Citizenships & Work permits

Are you an EU citizen?

If you have a nationality of one of the following countries, you can work in Belgium without a work permit:

Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Are you staying longer than 3 months in Belgium to work there? 

Then you need to apply for a temporary residence permit. To do this, you need your identity card or European passport and 3 passport photos. You also have to pay a small contribution. Your residence permit is valid for 3 months and may be extended to one year. After that you may apply for a permanent residence permit, once you have a stable income.

You are not a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland?

You do not have a nationality of one of the countries mentioned above? Then it is not sure that you are allowed to work in Belgium. 


Contact the Belgian embassy in your country for more information.


More information on rights and legal aspects: