that it will not be possible for you to come and work in Belgium.
Procedure – main steps
Each region in Belgium has a different procedure. The competent region where the application must be submitted depends on where you will be working. The first step is therefore to find an employer. Indeed, it is the employer who must make the application. If your employer is established in Flanders or if you will mostly be working in Flanders, then your application must be submitted in Flanders.
We provide an overview by region here, but you can naturally also find this information on their respective websites: Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia, and for the German-speaking Community.
You’ve found an employer in the Brussels-Capital Region who wants to employ you. The second step is to check whether you meet the conditions for submitting an application.
In order to submit an application in the Brussels-Capital Region:
- it must be impossible to find an employee in Belgium (or the EU or EER) who could fill this position. For example, if you want to come and work as a cleaner, there will be a check to verify that there is no unemployed person in Belgium who could do the job;
- you must have signed an employment contract with your employer that complies with Belgian legislation;
- you must have undergone a medical examination in the country you’re staying in and the doctor must have completed the specific document;
- you may not already reside in Belgium. You must still be in your country of origin or a country you have residence in.
There are, however, a number of exceptions to each of the conditions.
If you fall into the category of special employees for example: highly educated, etc.
If you have residence status as a student or researcher
Or you have residence status as an long‑term EU resident in another EU country
You will find more information about these exceptions here.
The third step is to collect all the necessary documentation for the application:
- The application form
- A passport valid for 12 months
- An extract from the judicial record
- Proof of payment of the fee
- An employment contract
- A medical certificate
- Health insurance or an employer who offers it
- All other documents specifically connected to your application: diploma, etc.
The fourth step is to submit your application.
The employer is the one who must submit the application. So you must ask them to keep you informed every step of the way.
If you’re not sure whether your employer has submitted your application, get in touch with the competent department in the region.
How long will you have to wait for a decision? It can take between 2 and 5 months. If the decision is positive, you will receive an Annex 46.
The fifth step – as soon as the application is approved – is obtaining the permit for long-term residence from the Belgian diplomatic post in your region and planning your journey to Belgium. You will also be able to collect the Annex 46 at the diplomatic post. It will also be sent by email to the employee.
The sixth step is obtaining the document which will allow you to start work.
Once you arrive in Belgium, you must report to the municipality in which you will be living. There, you request an Annex 49, which is a temporary work permit to see you through until your official residence card is ready. Once you have received the Annex 49, you may start work. The municipality will get in touch with you at a later date to have you come and collect your residence card for the rest of your stay. This residence card is your combined permit for a fixed period.
Important! Even with your permit for long-term residence and a copy of the positive decision, Annex 46, you may not yet start work!
As mentioned above, you must first obtain your Annex 49.
You’ve found an employer in the Flanders Region who wants to employ you. The second step is to check whether you meet the conditions for submitting an application.
In order to submit an application in the Flanders Region:
- it must be impossible to find an employee in Belgium (or the EU or EER) who could fill this position. For example, if you want to come and work as a cleaner, there will be a check to verify that there is no unemployed person in Belgium who could do the job; There will be no check if you are coming to work in one of the shortage professions listed here;
- you must have signed an employment contract with your employer that complies with Belgian legislation;
- you must have undergone a medical examination in the country you’re staying in and the doctor must have completed the specific document.
- you may not already reside in Belgium. You must still be in your country of origin or a country you have residence in.
There are, however, a number of exceptions to each of the conditions.
If you fall into the category of special employees for example: highly educated, etc.
If you have residence status as a student or researcher
If you have residence status as a student or researcher
You will find more information about these exceptions here.
The third step is to collect all the necessary documentation for the application:
- The application form
- A passport valid for 12 months
- An extract from the judicial record
- Proof of payment of the fee
- An employment contract
- A medical certificate
- Health insurance or an employer who offers it
- All other documents specifically connected to your application: diploma, etc.
The fourth step is to submit your application.
The employer is the one who must submit the application. So you must ask them to keep you informed every step of the way.
If you’re not sure whether your employer has submitted your application, get in touch with the competent department in the region.
