About Belgium

Whether you’re looking to visit, live or work in Belgium—we can support your immigration needs at every stage of your journey.

Belgium is a member of the European Union and the Schengen Area. If you're a foreign national looking to visit, live, and/or work in Belgium, several options are available.

• Business Visits: As a business visitor, depending on your citizenship, you'll generally enter Belgium without a visa or need to secure a Schengen C Visa from a Belgian consular post before your travel. For all visitors, the Schengen Area limits stays to 90 days in a 180-day period. If your overall stay will exceed 90 days, you'll need to secure a residence permit. Note that Belgium offers certain work permit exemptions for business visitors, depending on your intended activities and length of stay.
• Work Authorization: Belgium's main residence and work permit is the Highly Skilled Single Permit, suitable for transfers and temporary employment of foreign staff. For short-term work in Belgium, foreign nationals can obtain a work permit for specific categories of workers, including highly skilled workers and specialized technicians. Highly skilled local hires can also obtain an EU Blue Card. There may be regional variations in eligibility requirements, supporting documents, and processing times for all these permit types. Employers must complete posted worker notifications for staff on temporary assignments or secondment, including for EU/European Economic Area citizens.
• Internships/Traineeships: If you're a trainee, you can obtain a trainee permit under the Single Permit process for up to 12 months. To be eligible, you'll need to hold a higher education diploma or be pursuing a course of study outside the EU (applicable for all Belgian regions) or in the EU (only applicable for Wallonia and Flanders) that leads to a higher education degree.​
• Self-employment: There are work authorization programs for potential investors or entrepreneurs in Belgium. You can obtain a Professional Card for Self-Employed if your planned activities will create jobs, are innovative, attract investment, or otherwise offer economic benefit. Considerable discretion is involved in assessing whether a business has added value, and approvals are not guaranteed. With a Professional Card, you can undertake self-employed work; work authorization is required for other activities. There is no specific investor visa, but you can invest in your own business and obtain a Professional Card if eligible.

Fragomen can also consult on citizenship matters and, as permitted within the confines of local law, may be able to offer citizenship assistance.