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Hi I was in your position twice! Got a single permit after search year and then got laid off after two years. I didn’t receive anything from the government. What I didn’t know at that time is that immigration cannot know anything about your job status unless your employer explicitly sends them an email saying they’ve laid you off. So in my case the first time I got laid off my employer didn’t say anything to the immigration until a year after. I spent a whole year worrying, not travelling outside the country etc. my lawyer even scared me saying I had only 90 days. So anyways from my experience you can try to find a job, you can also apply for unemployment benefits if you pay taxes and try to get another single permit. I’d ask your employer to give you some grace period to try to find a job and not terminate your work permit. It costs them nothing.

in my case I was eligible to apply for permanent residency when I got laid off so I asked my employer to help me with the paper work during my notice period. So I’d say if you can apply for the L card or have worked enough to get unlimited work permit try that option first before changing to student card.

I hope this helps! Don’t be worried it’ll all work out

@Akshaya Ayp

Hi. Please how many years were you on study permit?

Then how long did you work on search year permit before switching to Single Permit

Then you said single permit for 2 years before being laid off.

What year did you apply for the L card? was it recently or this happened many years ago.

When you applied for L card did they not request proof of economic participation like work payslip?

Please, your response will help me assess practical eligiblity for L card through this route. Thanks

@Akshaya Ayp

Hi Akshaya,

Thank you for such a nice reply, your message gives me a bit of comfort, but indeed I am very worried about this "grey" situation.

I am really interested in your case, but It seems is not so clear what happened after you got laid of the first time. Did you:

1. Study
2. search year
3. worked 2 years and got laid off
4. searched job for 1 year in this grey zone and you got a new after around a year?
5. you got a new single permit from which you got laid off after some time and applied for permanent residence during 90 day period.

Is this correct? Then it seems that you were indeed over the 5 years and was perhaps easier to get the L card. I wonder if there were no problems with the grey year in which you did not pay taxes or had no income, I assume.

I think I indeed should do my best to keep trying to get another single permit, to be able to apply for permanent residency afterwards.

I would appreciate a lot if you could please answer my question on how were your steps. For me, this has left me with around 11 months to still wait until I can apply for permanent residency. 

In my opinion, the 90 day rule is unrealistic, because finding jobs is not the same as 10 years ago, It takes way too long. Every selection process takes at least 1.5 to 2 months for clossing the application time, getting a first answer, then interviews, and finally waiting for decition.

Thank you again for your cheering up message. I will keep trying indeed.

@teddy19

Your employer forgot to cancel your single permit. If they did, you would have had the 3 months grace period. Just change to another status if you can. Because one day they might wake up and realize they forgot to cancel and do cancel it then…so better switch anyway

@teddy19

Hello,

I have been in your situation, careful you will stuck at the end if your plan is to get citizenship.

I have been laid of back in December 2023 but my work permit was valid until May 2025. Nobody told me about the 90 days rule.

In may 2024, by co-incidence I met with a lady and told her about what happened. she told me it is unfair how I laid of my job. nevertheless she told me you might be illegal here. better to have a RDV with lawyer (free lawyer association I forgot the name) and explain to them.

I explained everything and they REASSURE me that I am legal as long as my single permit is active, but I definitely have to find a job ASAP as you can't stay without a job and no income.... then only in June 2024 I received a letter from the government that I have to leave the country... but I found a job and started in November 2024.

the problem is .... it will definitely affecting your applicaiton to unlimited permit and nationality. I completed 5 years residency in belgium by August 2025 and applied for unlimited permit, it was rejected immediately and the reason is that I had this big gap. they consider you out of country even if you stay in the country and even if your card is active. so they start counting from November 2024. the lawyer told me that the new government is extremely strict in this regard.

so it means that I have to work continuously until November 2029 in order to apply for unlimited permit.

it is crazy, so I decided to leave the country. I will not stay in Belgium until 2029 but now searching for a job in Canada vs Australia. citizenship is WAY easier and job security is much better, I found here in belgium they easily fire you with no clear reason, you are not secure in your job. I lived in canada before and my stay will be counted if I go back so I will get the citizenship faster than here and definitely before 2029. I actually regret leaving Canada to come to Belgium I lost a lot here

@teddy19

@nyamani77

Thank you for your information, your experiences are very helpful and give better insight into different situations.

@guys,

There seems to be some misunderstanding. A single permit is linked to your job. When your employer ends your contract, the work permit is cancelled immediately in the social security system—you can see this on the exact day your contract ends.

However, immigration is a different authority. Since you previously had a valid work permit and applied for residency, you were issued a residence card. You can stay legally as long as your residence card remains valid.

From what I understand (through a friend working at the commune), the digital system does not automatically check whether your work permit has ended in order to cancel your ID card. They are also not allowed to manually verify this due to privacy rules. Therefore, it is possible that you may not receive a notification to leave after 90 days and can remain until your residence card expires.

You can also make an appointment with a free legal office (as suggested by someone on Expat). They may help you extend your stay more 90 days, if you receive a letter asking you to leave.

As mentioned above, if you find a job after 90 days, there is a gap in your record. This could become relevant when you later apply for permanent residency, as your case will be reviewed and the 90-day rule will be taken into account.

Hope it help