How long will you have to wait for a decision? It can take between 2 and 5 months. If the decision is positive, you will receive an Annex 46.
The fifth step – as soon as the application is approved – is obtaining the permit for long-term residence from the Belgian diplomatic post in your region and planning your journey to Belgium. You will also be able to collect the Annex 46 at the diplomatic post. It will also be sent by email to the employee.
The sixth step is obtaining the document which will allow you to start work.
Once you arrive in Belgium, you must report to the municipality in which you will be living. There, you request an Annex 49, which is a temporary work permit to see you through until your official residence card is ready. Once you have received the Annex 49, you may start work. The municipality will get in touch with you at a later date to have you come and collect your residence card for the rest of your stay. This residence card is your combined permit for a fixed period.
Important! Even with your permit for long-term residence and a copy of the positive decision, Annex 46, you may not yet start work!
As mentioned above, you must first obtain your Annex 49.
You’ve found an employer in the Walloon Region who wants to employ you. The second step is to check whether you meet the conditions for submitting an application.
To be able to submit an application in the Walloon Region, you must either belong to the category of special employees or be coming to work in a profession that appears in this list of profession shortages. If you do not belong to one of these two groups, it is impossible to come and work in the Walloon Region.
If you do belong to one of these two groups, you must:
- you must have signed an employment contract with your employer that complies with Belgian legislation;
- you must have undergone a medical examination in the country you’re staying in and the doctor must have completed the specific document;
- not yet be residing in Belgium. You must still be in your country of origin or a country you have residence in.
There are, however, a number of exceptions to each of the conditions.
If you fall into the category of special employees for example: highly educated, etc.
If you have residence status as a student or researcher
If you have residence status as a long-term EU resident in another EU country
You will find more information about these exceptions here.
The third step is to collect all the necessary documentation for the application:
- The application form
- A passport valid for 12 months
- An extract from the judicial record
- Proof of payment of the fee
- An employment contract
- A medical certificate
- Health insurance or an employer who offers it
- All other documents specifically connected to your application: diploma, etc.
The fourth step is to submit your application.
The employer is the one who must submit the application. So you must ask them to keep you informed every step of the way.
If you’re not sure whether your employer has submitted your application, get in touch with the competent department in the region.
How long will you have to wait for a decision? It can take between 2 and 5 months. If the decision is positive, you will receive an Annex 46.
The fifth step – as soon as the application is approved – is obtaining the permit for long-term residence from the Belgian diplomatic post in your region and planning your journey to Belgium. You will also be able to collect the Annex 46 at the diplomatic post. It will also be sent by email to the employee.
The sixth step is obtaining the document which will allow you to start work.
Once you arrive in Belgium, you must report to the municipality in which you will be living. There, you request an Annex 49, which is a temporary work permit to see you through until your official residence card is ready. Once you have received the Annex 49, you may start work. The municipality will get in touch with you at a later date to have you come and collect your residence card for the rest of your stay. This residence card is your combined permit for a fixed period.
Important! Even with your permit for long-term residence and a copy of the positive decision, Annex 46, you may not yet start work!
As mentioned above, you must first obtain your Annex 49.
You’ve found an employer in the German-Speaking Community who wants to employ you. The second step is to check whether you meet the conditions for submitting an application.
To submit an application in the German-Speaking Community:
- it must be impossible to find an employee in Belgium (or the EU or EER) who could fill this position. For example, if you want to come and work as a cleaner, there will be a check to verify that there is no unemployed person in Belgium who could do the job; There will be no check if you are coming to work in one of the shortage professions listed here;
- as an employee, you must hold nationality of a country with which Belgium has entered into a bilateral agreement. These countries are: Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, Morocco, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Tunisia and Turkiye; These countries are: Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, Morocco, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Tunisia and Turkiye;
- you must have signed an employment contract with your employer that complies with Belgian legislation;
- you must have undergone a medical examination in the country you’re staying in and the doctor must have completed the specific document.
- you may not already reside in Belgium. You must still be in your country of origin or a country you have residence in.
There are, however, a number of exceptions to each of the conditions.
If you fall into the category of special employees for example: highly educated, etc.
