Mu Jaycee
Swazi expat in Belgium
Forum posts
32
About me
Swazi
Registration: 13 May 2023
Applying for A card extension while waiting for L card. by Stranger_F
Hello,In December 2025 I applied for L card which means that I should get decision latest May 2026. Meanwhile my A card expires in April 2025, so I applied for A card extension recently as well. My concern is that A card extension request will be ...
@Stranger_FI know someone who was in the same situation. Your A card will be extended and you will receive a new A card. Once your L card is approved, it will then be issued to you. Don鈥檛 worry about the transition; it should go smoothly.The B ... Read More
Belgium Nationality 2026 by callonafo
Hi everyone,Let鈥檚 use this topic to share experiences and information about obtaining Belgian nationality in 2026, so we can gather useful and up to date details in one place.To make the information complete and easy to compare, it would be ...
@pranav2424 B-card holders are permanent residents. So yes, they have equal rights as the L-card holders to apply for Belgian nationality. Read More
Belgium Nationality 2026 by callonafo
Hi everyone,Let鈥檚 use this topic to share experiences and information about obtaining Belgian nationality in 2026, so we can gather useful and up to date details in one place.To make the information complete and easy to compare, it would be ...
@vknlmsra Wow, that was really quick , Congratulations!!! honestly, that sounds like a record to me. The timeline should normally start from the date you receive the annex, which in your case is 15/12/2025, and with the approval on 06/02/2026 it ... Read More
L card application eligibility by jithuadm
Hello all, I was a PhD researcher between 2019 March and June 2024 in Belgium.I had a Social Security-covered grant from 2019 March until 2019 December (Exempted from tax but considered as paying tax). I had a Belgian fellowship Grant between ...
@Gvad45 For estimating the duration spent, I believe the dates printed on the A鈥慶ards you held provide the most reliable starting and ending points. Read More
L card application eligibility by jithuadm
Hello all, I was a PhD researcher between 2019 March and June 2024 in Belgium.I had a Social Security-covered grant from 2019 March until 2019 December (Exempted from tax but considered as paying tax). I had a Belgian fellowship Grant between ...
@@Tomkar Great question!Just to clarify: the Annex 15 between A card renewals can be different from the Annex 15 you get when you first arrive in Belgium. What I鈥檓 sure of is that Annex 15 periods during renewals are considered legal stays, so ... Read More
L card application eligibility by jithuadm
Hello all, I was a PhD researcher between 2019 March and June 2024 in Belgium.I had a Social Security-covered grant from 2019 March until 2019 December (Exempted from tax but considered as paying tax). I had a Belgian fellowship Grant between ...
@Ehf2025 Hey I heard that if someone comes through cohabitation or family reunification, they get full access to the job market right away. That鈥檚 how it worked for your wife, right? Meanwhile, with a single permit, you're tied to one ... Read More
L Card 鈥� Time Calculation for student/ search year by ashiseverywhere
Start Date for Counting:Your Annex 15 issue date marks the official start of your 5-year residency count 鈥� not your actual physical arrival in Belgium nor your first A-card.Why do many city halls use the A-card date?Many city halls in Belgium ...
Hi everyone,My L card application has been approved, 5 month after the application! I manually calculated 1819 days based on the issuance timestamps of the A-cards I held to the application day:Student status: ~1200 days 鈫� counts 50% = 600 ... Read More
L card rejected by PseudoName1
Hello,I have been working for 5 years.I applied for the L card but I got response after 3 months that it has been rejected.I am yet to receive the reason of rejection.What are the options I have?
@PseudoName1 I guess you鈥檒l have to comply with that decision for now. Just apply again next year 鈥� you鈥檒l be 100% sure to get the L card then Read More
L card rejected by PseudoName1
Hello,I have been working for 5 years.I applied for the L card but I got response after 3 months that it has been rejected.I am yet to receive the reason of rejection.What are the options I have?
@maharaji1984 Thanks for sharing 鈥� I bet few people know this. So it means that the clock doesn鈥檛 necessarily reset to zero when one comes back to the Kingdom? That鈥檚 really useful to know. Read More
L card rejected by PseudoName1
Hello,I have been working for 5 years.I applied for the L card but I got response after 3 months that it has been rejected.I am yet to receive the reason of rejection.What are the options I have?
