Elena Igor
English expat in Belgium
Forum posts
26
About me
English
Registration: 19 May 2025
Question re 5-year residency and work by ruslan.galkanov
I was told (and read) that even if you work (an a non-EU citizen) in Belgium for the required number of years, pay taxes and social, etc., but if your employer of record is a non-Belgian entity (in my case, it is an American company), all these ...
@ruslan.galkanovThere are so many multinational corporations in Belgium which have a Belgian branch and don鈥檛 pose this issue. If you are on an expat contract (you pay less tax) within the company in belgium instead of the local contract, that ... Read More
Integration test by Nnajiu
Hello Guys,Anyone taken or did the integration test or exams after the 60 hours course either from BON or BAPA in Brussels? Care to share the type.of questions you remembered being asked? Thanks in advance
@Nnajiuis it possible to sign up for the exam directly, without the classes? Read More
Single permit processing 2025 by sarasaroub98
Hi all,I created this post for people that are waiting for their single permit and future applicants, please share your timeline here : Application date : 11/11/2024Region: Flanders WP: 02/12/2024RP: waiting
@Mberhdadi if its not approved in time, go to the commune before expiry and they will issue you an annex which will allow you to legally stay and continue working until a decision is made on SP Read More
12 months salary before applying for "sejour ilimite"? by nyamani77
Hello, I faced a bizarre situation today: I completed 5 years of legal non-interrupted residence in Belgium as per 14 August 2025. I worked for >700 days (as per ONSS) but in two jobs. between the two jobs there was a few months of interruption ...
@nyamani77Sorry I am confused. Isn鈥檛 the requirement for permanent residency 5 years of continious legal stay, vs. 5 years uninterrupted work? Read More
Integration test by Nnajiu
Hello Guys,Anyone taken or did the integration test or exams after the 60 hours course either from BON or BAPA in Brussels? Care to share the type.of questions you remembered being asked? Thanks in advance
@NnajiuThanks for the insights. Could you please share the process of where you took the exam and how to sign up? Read More
Rejection of permanent residence in Belgium by krish2190
Dear group ,My apologize if similar question has been addressed already. I would like to ask for your advice regarding my permanent residence application.- As a non-eu citizen, I moved to Belgium in 2020 as a posted employee (secondment) and have ...
@nyamani77That is unfortunate that it went back to 0, but also very fortunate that you were able to stay as indeed as far as I鈥檝e read for years in this platform - there has always been the 90 days rule when losing job on single permit Read More
Rejection of permanent residence in Belgium by krish2190
Dear group ,My apologize if similar question has been addressed already. I would like to ask for your advice regarding my permanent residence application.- As a non-eu citizen, I moved to Belgium in 2020 as a posted employee (secondment) and have ...
@nyamani77Out of curiosity - when they rejected and pointed out the gap, did they ask to work additional just the number of days that the gap lasted or they reset the clock back to start from 0 when you found the new job ? Read More
Single permit processing 2025 by sarasaroub98
Hi all,I created this post for people that are waiting for their single permit and future applicants, please share your timeline here : Application date : 11/11/2024Region: Flanders WP: 02/12/2024RP: waiting
@ozlemozdemir227 Hi Ozlem,Actually I was in the same situation (3rd work permit, the latest one being valid until 2028).I didn鈥檛 follow up with them, I was planning to as it had been almost 3 months and to my suprise got the approval ... Read More
Single permit processing 2025 by sarasaroub98
Hi all,I created this post for people that are waiting for their single permit and future applicants, please share your timeline here : Application date : 11/11/2024Region: Flanders WP: 02/12/2024RP: waiting
Single Permit (unlimited work permit) :Region: BrusselsApplication: 19/07/2025 WP Approval: 23/07/2025 SP Approval: 14/10/2025 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?
@maharaji1984People lose their jobs, and find one within a couple of months and start working again, they still qualify after 5 years of legal residence if the jobs they worked in were local contracts. 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?
@maharaji1984There鈥檚 many people who move for work and then change status to F card after marriage for example, and receive L card without working the full 5 years 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?
Isn鈥檛 the requirement 5 years of uninterrupted rule about maintaining聽 legal residence for L card application? The 5 years uninterrupted work rule applies to one of the paths for citizenship (naturalisation process) ... Read More
A card with unlimited work rights by lafeti6379
Hello All,I got approval for my unlimited work permit.I am still on A card but now with unlimited work permit (not bound to my employer).What kind of work I can do now.I am in software industry but I am not interested in the software job any more.I ...
