---
title: Single work permit and Type B in Belgium
country: belgium
service: "single-work-permit-type-b-eu-directive-2011-98-regional"
category: employment
difficulty: complex
estimated_time: "Federal-regional ceiling four months from the date the regional authority confirms the file complete, per Article 5(2) of EU Directive 2011/98/EU; the Walloon SPW publishes an internal target of fifteen working days for the completeness review plus fifteen calendar days for substantive examination; total realistic timeline from employer submission to final residence-card delivery typically runs three to six months once consular visa issuance and commune registration are added"
cost_range: "Federal residence-side fee (redevance) is set by federal arrêté royal and depends on worker category — the binding schedule is published at dofi.ibz.be and is not duplicated here; regional handling fees, sworn-translation costs, consular visa fees, and the commune residence-card issuance fee are additional"
last_verified: 2026-05-27
canonical: https://publicservices.guide/belgium/single-work-permit-type-b-eu-directive-2011-98-regional/
status: current
confidence: low
tags:
  - employment
  - "work-permit"
  - "single-permit"
  - "permis-unique"
  - "gecombineerde-vergunning"
  - "regional-employment"
  - "non-eu-worker"
  - immigration
  - expat
sources:
  - https://emploi.wallonie.be/demandes/3230_permis-de-travail-employeur.html
  - https://emploi.wallonie.be/home/travailleurs-etrangers/permis-de-travail.html
  - https://www.ibz.be/fr/notre-culture-dentreprise/notre-spf/nos-directions-generales/office-des-etrangers
  - https://www.vdab.be/
  - https://www.actiris.brussels/fr/employeurs/
  - https://www.leforem.be/
---

# Single work permit and Type B in Belgium

**Country:** 🇧🇪 Belgium  
**Last verified:** 2026-05-27  
**Estimated time:** Federal-regional ceiling four months from the date the regional authority confirms the file complete, per Article 5(2) of EU Directive 2011/98/EU; the Walloon SPW publishes an internal target of fifteen working days for the completeness review plus fifteen calendar days for substantive examination; total realistic timeline from employer submission to final residence-card delivery typically runs three to six months once consular visa issuance and commune registration are added  
**Cost:** Federal residence-side fee (redevance) is set by federal arrêté royal and depends on worker category — the binding schedule is published at dofi.ibz.be and is not duplicated here; regional handling fees, sworn-translation costs, consular visa fees, and the commune residence-card issuance fee are additional