If you have residence status as a student or researcher
If you have residence status as a long-term EU resident in another EU country
You will find more information about these exceptions here.
The third step is to collect all the necessary documentation for the application:
- The application form
- A passport valid for 12 months
- An extract from the judicial record
- Proof of payment of the fee
- An employment contract
- A medical certificate
- Health insurance or an employer who offers it
- All other documents specifically connected to your application: diploma, etc.
The fourth step is to submit your application.
The employer is the one who must submit the application. So you must ask them to keep you informed every step of the way.
If you’re not sure whether your employer has submitted your application, get in touch with the competent department in the region.
How long will you have to wait for a decision? It can take between 2 and 5 months. If the decision is positive, you will receive an Annex 46.
The fifth step – as soon as the application is approved – is obtaining the permit for long-term residence from the Belgian diplomatic post in your region and planning your journey to Belgium. You will also be able to collect the Annex 46 at the diplomatic post. It will also be sent by email to the employee.
The sixth step is obtaining the document which will allow you to start work.
Once you arrive in Belgium, you must report to the municipality in which you will be living. There, you request an Annex 49, which is a temporary work permit to see you through until your official residence card is ready. Once you have received the Annex 49, you may start work. The municipality will get in touch with you at a later date to have you come and collect your residence card for the rest of your stay. This residence card is your combined permit for a fixed period.
Important! Even with your permit for long-term residence and a copy of the positive decision, Annex 46, you may not yet start work!
As mentioned above, you must first obtain your Annex 49.
Since it is the employer who applies for the permit, they are also the one who must inform the competent region that the contract has ended.
You don’t have to do anything.
The regional authority will contact the Immigration Office to inform them that you are no longer working. The Immigration Office will contact the municipal administration of the place where you live, and the municipality will contact you to tell you how much longer you can stay in Belgium.
When your contract ends, you have the right to stay in Belgium for 90 days; during this period:
- You can find a new employer who can make a new single permit application.
- You can prepare for your departure from Belgium.
- You cannot work. Your single permit only authorized you to work for the employer who applied for it. Since you no longer work for them, you can no longer work.
- If you have been dismissed but have worked for a long time in Belgium, you are entitled to 60 days of unemployment benefits. Do not hesitate to apply for them with ONEM.
You may be in one of the following two situations:
- Your residence permit is still valid for the following 90 days. For example: the municipality informs you that you must leave Belgium by April 1st. Your residence permit is still valid until June 1, 2022.
- Before April 1st, you must go and return your residence permit to the municipality and inform them of your departure.
- OR you find a new employer who will make a new single permit application for you. In that case, before April 1st, you go to the municipality to request a temporary residence permit while waiting for a decision on your new application. The municipality will give you an Annex 49. It will state “Access to the labor market: No,” so you cannot work with this document.
- If the Region makes a positive decision, you can then request a new Annex 49. On this annex, it will state: “Access to the labor market: Limited.” With this document, you can start working. Only for the employer who made this new permit application for you. You do not have to wait for the Immigration Office’s decision to start working once the Region has made a positive decision.
- Once the Immigration Office has also made a positive decision, you will receive an email with Annex 46, which will allow you to order your new residence card.
- Does your residence permit not cover your stay until the date of your departure? For example, the municipality informs you that you must leave Belgium no later than June 15, 2022, but your residence permit expires on April 15, 2022. In this case, before April 15th, you must go and get the Annex 51 document from the municipality. This document will be valid until June 15, 2022. Then, you must:
- Inform the municipality of your departure before June 15th.
- OR you find a new employer who will make a new single permit application for you. Then, before June 15th, you must go to the municipality to request a temporary residence permit pending a decision on the new single permit application. The municipality will give you an Annex 49. It will state “Access to the labor market: No,” so you cannot work with this document.
- If the Region makes a positive decision, you can then request a new Annex 49. On this annex, it will state: “Access to the labor market: Limited.” With this document, you can start working. Only for the employer who made this new permit application for you. You do not have to wait for the Office des Étrangers (Immigration Office)’s decision to start working once the relevant region has made a positive decision.