@lafeti6379 It has to be a salaried position as stated on the unlimited work permit itself. The 3 months payslips are to show that you do indeed have a stable monthly salary Read More
Working in Belgium under a Single Permit - Who your employer is by ruslan.galkanov
I was told recently (and verified with with the Law on Foreigners of 1980) that even though your single permit can be granted continuously on a five-year basis, then, when you want to apply for an unlimited permit and later requalify it into another ...
@ruslan.galkanovThere鈥檚 plenty of American multi national companies operating in Belgium with a Belgian branch, the issue you鈥檙e describing doesn鈥檛 happen so I鈥檓 trying to figure out the missing link鈥� Read More
Single permit processing 2025 by sarasaroub98
Hi all,I created this post for people that are waiting for their single permit and future applicants, please share your timeline here : Application date : 11/11/2024Region: Flanders WP: 02/12/2024RP: waiting
@expat0ctjaYou can google 鈥渕erge multiple adobe pdfs into one鈥� and use the free adobe tool to merge all the payslip files into 1 Read More
Single permit processing 2025 by sarasaroub98
Hi all,I created this post for people that are waiting for their single permit and future applicants, please share your timeline here : Application date : 11/11/2024Region: Flanders WP: 02/12/2024RP: waiting
@Suyog GhadgeThe employer, unless you yourself applied for unlimited single permit.In either case, you can check through single-permit.socialsecurity.be if you are already living in Belgium and have a national registration number. Read More
A card renewal during unemployment & incapable to work.[B]OT by ievgenfeldmann
@maharaji1984 Then why u ask ? Rat
I think there should be an obligated iq and English test prior to registering this website in order to prevent to quality and databese volume. - @maharaji1984@maharaji1984 So many grammatical errors in this sentence alone鈥� Read More
A card renewal during unemployment & incapable to work.[B]OT by ievgenfeldmann
@maharaji1984 Then why u ask ? Rat
@maharaji1984 Yeah your post wouldn鈥檛 pass Read More
A card renewal during unemployment & incapable to work. by maharaji1984
Hi all i am asking this question behalve of one of my friend.Having unemployement benefit since a year and now time to renawal of A card in a month.Holding unlimited WP.Recently got an accident and not possible to work following 3 -4 months.Asked ...
You did not say you had a valid work contract. You are saying you are unemployed, meaning you have no work contract. If you have a valid work, but are on sick leave that is another story Read More
A card renewal during unemployment & incapable to work. by maharaji1984
Hi all i am asking this question behalve of one of my friend.Having unemployement benefit since a year and now time to renawal of A card in a month.Holding unlimited WP.Recently got an accident and not possible to work following 3 -4 months.Asked ...
Unlimited work permit (card A) does not mean that you have permanent residency (card L.) This means that as card A holder you have your residency right based on employment, if you are unemployed for more than 90 days you lose your rights. Read More
A card renewal during unemployment & incapable to work. by maharaji1984
Hi all i am asking this question behalve of one of my friend.Having unemployement benefit since a year and now time to renawal of A card in a month.Holding unlimited WP.Recently got an accident and not possible to work following 3 -4 months.Asked ...
Isn鈥檛 card A residency valid based on employment? How can you have a valid card A without work for a year? Read More
Working in Belgium under a Single Permit - Who your employer is by ruslan.galkanov
I was told recently (and verified with with the Law on Foreigners of 1980) that even though your single permit can be granted continuously on a five-year basis, then, when you want to apply for an unlimited permit and later requalify it into another ...
Why can鈥檛 the contract be under the belgian branch? Read More
Single Permit Processing - 2024 by Mirage123
Hi everyone, I'm yet to submit any official application for my work permit/visa (I blame my employers who are incredibly disorganised...) so will post my information when the time comes.They seem to want me to start at the beginning of April but ...
@tosinosu Yes, you can check if you reside in Belgium already and have a national id number 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 ...
@vavashapov email the commune and IBZ, they respond back with the relevant information Read More
Single permit processing 2025 by sarasaroub98
Hi all,I created this post for people that are waiting for their single permit and future applicants, please share your timeline here : Application date : 11/11/2024Region: Flanders WP: 02/12/2024RP: waiting
@SimCityATYou have been answered this question many times over the years, why do YOU insist. Leave the people alone, clearly it helps them in ways you are incapable of understanding Read More
Belgian residency permit renewal by ntyassine
Hello Guys,i have a question regarding the card type "A" renewal , when i came back in 2022 i got a residency permit "single permit" for 3 years , and when i renewed recently i got only 1 year extension, any idea or explanation why not 3 years same ...
@ntyassine If you switched into an 鈥渦nlimited鈥� work permit, the residency permit for those are yearly. In this case you will not need to renew your work permit, and the residency procedure is through the commune and in theory it is ... Read More