## Required documents

- **Signed employment contract** *(Contrat de travail / arbeidsovereenkomst)*
  - Required: Signed (or ready-to-execute) contract between the Belgian employer (or the Belgian entity hosting an intra-corporate transferee) and the foreign worker, on terms equivalent to those applicable to Belgian workers performing comparable functions
  - Where to get: Issued by the prospective employer in Belgium
  - Cost: Already issued
  - _Note:_ Salary must meet at least the federal guaranteed monthly minimum wage (revenu minimum mensuel moyen garanti — RMMMG). Category-specific routes (highly qualified worker, EU Blue Card, intra-corporate transferee) carry absolute salary thresholds set by each region and revised periodically; check the regional employment authority for the current figure at the time of application.
- **Valid passport** *(Passeport / paspoort)*
  - Required: Copy of identity pages and of any current visa; validity must cover the intended period of stay
  - Cost: Already issued
  - _Note:_ The passport is needed at every stage — regional application file, federal residence examination, consular visa, and commune residence-card issuance on arrival.
- **Detailed job description** *(Description de fonction / functiebeschrijving)*
  - Required: Document describing the duties, place of work, working hours, and required qualifications; used to assess whether the position is qualification-adequate and whether a labour-market test applies
  - Cost: Self-prepared by the employer
  - _Note:_ Shortage occupations, EU Blue Card, intra-corporate transferee, researchers, post-doctoral researchers, and highly qualified workers are exempt from the labour-market test. General routes are subject to it.
- **Employer good-standing evidence** *(Attestation ONSS / RSZ attest + extrait BCE / KBO-uittreksel)*
  - Required: Recent good-standing attestation from the federal social-security office (ONSS / RSZ) and an extract from the Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises (BCE / KBO) evidencing the employer's legal identity and registration
  - Where to get: ONSS / RSZ portal for social-security; BCE / KBO public extract
  - Cost: Free of charge for the ONSS / RSZ attestation and the public BCE / KBO extract
  - _Note:_ The employer must also be in good standing on tax obligations. Outstanding debts to the federal collector can block the regional admissibility decision.
- **Diploma or qualification evidence** *(Diplôme / diploma)*
  - Required: Original or certified copy of the qualifying diploma or, for category routes requiring a degree-equivalence, an equivalence decision from the competent Community service (NARIC-Vlaanderen for the Flemish region; the Service Reconnaissance académique et professionnelle of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles for the Walloon region; DG Ostbelgien for the German-speaking Community)
  - Where to get: Awarding institution; equivalence services as listed above
  - Cost: Equivalence-decision fees are set by each Community service and depend on the source diploma
  - _Note:_ Foreign-language diplomas require sworn translation. For regulated professions (medical doctors, nurses, certain engineers and teachers), a recognition of the right to practise is required in addition to the academic equivalence.
- **Curriculum vitae** *(Curriculum vitae)*
  - Required: Detailed gapless CV documenting education and employment history, prepared in one of the three administrative languages (French, Dutch or German) of the region of work, or in English where the regional authority accepts it
  - Cost: Self-prepared
  - _Note:_ Used by the regional examiner and, for intra-corporate transferees, to evidence the qualifying period of prior employment with the originating undertaking.
- **Sworn translations of foreign documents** *(Traduction jurée / beëdigde vertaling)*
  - Required: Documents not originally in the administrative language of the region of work must be translated by a sworn translator (traducteur juré / beëdigd vertaler)
  - Where to get: Sworn translators registered with the relevant Belgian court of first instance
  - Cost: Market-priced; depends on document volume and source language
  - _Note:_ Self-translation and machine translation are not accepted. Source documents from outside the EU may additionally require legalisation or apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention.
- **Medical certificate** *(Certificat médical / medisch attest)*
  - Required: Issued by a doctor approved by the Belgian diplomatic mission in the worker's country of residence; the consular post specifies the form and the issuing-doctor list
  - Cost: Paid in the originating country to the issuing doctor; rate set locally
  - _Note:_ Required for the consular long-stay visa step. The mission may refuse to accept certificates not issued by an approved doctor.
- **Police-clearance or good-conduct certificate** *(Extrait de casier judiciaire / uittreksel uit het strafregister)*
  - Required: Issued by the authorities of the worker's country of residence and any country of prior residence covering the period requested by the consular post; legalisation or apostille may be required
  - Cost: Set by the issuing country
  - _Note:_ Required for the consular long-stay visa step and for the federal residence-side examination.
- **Hosting agreement (researcher route)** *(Convention d'accueil / gastovereenkomst)*
  - Required: For applicants on the researcher route under EU Directive 2016/801: hosting agreement between the worker and an accredited Belgian research organisation
  - Cost: Already issued
  - _Note:_ Researchers admitted under the hosting-agreement procedure are typically exempt from the regional labour-market test.

## Steps

### 1. Employer prepares the application dossier

- (Employer) Assemble the dossier — signed (or ready-to-execute) employment contract, detailed job description, ONSS / RSZ good-standing attestation, BCE / KBO extract, the worker's passport copy, diploma evidence with sworn translations as needed, curriculum vitae, medical certificate and police-clearance from the worker's country of residence
- (Employer) Confirm the route — general route (subject to a labour-market test) or one of the exempt categories (shortage occupation, EU Blue Card, intra-corporate transferee, researcher, highly qualified worker)
- (Employer outside Belgium) Designate a Belgian representative and create the mandate via the federal online service Mahis

> **Tip:** The Walloon SPW page states that the employer initiates the file and that a Belgian representative may also do so. Where the employer is outside Belgium, the Mahis mandate is required before the federal portal submission.

> **If this fails:** If the prospective worker contacts the regional authority directly, the authority routes back to the employer and the file does not progress. The employer must be the filer.