- Once the Immigration Office has also made a positive decision, you will receive an email with Annex 46, which will allow you to order your new residence card.
Has your employer dismissed you, but you are not sure if your rights as a worker have been respected? Your employer must respect the legal notice period and pay you any redundancy compensation. Do you have questions about your rights? You can contact the labor inspectorate, your union, or FAIRWORK Belgium.
Procedure for obtaining an indefinite-term single permit.
After working for a certain period with a work authorization, it is possible to apply for an indefinite-term single permit. The advantage of this authorization is that you can work for any employer in any role without needing to apply for a new permit. You are therefore no longer dependent on your employer and can change jobs more easily.
The most important condition is to have already worked for a given period in Belgium with a valid work and residence authorization. Not all work periods are counted in the same way in different regions. The duration of work depends on the region where you reside, your nationality, your family situation, and sometimes also the specific work authorization you had during the employment period.
By following this link, you will find the conditions if you live in Flanders; via this link, the conditions for Brussels. Contact details for the Walloon economic migration service are available here, and for the German-speaking Community, they can be found here.
Warning: If you have “EU long-term resident” status in another Member State and you work in Belgium, then other conditions apply. Read more about this here.
Can I lose my indefinite-term residence permit?
You must renew your indefinite-term single permit yourself. It is valid for one year, so you must apply for renewal every year and preferably start the procedure 45 to 30 days before the permit expires. Every year, upon renewal, the authorities will verify that you have worked. If it turns out that you have been unemployed for a very long period and/or have received assistance from the CPAS or unemployment benefits for a long time, it is possible that your residence permit will not be extended. There is no risk in case of incapacity for work due to an occupational accident or illness. It is therefore particularly useful to ensure that you do not lose your right of residence in that other EU State. After residing legally in Belgium for five years, you can apply for an unlimited-term residence permit from the Immigration Office.
If, after obtaining the indefinite-term residence permit, you go to work in another country, you can keep your indefinite-term residence permit. You must also renew it every year and submit this application to the Immigration Office. This new residence permit will also be taken into account for the calculation of the 5 years of legal residence in Belgium.
If you are coming to work for less than three months in Belgium or if you are a cross-border worker or an au pair, then you will need a work permit.
The work permit is therefore for people who do not usually reside in Belgium and only come there occasionally to work or as an au pair. If you want to come and settle and work in Belgium for a long period, another procedure applies. You will find more information on this subject above.
How to apply for a work permit?
The application must be made to the regional authority of the region where your employer is located (or the host family if you are an au pair).
It is your employer (or the host family if you are an au pair) who must make the application.
Depending on the work you will perform, you will need to submit a list of documents to the region and fill out the specific form for a work permit application. You can find it by following this link for each region: Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia, and for the German-speaking Community.
Once the application is approved, you can start working for the period mentioned on the work permit.
Warning: a work permit is only valid if your residence status is in order. This means you have a visa for the intended period or you are exempt from this visa requirement.
Is a work permit always mandatory?
In a few very specific situations, a third-country national worker does not need a work permit if they meet specific criteria for a job (often short-term or in any case less than 90 days). These exceptions are listed by region: Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia, and for the German-speaking Community.
If you have questions about your rights as an au pair or the obligations of the host family, you can find answers here.
British citizens after Brexit
The United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Union. If you have UK nationality and did not reside in Belgium or apply for a residence permit before January 1, 2021, you must follow the procedure for obtaining a single permit as described above.
If you already had a stay or applied for a stay before January 1, 2021 (which was subsequently approved), you must, before December 31, 2021, apply for an M residence permit. This residence permit authorizes you to reside and work in Belgium for any employer and in any position. Your current residence permit, for example: Annex 8, Annex 8bis, card E, E+, F and F+, remains valid until March 31, 2022. If your current residence permit expires during the M residence permit application process, you will receive the document “Annex 56”. You can also stay and work in Belgium with this document. Apply for the M residence permit at the municipality where you usually reside.
If you only apply for the M card after December 31, 2021, you will have to prove that you could not submit the application earlier. If this is not possible, you will lose the right to the M residence permit.
