Permis de travail – nouvelles directives

Recently, the regional immigration authorities have been increasingly stringent in processing applications relating to work permits “B” for highly qualified employees and executive personnel.

Stricter control is applied to the following:

a. Whether the salary mentioned in the initial assignment letter is met

If, for example, the initial assignment letter mentions a salary of EUR 50,000, the employee must effectively receive a salary of minimum EUR 50,000. A lower salary, even though meeting the legal threshold of EUR 36.355 (applicable towards highly qualified employees), will result in the refusal of the work permit extension.

b. Whether, with a 1 year work permit, the employee has actually been working in Belgium during the whole year

Whenever a work permit with a one year validity period has been granted and it appears that, when applying for an extension, the employee has only been working in Belgium for a few months, or has only arrived in Belgium several months after the original work permit was issued, a new permit can be refused. If an employee returns to the home country for a duration exceeding 1 month, the immigration authorities must be informed and the work permit returned to the authorities. Non-compliance with this rule will result in a possible refusal of new work permit applications.

c. Whether the function to be exercised in Belgium is in line with the employee’s academic background

In several districts, a declaration clarifying the link between the studies and job function will need to be added to the work permit application file.

d. Whether a certificate of coverage is applied for and issued

If the original certificate is not provided when applying for the work permit, the permit will only remain valid if, within 2 months after the application, a copy of the original certificate of coverage is provided to the authorities. If this is not complied with, the work permit will be cancelled retro-actively.

e. Whether the medical certificate mentions that the employee is fit for work

An ordinary medical certificate stating that the employee is healthy will, in most cases, no longer be accepted. The medical certificate must specifically mention that the employee is physically able to work.

Compliance with the new guidelines will ensure a continued smooth processing of work permit and extension applications.