_Links:_
- [SPW employer guide](https://emploi.wallonie.be/demandes/3230_permis-de-travail-employeur.html)

### 2. Submit via the federal Working in Belgium portal

- (Employer) Submit the dossier online via the federal Working in Belgium portal — the SPW employer-application page states that applications must be submitted online via the federal portal
- (Federal portal) The submission routes to the regional authority of the declared place of work — SPW (Walloon), Departement Werk en Sociale Economie (Flemish), Bruxelles Économie et Emploi (Brussels-Capital) or the Arbeitsamt der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft (German-speaking)
- (Employer) For Type B short-stay applications, plan around the Walloon transition to mandatory online submission with its time-limited paper-derogation window — see the additional items entry for the published dates and confirm the equivalent transition date with the receiving regional authority

> **Tip:** The single-permit application combines work and residence authorisation; the Type B short-stay application authorises work only. Confirm the correct regime with the regional authority before submission.

> **If this fails:** Filing in the region of the worker's residence rather than the region of the work address sends the file to a non-competent authority. Withdraw and re-file in the correct region.

_Links:_
- [SPW employer guide](https://emploi.wallonie.be/demandes/3230_permis-de-travail-employeur.html)

### 3. Regional examination — completeness review and substantive review

- (Regional authority) Completeness review — the Walloon SPW publishes an internal target of fifteen working days; an incomplete file triggers a request for additional materials and the clock resets
- (Regional authority) Substantive examination — the Walloon SPW publishes an internal target of fifteen calendar days after completeness confirmation. The Walloon SPW notes that current volumes can extend the timeline
- (Regional authority) On a positive decision, the file is forwarded to the federal Office des Étrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken for the residence-side examination

> **Tip:** The federal-regional ceiling is four months from the date the regional authority confirms the file complete, per Article 5(2) of EU Directive 2011/98/EU as transposed by the Cooperation Agreement of 2 February 2018. The internal Walloon targets sit inside this ceiling.

> **If this fails:** Refusal at the regional stage is appealable. The Walloon SPW grants an appeal window of one month from the date of notification of the refusal; other regions publish their own appeal windows.

_Links:_
- [SPW employer guide — processing times and appeal window](https://emploi.wallonie.be/demandes/3230_permis-de-travail-employeur.html)

### 4. Federal residence-side examination by the Office des Étrangers

- (Office des Étrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken) Evaluate residence-side conditions — entry-ban screening, medical certificate, police-clearance, public order, public health
- (Office des Étrangers) Confirm payment of the federal residence-side fee (redevance) under the schedule published at dofi.ibz.be — the current per-category amount is set there
- (Office des Étrangers) On approval, issue an annexe 46 or equivalent decision document and notify the consular post and the regional authority

> **Tip:** The total of the regional and federal examinations must complete within four months from the date the regional authority confirmed the file complete, per the Cooperation Agreement of 2 February 2018 transposing Article 5(2) of EU Directive 2011/98/EU.

_Links:_
- [Office des Étrangers (IBZ)](https://www.ibz.be/fr/notre-culture-dentreprise/notre-spf/nos-directions-generales/office-des-etrangers)

### 5. Apply for the long-stay visa at the Belgian mission

- (Worker) Apply for the long-stay visa (Type D) at the Belgian embassy or consulate of the country of residence, presenting the approved decision
- (Belgian mission) Decide the visa application and place the visa-D sticker in the passport; mission practice on processing time and accepted payment methods varies
- (Worker) Use the visa-D to enter Belgium within its validity window

> **Tip:** The Walloon SPW employer-application page states that authorisation must be obtained before the worker's arrival on Belgian territory, unless the worker already legally resides in Belgium (for example as a student). Plan the consular step accordingly.

> **If this fails:** If the consular post refuses the visa-D, address the underlying refusal ground and reapply, or file an administrative appeal under the procedures published by the mission.

### 6. Report to the commune on arrival and obtain the residence card

- (Worker) On arrival, report to the commune of the registered residence within eight working days to begin the residence-card issuance procedure
- (Commune) Verify identity, residence and the federal decision; issue an annexe 49 (provisional residence certificate) pending production of the electronic residence card
- (Commune + federal card-printer) Issue the carte A (single-permit electronic card) — or the carte H for EU Blue Card holders — combining the work authorisation and residence authorisation in a single document

> **Tip:** The single-permit electronic card replaces the historic separate paper arbeidskaart / permis de travail for stays over ninety days. The work authorisation is recorded on the card itself.

