Employing a foreigner in Flanders: frontier worker
Frontier workers working in Flanders require a work permit to do so.
Spouses of Belgians or EU citizens
Spouses of Belgians or EU citizens who are established as family reunification sponsors in a neighbouring country and who come to work in Belgium as frontier workers are exempt from work permits.
Not every foreigner needs a work permit
Foreigners coming to work in Flanders, the employer must obtain a work permit beforehand. For certain groups of foreigners, this requirement does not apply and you are exempt.
This applies,among others, to:
- Employment for up to 90 days, so-called short-term mobility, in particular short-term employment with a Limosa declaration.
- Persons participating in a restricted meeting in Belgium, with a maximum of 60 days per calendar year in our country, and no more than 20 consecutive calendar days per meeting.
- The foreign employee receiving training at the Belgian headquarters of a group of companies. That training is part of a training agreement between the headquarters of that group. The training, and therefore also their stay, shall not exceed three months (with a Limosa declaration).
The full list of exemptions can be found here.
Therefore, if the foreigner does not belong to one of these groups, a work permit is required. The employer can only employ the foreigner if they meet the conditions which apply to the type of work which the foreigner is to perform.
Who is considered as a frontier worker?
Frontier workers are workers who work in Flanders but reside in an adjacent neighbouring country: the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France or the United Kingdom.
The foreigner commutes to Belgium for work and in principle returns to their place of residence abroad daily or at least once a week.
For example: a foreigner who lives in Tilburg (NL) but comes to work for a company in the Port of Antwerp.
Which work permit to apply for
Frontier workers may work for longer than 3 months in Flanders but they always require a work permit.
Frontier workers cannot obtain a work permit with a single permit as they are not resident in Belgium. Just like the work permit for 90 days out of 180 days (via the Schengen visa), this too is not intended for this category at all.
For employment of the frontier worker in the category of ‘highly skilled, ‘managerial’ or ‘postdoctoral researcher’, it is possible to obtain a work permit as a frontier worker with a maximum duration of three years.
Procedure for obtaining a work permit for a frontier worker
The employer applies for a work permit for their future foreign employee who is coming to work as a frontier worker.
For frontier workers, a work permit can be issued with a validity of 12 months (maximum). This is in contrast to the ‘regular’ work permit, which is normally valid for employment for a maximum of 90 days.
For employment in the category ‘highly skilled’, ‘managerial’ or ‘postdoctoral researcher’, it is even possible as a frontier worker to obtain a work permit with a maximum duration of three years.
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Which region is competent?
The region in which the branch unit where the foreign worker is employed is located is competent. If the employer owns several business units, the region where the worker is mainly employed is competent.
If the main place of employment cannot be determined, for example because the employee is employed 50% in one region and 50% in the other region, the region where the company has its registered office and is therefore registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE) is competent.
If the employer does not own any social unit or business unit in Belgium, the region where the employee is to perform his activities is competent.
If the place of employment changes, the employer must apply for a new work permit.
Other regions
Please contact the competent region below if you do not need to apply for a permit in Flanders:
Competent service in the Brussels-Capital Region
Brussel Economie en Werkgelegenheid
Directie Economische Migratie
Sint-Lazarusplein 2
1035 Brussel
Tel: 02 204 13 99 (9 am to 12 pm)
Website of the competent service in Brussels(opens in new window)Competent service in Wallonia
Direction générale de l’Economie, de l’Emploi et de la Recherche
Direction de l’Emploi et des Permis de travail
Place de la Wallonie 1
5100 Jambes
Tel 081 33 43 62
E-mail: permisdetravail@spw.wallonie.be(opens in your email application)
Website of the competent service in Wallonia(opens in new window)Competent service for the German-speaking Community:
Ministerium der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft
Abteilung Beschäftigung, Gesundheit und Soziales,
Gospertstrasse, 1
4700 EUPEN
Tel 087 59 64 86
Website of the competent service for the German-speaking Community - Stap 2
To apply for a permit in Flanders, download the form “application for fixed-term
employment with a work card and work permit”: Word (in Dutch)(Word file opens in new window) or pdf (in Dutch)(PDF file opens in new window).
The application form asks you to enter the employee’s national register or BIS number.- If your employee is not registered in the national register, the employer must request a BIS number. The employer requests the BIS number via BelgianIDpro(opens in new window) and completes the application form.
A BIS number is a unique identification number which, like the national registry number, consists of 11 digits. The first 6 digits are based on the date of birth: 00.00.00-000-.00.
Non-Belgians working in Belgium but not living in Belgium are automatically registered in the BIS register of the Crossroads Bank for Social Security (KSZ) and have a BIS number.
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- Employee ID
- Employee is not in Belgium at the time of application:
- International passport.
- Employee is in Belgium at the time of application:
- International passport and Belgian residence permit showing legal residence in Belgium
- Employee is not in Belgium at the time of application:
- Your (as the employer) identity document or that of your proxy holder.
- An employment contract, dated and signed by both parties.
(Another document may be required instead of an employment contract for the category to which the foreigner’s work belongs, see below on this page.)
- Employee ID
- Stap 4
Collect the required documents in the following fixed order in one application.