British Cross-Border Workers
If you were active as a cross-border worker before January 1, 2021, you can apply for the N card. This card does not grant you a right of residence, but it guarantees that you can travel daily without formalities between Belgium and the country where you have the right of residence. The Annex 15 you currently hold as a cross-border worker will remain valid until March 31, 2022. If your Annex 15 expires, you will receive the document “Annex 57” with the N card application. With this Annex 57, you can also travel to Belgium for work without any formalities. Apply for the N card at the municipality of your usual workplace in Belgium.
You can find more detailed information on these procedures here.
I have a single permit, but my employer laid me off. What can I do?
The answer varies depending on each situation.
Theoretically, there is a possibility for the worker to have a 90-day extension of the right of residence (right of residence only; there is no right to work at that time). The employer must inform the regional authority of the end of your employment; the regional authority informs the Immigration Office, which informs the municipal administration, which in turn informs you.
This entire process can take several weeks, and it sometimes happens that you are informed of the last day of legal stay after it has already passed, and you are already without a right of residence in Belgium.
Example: your fixed-term single permit expires on June 8, 2026
Your employer lays you off, and your last day of work is June 8, 2026; you were working on a fixed-term contract (CDD) until June 8, 2026.
The end date of employment is considered predictable since it corresponds to the end of your employment contract; the Immigration Office might consider that you are not entitled to an additional 90 days of stay. You are expected to be able to leave Belgium overnight.
Your employer lays you off, and your last day of work is June 8, 2026; you were working on an indefinite-term contract (CDI).
The end date of employment is considered predictable since it corresponds to the end of your single permit; the Immigration Office will consider that you are not entitled to an additional 90 days of stay. You are expected to be able to leave Belgium overnight.
Your employer lays you off, and your last day of work is June 1st, 2026; you were working on an indefinite-term contract (CDI).
The end date of employment is considered unpredictable since it corresponds neither to the end of the single permit nor to the end of your employment contract. The Immigration Office might consider that you are entitled to an additional 90 days of stay. They will inform you of the exact end date of your stay, but the delays are such that you risk learning about it after this period has already passed.
Your single permit expires on June 8, 2026, but you have an additional 3 months starting from June 1st, 2026; you can obtain an Annex 51 from the municipal administration to cover your temporary stay until September 1st, 2026 (June 1st + 90 days). This document does not allow you to work! If you manage to find a new employer who submits a single permit application before September 1st, 2026, you can remain in Belgium during the procedure. The application only needs to be submitted; it does not need to be approved before the 1st.
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- If the application is refused, however, you will have to leave the country.
- If the application is approved via an Annex 46, you can start working when you receive Annex 49, BUT not before. You receive this document at the municipal administration of your place of residence.
- If you do not manage to find a new employer to submit a new application before September 1st, 2026, you will have to leave Belgium.
Your employer lays you off, and your last day of work is June 1st, 2026, but your permit expires on June 8, 2027?
The end date of employment is considered unpredictable since it corresponds neither to the end of the single permit nor to the end of your employment contract. The Immigration Office might consider that you are entitled to an additional 90 days of stay. They will inform you of the exact end date of your stay, but the delays are such that you risk learning about it after this period has already passed.
Even if your residence permit expires in 2027, September 1st, 2026, remains the last day of legal stay. You cannot remain in Belgium beyond 90 days without a new basis for a right of residence.
- If you manage to find a new employer who submits a single permit application before September 1st, 2026, you can remain in Belgium during the procedure. The application only needs to be submitted; it does not need to be approved before the 1st.
- If the application is refused, however, you will have to leave the country. Even if 2027 appears on your residence permit, the date to remember is September 1st, 2026.
- If the application is approved, you can start working when you receive the new Annex 49.
- If you do not manage to find a new employer/submit a new application before September 1st, 2026, you will have to leave Belgium.
My employer did not respect my labor rights. What can I do?
In Belgium, your rights as a worker must be respected:
- Whether you are declared or not
- Whether you have papers or not
If your employer does not respect your rights, you always have the right to file a complaint! The competent authorities are the labor inspectorate, and they will create a file after receiving your complaint.