> **If this fails:** Delays at the commune stage typically reflect document gaps. Bring the passport with the visa-D, the federal decision letter, the employment contract and any sworn translations to the first commune appointment.

### 7. Employer files the Dimona declaration before work begins

- (Employer) File the federal Dimona declaration declaring the start of the employment relationship before work begins
- (Employer) Verify that the single-permit electronic card has been issued or that the annexe 49 provisional certificate is in hand before allowing work to start
- (Worker) Confirm that the work authorisation on the card matches the actual position and place of work

> **Tip:** Dimona is independent of the single-permit file but is mandatory for every employment relationship. The Office National de Sécurité Sociale / Rijksdienst voor Sociale Zekerheid enforces compliance.

> **If this fails:** Allowing work to start without a Dimona declaration exposes the employer to inspection penalties under federal social-security law. Where work has already started without it, file the corrective declaration immediately and consult the federal social-security office on the applicable penalty.

## FAQ

### Can I apply on my own behalf as a worker?

No. The work-authorization branch is employer-initiated. The Belgian employer (or, where the employer is outside Belgium, a Belgian representative under a Mahis mandate) submits the application via the federal Working in Belgium portal. The worker provides worker-side documents (passport, diplomas, curriculum vitae, medical certificate, police-clearance) and the consular long-stay visa application after the positive decision. The Service Public de Wallonie published page confirms this allocation of responsibilities. Workers contacting the regional authority directly are routed back to the employer.

### How long does the procedure take?

The federal-regional ceiling is four months from the date the regional authority confirms the file complete, per Article 5(2) of EU Directive 2011/98/EU as transposed by the Cooperation Agreement of 2 February 2018. The Walloon SPW publishes an internal target of fifteen working days for completeness review plus fifteen calendar days for substantive examination, with the caveat that current volumes can extend the timeline. After regional approval, federal residence-side examination plus consular long-stay visa issuance (typically two to four weeks) plus arrival-side commune registration (typically one to four weeks) add a further one to three months. Realistic end-to-end timing from employer submission to final residence card runs three to six months.

### Do EU, EEA or Swiss nationals need a single permit?

No. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals take up employment in Belgium under the EU free-movement rules. They register at the commune of residence on arrival. The single permit and the Type B short-stay permit apply only to non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss workers.

### Which region issues my permit if my employer has offices in multiple regions?

The application goes to the region of the work address declared in the employment contract. Work in Antwerp routes to the Departement Werk en Sociale Economie; work in Liège routes to the Service Public de Wallonie; work in Brussels routes to Bruxelles Économie et Emploi; work in Eupen routes to the Arbeitsamt der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft. A change of work address to a different region during the validity of the permit triggers a renewal in the receiving region, not a transferred file.

### What is the difference between Type B and the single permit?

Type B is the short-stay work permit for stays under ninety days, and for cross-border workers regardless of duration. It authorizes work only. The single permit applies for stays over ninety days and combines the work and residence authorizations in a single procedure and a single electronic document. The Walloon SPW employer-application page states both regimes explicitly.

### I am a researcher — do I follow this procedure?

Researchers admitted under EU Directive 2016/801 follow a separate residence route based on a hosting agreement with an accredited Belgian research organisation, and are typically exempt from the regional labour-market test and from the federal residence-side fee under the implementing transposition. Highly qualified workers who are not researchers still apply for a single permit on the standard route, with a salary threshold set by each region.

### Can my permit become unlimited after multiple renewals?

Yes. The Walloon SPW employer-application page confirms that after multiple renewals the authorization may become unlimited. The number of renewals and the qualifying conditions for the unlimited authorization are set per region and per worker category. The renewal is filed by the employer in advance of the expiry of the current permit.

### Can my single permit be refused, and can I appeal?

Yes. The regional authority can refuse on labour-market or admissibility grounds; the federal Office des Étrangers can refuse on residence-side grounds. The Walloon SPW employer-application page grants an appeal window of one month from the date of notification of the refusal. Federal residence-side refusals are appealable before the Conseil du Contentieux des Étrangers under federal procedural rules.