Application form
The form completed by the employer for a fixed-term permit:
(“application for fixed-term employment with a work card and work permit”: Word (in Dutch)(Word file opens in new window) or pdf (in Dutch)(PDF file opens in new window))Residence documents
- Employee identity document, a valid passport or equivalent travel document (only specific personal data, no stamp pages, whether blank or filled in). Choose which situation is applicable:
- Employee is not in Belgium at the time of application
- Foreign identity card or personal data in an international passport.
- Employee is in Belgium at the time of application
- Foreign identity card or personal data in an international passport
- and Belgian residence permit showing legal residence in Belgium.
- Employee is not in Belgium at the time of application
- Proof(opens in new window) that the employee has a health insurance which covers all risks for them and their family members.
Employment contract
If there is an employment contract with a foreign employer, the translated version thereof in Dutch, French, German or English.
If there is no employment contract: proof of another income.Employer identity document
Or of their proxy/agent.
Documents in case of posting
- One of the following documents:
- A statement that the social security legislation of the employee’s country continues to apply while working in Belgium
- If there is no international agreement on this: a statement from the National Social Security Office that the employee is not subject to the Belgian scheme for employed persons because conditions for this have not been met.
- A certificate signed by you (the employer) with:
- The duration of the posting
- The work and pay conditions during the posting.
Proof of registration in the Limosa(opens in new window) Registry as an employee working on posting within the scope of Title IV, Chapter 8 of the Programme Act (I) of 27 December 2006
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- Scan the full application, with all associated documents in the required order.
- Group everything into a single file in PDF format.
- Give the PDF a name as follows:
[surnames in capital letters] underscore [first names in capital letters] underscore
[country of nationality] and, if known, underscore [INSZ number, integral in digits – BIS- or national registry number].Example: SURNAME_First name1 First name2_Country_XXXXXXXXXXX.pdf
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E-mail address
Submit your scanned file via e-mail: aanvraag.arbeidskaart@vlaanderen.be
Please use that e-mail address only for filing applications.
All other communication is via the e-mail address provided by the case handler or via arbeidskaart@vlaanderen.be Do not include any other names as (co-)addressees, either directly or in Cc or Bcc.PDF attachment
Send 1 e-mail with 1 PDF attachment for each employee for whom you are applying for a work permit. Include the application form and all the documents in the correct order in this PDF attachment.
The maximum file size is 20 megabytes (MB). If your application is more than 20 MB, compress it into a zip file of 20 MB maximum.E-mail subject
In the subject line include the full name of the PDF file, followed by the specific category for which you are applying for a work permit (for example, highly skilled, executive or training multinational group, as indicated on the application form), followed by the type of application (‘first application’ or ‘renewal/extension’).
Fictitious example: MOHAMMED_AHMED YOUSSEF_Morocco_95470115388.pdf – highly skilled - first application;
E-mail text
Always include the following in the e-mail message itself:
- Employee (surnames and first names)
- Belgian company involved (employer or user in case of posting, company name and company number)
- In case of au pair: host family
- In case of posting: the foreign company involved(company name and address)
- Job title.
In addition to the required information, you can, if you wish, also provide additional information about the actual employment.
Fictitious example: MOHAMMED Ahmed Youssef, Janssen Pharmaceutica (0403.834.160), Marrakech Consultants (Avenue Ibn Sina, Marrakech), senior consultant.
Agent
Are you based abroad? Then authorise an agent who regularly resides in Belgium to submit the application. In that case, please also attach a copy of the agent’s identity document.
Confirmation of receipt
After you have e-mailed your application, you will receive an automatic confirmation of receipt, including your original message (without an attachment). The Economic Migration Department will then process the applications in chronological order of receipt.
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The Economic Migration Department examines the “employment” section of your application. Upon approval, we automatically forward the application to the Immigration Department, which examines the “residence” section of your application.
The application is approved
The employee receives a work card and the employer receives a work permit. Both documents include the same information:
- The work permit is the document (in letter form) for the employer, authorising him to employ a specific foreign employee, in a specific position or job, and for a specific period of time. The work permit is always sent directly to the (applicant) employer (or to his agent who submitted the application)
- The work card is the document (in card form with photo) for the foreign employee, authorising him to work for a specific employer in a specific position or job and for a specific period of time.
The work card can be delivered in two ways, depending on the situation:
- The employee is still abroad: the original work card is sent to the municipality where the employer is established. The employer collects the work card and sends it to the employee abroad. The employee abroad must present himself/herself with the work card at the Belgian embassy to obtain a short-stay visa (visa type C – not required for people who can travel visa-free). The employee can then travel to Belgium and register in a Belgian municipality.
- The employee is in Belgium: the original work card is sent to the municipality where the employee lives, the employee collects it himself or herself. Sending the work card by post to the municipal administration can take up to 3 weeks. If the card has not been received after this period, the municipality must contact the Economic Migration Department to request and send a duplicate.
The employee in possession of the work card can only work for the employer who applied for the permit.
The work permit for a maximum of 90 days cannot be renewed/extended. You must then apply for a fixed-term work permit for more than 90 days.
The application is not approved
You will receive a refusal decision.
If you do not agree with the refusal decision, you have the following options:
- You can submit a new application, complete and/or with new elements, which will then be re-examined.
- As an employee, you can look for a new employer who will submit a new application for a fixed-term work permit.
- You can appeal the refusal decision or the withdrawal decision.