It should be noted, however, that the legislation very strictly stipulates that if the conditions of the single permit are not respected (usually by the employer), the permit will be withdrawn from the worker. In this case, no other temporary residence authorization will be granted to the worker.
From the moment you file a complaint against your employer, there is a risk that your single permit will be withdrawn, even if it is still valid for 6 months, 1 year, or 3 years. You can no longer work and you also lose your right of residence, as the single permit covers both aspects.
In some cases, you might fall into eventualities allowing you to obtain a temporary stay of 90 days, but this is not a guarantee. If you wish to remain in Belgium, it may be important to first seek to change employers to secure your stay in the territory and your work and residence project in Belgium.
Nevertheless, you should never have to endure disrespectful working conditions and give up on asserting your rights. You can always contact us with any questions; this will not initiate any process without your explicit agreement on the procedure.
When can I obtain an indefinite-term single permit?
To apply for an indefinite-term single permit, you must verify that you meet the conditions.
The main condition is to have worked for a minimum period of time with a fixed-term single permit. This period generally extends up to 4 years. However, this period may be shorter depending on various criteria (nationality, family situation, etc.).
The first thing to check is your place of residence; each region has its conditions, and the region of residence is decisive for the follow-up of your application.
Next, you will need to check:
Do you already have a residence and work authorization in another EU Member State as a long-term resident?
- If you also have a Belgian single permit, which is mandatory to work in Belgium, and you work in a shortage occupation (as defined by your region’s authorities), you can obtain an indefinite-term authorization if you meet the following conditions:
- Walloon Region: https://emploi.wallonie.be/home/travailleurs-etrangers/permis-de-travail/formulaires-autorisation-de-travail-a-duree-illimitee-permis-unique.html
- Brussels: https://economie-emploi.brussels/autorisation-travail-illimitee-resident-longue-duree
- Flemish Region: https://www.vreemdelingenrecht.be/werk/gecombineerde-vergunning-werk-en-verblijf-90-dagen/aanvraag-gecombineerde-vergunning-van-onbepaalde/aanvraag-gecombineerde-vergunning-van-onbepaalde
- German-speaking Community: https://ostbelgienlive.be/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-269/4602_read-55305/
You do not have a permit in another EU Member State, but you have a Belgian single permit?
Here are the conditions:
- Walloon Region: Indefinite-term single permit – Employment and Vocational Training in Wallonia
- Brussels: https://economie-emploi.brussels/autorisation-travail-illimite
- Flemish Region: https://www.vreemdelingenrecht.be/werk/gecombineerde-vergunning-werk-en-verblijf-90-dagen/aanvraag-gecombineerde-vergunning-van-onbepaalde/aanvraag-gecombineerde-vergunning-van-onbepaalde
- German-speaking Community: https://ostbelgienlive.be/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-269/4602_read-55303/
Can you lose your indefinite-term residence permit?
You must renew your indefinite-term single permit yourself. It is valid for one year, so you must apply for its renewal annually and start the procedure preferably 45 to 30 days before the permit expires.
Each year, during renewal, the authorities will verify that you have worked. If it turns out that you have been unemployed for a very long period and/or have received assistance from the CPAS or unemployment benefits for a long period, it is possible that your residence permit will not be extended. There is no risk in case of incapacity for work due to a work accident or occupational disease, or temporary unemployment due to force majeure.
This residence permit is not an EU long-term resident status, so if you also have a residence permit in another EU country, it is particularly useful to ensure that you do not lose your right of residence in that other EU state and to inquire about the possibility of obtaining nationality there, for example.
After legally residing in Belgium for five continuous years, you can apply for an indefinite-term residence permit from the Immigration Office. This residence permit must be distinguished from the indefinite-term single permit. One is a work-related residence authorization (single permit), the other is a full-fledged residence permit (usually a B-card). These are indeed two different procedures.
ATTENTION: not all years of residence are counted in the same way. For example, student residence only counts for 50%, so two years as a student are counted as one year for the calculation of total residence. Another example, if you work as a seconded employee, social contributions are paid abroad, these years of work are not taken into account for the total residence.