@PseudoName1I'm sorry to hear about your situation. To better assist you, could you please provide a few more details about your case?When did you start working (month and year)?What types of work permits have you held since then?Were there any ... Read More
L Card 鈥� Time Calculation for student/ search year by ashiseverywhere
Start Date for Counting:Your Annex 15 issue date marks the official start of your 5-year residency count 鈥� not your actual physical arrival in Belgium nor your first A-card.Why do many city halls use the A-card date?Many city halls in Belgium ...
@ashiseverywhereI鈥檝e carefully reviewed the timeline, and the period spent with the annex is indeed included within the overall duration as a student. I also came across a helpful post in this forum by @gbsc0609, who shared their successful L ... Read More
L Card 鈥� Time Calculation for student/ search year by ashiseverywhere
Start Date for Counting:Your Annex 15 issue date marks the official start of your 5-year residency count 鈥� not your actual physical arrival in Belgium nor your first A-card.Why do many city halls use the A-card date?Many city halls in Belgium ...
@maharaji1984No one helped me count the days, so I bet on myself and pushed for my application to be accepted. Read More
L Card 鈥� Time Calculation for student/ search year by ashiseverywhere
Start Date for Counting:Your Annex 15 issue date marks the official start of your 5-year residency count 鈥� not your actual physical arrival in Belgium nor your first A-card.Why do many city halls use the A-card date?Many city halls in Belgium ...
@maharaji1984 Thanks for your question!I submitted my L Card application in early MAY 2025, based on the following legal residence durations in Belgium:920 days of employment299 days during the orientation period1,200 days as a student, counted as ... Read More
L Card 鈥� Time Calculation for student/ search year by ashiseverywhere
Start Date for Counting:Your Annex 15 issue date marks the official start of your 5-year residency count 鈥� not your actual physical arrival in Belgium nor your first A-card.Why do many city halls use the A-card date?Many city halls in Belgium ...
@ashiseverywhereThank you for this informative post. I鈥檇 like to highlight the ongoing confusion around how the zoekjaar (search year) is counted toward the five-year legal residence requirement for the L card.In my experience, Most gemeente ... Read More
Card L Brussels by Taimtaim11
Hello,I have been legally residing in Belgium since January 2021. I understand I can apply for the permanent residence card (Carte L) after 5 years, which will be in January 2026.However, my municipality (Brussels 1000) invited me to apply early in ...
@Mai RoseSounds like the law is left subject to interpretation. However, it is not counted as interruption of legal residency to be outside of Belgium for less than 6 consecutive months. Read More
Search year towards PR by Plzmm
Hello everyone!I have a question regarding search year/orientation year.I stayed in Belgium as a student for 5 years, which I understand counts for 2.5 years towards the PR. I did a year of "orientation visa", which the Agii says "does count as a ...
Hello @Plzmm, Congrats for the PR and thanks a lot for sharing. Could you please clarify if when you applied the search year fully counted? Can you please share a complete timeline? Read More
citizenship application - work time by Clouderzzz
Hi everyone,I would like to ask a question regarding the citizenship application. If i have worked as a freelance/independent for a while as full time and now with contract for 4 days + freelance 1 day per week, how do they calculate the necessary ...
@Clouderzzz You have already met the social economic contribution condition. Given your situation, the important condition to check is that you have lived in Belgium for an uninterrupted period of 5 years. Don't forget that to apply for nationality, ... Read More
Continuous work but interruption in residence? for nationality by hssn601
I have already gone through the old threads but still have not been able to find the answer to my question.My Situation:Most probably next week, I will receive my L-Card after five years of continuous work. During these five years, I visited my ...
You don't need to wait once you've got the L card to apply for nationality, they'll tell you if there are any conditions you don't meet.As for being stuck because of COVID, this period is certainly not considered an interruption as it was beyond ... Read More
Continuous work but interruption in residence? for nationality by hssn601
I have already gone through the old threads but still have not been able to find the answer to my question.My Situation:Most probably next week, I will receive my L-Card after five years of continuous work. During these five years, I visited my ...
@hssn601 It's more difficult to get the L card than nationality. I assume that if you are issued with an L card, you have certainly proved that you have lived in Belgium for 5 years without interruption. Read More
Unlimited work permit renewal without work contract by rhiarhi
Hello all, I have a strange situation here: in two months I will need to renew my unlimited work permit but the problem is I was not working due to a long-term illness so I do not have a contract that I can provide nor the payslips of the last 3 ...
@rhiarhi Does the unlimited work permit expire after one year ? I think that it has to be renewed every 5 years. And it is not linked to a specific employer Read More
Unlimited work permit renewal without work contract by rhiarhi
Hello all, I have a strange situation here: in two months I will need to renew my unlimited work permit but the problem is I was not working due to a long-term illness so I do not have a contract that I can provide nor the payslips of the last 3 ...