### What happens if my employment ends during the validity of my permit?

The single permit is employer-bound. Where the employment relationship ends, the worker has a limited period — set per region and per worker category — to find new qualifying employment, with the new employer initiating a renewal application before residence rights can be challenged. The regional employment authority and the federal Office des Étrangers should be informed promptly to avoid an interruption of lawful stay.

### My family wants to join me — what is the procedure?

Spouse and dependent children apply through the federal family-reunification procedure under the Loi du 15 décembre 1980 sur l'accès au territoire. The single-permit holder's continued residence and qualifying income are preconditions. The family-reunification application is filed separately from the single-permit file and is decided by the federal Office des Étrangers.

## Local tips

- The federal Working in Belgium portal is the single submission channel for all four regional jurisdictions. The federal routing logic chooses the receiving regional authority from the declared place of work in the contract.
- Forem in the Walloon region, Actiris in Brussels-Capital and VDAB in the Flemish region are matching services — they help match jobseekers with employers and do not issue work permits. The Arbeitsamt der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft is the German-speaking Community authority issuing the permit on its own territory.
- Where the regional authority's online surface is intermittently unreachable, the Walloon SPW employer-application page is the most consistently substantive public reference for the cross-regional procedural baseline.

## Sources

- [Service Public de Wallonie (SPW) — Direction de l'Emploi et des Permis de travail](https://emploi.wallonie.be/demandes/3230_permis-de-travail-employeur.html) — accessed 2026-05-27 — _T1_ — SPW confirms the employer initiates the application via the federal Working in Belgium portal; the procedure must be completed before the worker's arrival on Belgian territory unless already legally resident; the regional examination splits into a fifteen-working-day completeness review and a fifteen-calendar-day substantive examination after completeness confirmation; the federal residence-side fee (redevance) is paid to the Office des Étrangers and depends on the worker category; refusal decisions can be appealed within one month of notification; after multiple renewals the authorization may become unlimited.
- [Service Public de Wallonie (SPW) — Direction de l'Emploi](https://emploi.wallonie.be/home/travailleurs-etrangers/permis-de-travail.html) — accessed 2026-05-27 — _T1_ — SPW landing page confirms the worker-category split (shortage occupations, researchers under EU Directive 2016/801, post-doctoral researchers, highly qualified workers, trainees, au pairs, specialised technicians, seasonal workers) and the duration split between the Type B short-stay permit (under ninety days, and cross-border workers regardless of duration) and the single permit for stays over ninety days.
- [Service Public Fédéral Intérieur (IBZ) — Office des Étrangers](https://www.ibz.be/fr/notre-culture-dentreprise/notre-spf/nos-directions-generales/office-des-etrangers) — accessed 2026-05-27 — _T1_ — The federal IBZ portal identifies the Office des Étrangers (Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken) as the body responsible for any decision relating to access of foreigners to territory, residence, establishment, and removal, and provides the contact infodesk@ibz.fgov.be and telephone 02 488 80 00. The fee schedule for the residence-side decision is administered through the operational portal dofi.ibz.be.
- [Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding (VDAB)](https://www.vdab.be/) — accessed 2026-05-27 — _T1_ — VDAB describes its scope as the Flemish public employment service for jobseeker matching, vocational training, and labour-market mediation. Issuance of the Flemish single permit and the Type B short-stay permit is the competence of the Departement Werk en Sociale Economie, not of VDAB.
- [Actiris — Office Régional Bruxellois de l'Emploi](https://www.actiris.brussels/fr/employeurs/) — accessed 2026-05-27 — _T1_ — Actiris describes its scope as the Brussels-Capital regional employment service for jobseeker matching and employer recruitment support. Issuance of the Brussels-Capital single permit and the Type B short-stay permit is the competence of Bruxelles Économie et Emploi (Brussel Economie en Werkgelegenheid), not of Actiris.
- [Le Forem — Service public wallon de l'Emploi et de la Formation](https://www.leforem.be/) — accessed 2026-05-27 — _T1_ — Forem describes its scope as the Walloon public employment service for jobseeker matching and vocational training. Issuance of the Walloon single permit and the Type B short-stay permit is the competence of the Service Public de Wallonie, Direction de l'Emploi et des Permis de travail, not of Forem.

---

Verification pending — see the canonical page for the latest trust state.
Canonical: https://publicservices.guide/belgium/single-work-permit-type-b-eu-directive-2011-98-regional/