Moving to Belgium

A small federal country where the work permit is regional, the tax is heavy, and Brussels runs in English.

Belgium is three labour markets inside one immigration system. Residence is decided federally by the Immigration Office, but the right to work is decided by the region you will work in — Flanders, Wallonia or the Brussels-Capital Region — and each region publishes its own salary thresholds, its own shortage occupation lists and its own processing habits. The same job offer can be straightforward in one region and marginal in another.

Since the single permit reform, most non-EU workers no longer collect a work permit and a residence permit separately. The employer files one application, the region rules on the employment, the federal authorities rule on the residence, and a single decision follows. It removed a great deal of duplication, but it did not remove the regional divide underneath it.

The other thing to understand before comparing offers is the tax and social contribution burden, which is commonly cited among the heaviest on labour anywhere in the OECD. Gross salaries look competitive; net salaries land considerably lower than newcomers expect, and the compensation culture compensates through meal vouchers, company cars, pension schemes and reimbursed expenses rather than through headline pay.

Region	Western Europe
Capital	Brussels
Population	about 11.8 million
Foreign-born residents	roughly 18% of residents
Official language(s)	Dutch, French, German
Currency	Euro (EUR)

Why people move to Belgium

• One combined application now covers both the right to work and the right to reside for most employees.
• Brussels functions in English for a large share of professional roles because of the EU institutions, NATO and the international sector around them.
• The EU Blue Card and the highly skilled route give relatively predictable, salary-based access for qualified professionals.
• Public university tuition is low by Anglophone standards, and the student route allows part-time work alongside study.
• Permanent residence is commonly available after five years of lawful, continuous residence.
• Naturalisation is possible after roughly five years, and Belgium permits dual nationality.

What to know before you commit

• Taxes and social contributions on employment are among the heaviest in the world, so gross-to-net conversion matters more here than almost anywhere.
• Work authorisation rules, salary thresholds and shortage lists genuinely differ between Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels.
• Outside Brussels, working Dutch in Flanders or French in Wallonia is usually necessary rather than optional.
• Healthcare works by reimbursement through a compulsory mutual insurance fund, so you pay first and are refunded later, and joining a fund is a separate step nobody reminds you about.
• Buying property carries high transaction costs, with regional registration duties and notary fees adding a large percentage to the purchase price.
• Registration at the commune involves a police officer verifying that you actually live at the stated address, and the identity card only follows after that check.

The eight guides

Official sources

• Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken)
• Belgium.be federal portal
• Statbel, the Belgian statistical office

Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.