@rhiarhi Given you have given limited informations about your situation: it is hard to tell exactly what rights you have. However, in any case, for anyone to qualify for unlimited single permit ( I guess it is what you implied by unlimited work ... Read More
Application for L card (prevously D card) long term stay by lady_lis
Hello! I have the following situation: I am going to apply for a L card (which was previously known as D card) long-term stay (status langdurig ingezetene). It is possible to apply for this status after having cumulatively spent 5 years in Belgium ...
@bozonchikThe calculation is straightforward. As a student, determine the duration from the issuance date of your first A card to the initial day on your A card as an employee. Divide this period by 2. For example, if you were a student for 3 years ... Read More
Application for L card (prevously D card) long term stay by lady_lis
Hello! I have the following situation: I am going to apply for a L card (which was previously known as D card) long-term stay (status langdurig ingezetene). It is possible to apply for this status after having cumulatively spent 5 years in Belgium ...
Hello Peter John,The calculation is quite simple, if you arrived as a student, you must calculate from the date of issue that appears on your first A card as a student to the first day that appears on your A card as an employee (or worker), this ... Read More
translator for practical test by Jeny0
Hi, I need numbers and names of translators for the practical exam for 3 or 4 of September early morning.
Hello, mycareer dot be, is a website. you may log in using itsme or other means and access the records that you are looking for. Read More
Resignation after Signing the Work Contract by rajpnr
Hello everyone, I have been recently laid off by a Belgian employer due to re-organization. I have been looking for a job for the past few months & attended a lot of interviews. I have signed a work contract with a Belgian employer, very ...
You should not worry about that, the new statutory minimum notice period is of 1 week if you have worked for that employer for 0 to less than 3months. If you are not satisfied with your Current employe, discuss it with them. as longAs you have not ... Read More
Tax calculator by qwerty143
Hello guys, I am considering an offer from Belgium. I want a reliable new expat tax regime calculator to check if this offer is actually good and if I can relocate. Can anyone help?I will move along with my non working spouse. Will there be ...
@qwerty143 unfortunately it only works when they are (registered ) in Belgium and unemployed Read More
job seeker status by Clouderzzz
Hey! I have an F card and as far as I know with that, you can't ask any help from CPAS etc. in other words you can't be an economic burden to the state. Does that apply for job seeker status ? For instance, if i go to Actiris in Brussels to ...
I think you should not worry about using the services of VDAB or Actiris, they are not only for your benefit but they also contribute to the country's economic development. I think you should go to them as soon as possible if you know they have ... Read More
Tax calculator by qwerty143
Hello guys, I am considering an offer from Belgium. I want a reliable new expat tax regime calculator to check if this offer is actually good and if I can relocate. Can anyone help?I will move along with my non working spouse. Will there be ...
sdworx.be/nl-be/simulatietools/bruto-netto-calculator is pretty accurate! @qwerty143 Read More
Single permit + Getting married with a Belgian citizen by Cy276
Hello everyone,I moved to Belgium on a single permit last September with my Belgian boyfriend. I'm thinking of switching jobs and have applied to a few positions.In my case where a new employer would have to apply for a new single permit for me, in ...
The processing time for family reunion applications in Belgium varies from several weeks to months. It is advisable to check the official website or contact the Belgian immigration authorities for up-to-date information. Using the "MyRIA" online ... Read More
FLEXI JOBS eligibility for Single permit holders
Hello,I am a single permit holder; in principle, I can only work for the employer who applied for the single permit for me. Does anyone know if with a Single permit one qualifies for Flexi jobs?A Single Permit is a document that allows non-EU ... Read More
L card vs B card by alex8111
Hi everyone!I am looking for some information about whether I can apply for a long term residence permit. I have been working in Belgium since 2016, but only this year switched to a local Belgian company. I see very different views on whether I am ...
@AlexFromBelgiumI have two more questions:If you also have information about the count of the period of the orientation year ( the search year); for someone who used this entire time working full time, of course, paying taxes. is it also considered ... Read More
L card vs B card by alex8111
Hi everyone!I am looking for some information about whether I can apply for a long term residence permit. I have been working in Belgium since 2016, but only this year switched to a local Belgian company. I see very different views on whether I am ...
@AlexFromBelgium Can you please give me a reference for this (the study's period count is only half) Read More