Working in Belgium

If you hold an EU, Norwegian or Icelandic passport, you are legally allowed to work in Belgium (and all other EU countries) however you must go the the town hall in the commune where you live to get a residence card.

If you're a non-EU citizen you'll need to apply for a work permit as well. This involves proving that no EU citizen is able to do your job - it is best to leave this paperwork to your prospective employer. There are two main types of work permit (permis de travail/werkvergunning), normally you will get a B permit which is valid for only one employer and must be renewed each year. After several years you should be able to transfer this to an A permit which is valid indefinitely and allows you to work for any employer you like. Contact the Ministère de l'Emploi et du Travail for information and application forms for work permits.

Ministère de l'Emploi et du Travail

Despite all the rules and regulations, there are still plenty of opportunities for casual work in Brussels. With almost a third of the population made up of foreigners, it's not too hard to blend in and the expatriate community provides an English speaking infrastructure where you can start looking.

You can try The Bulletin (website www.thebulletin.be; €2.70) and local papers for employment ads before scouring the city's restaurants and bars for a job. If you have a professional qualification you'll have a much better chance of landing work in one of Brussels 120 international governmental organisations and you might even get the paperwork done allowing you to stay legally.

If you are legally allowed to work in Belgium you can look for work through ORBEM (website www.orbem.be) and various other employment agencies.

Working in Austria | Working in Belgium | Working in Denmark | Working in France | Working in Hungary | Working in Ireland | Working in Italy | Working in the Netherlands | Working in the United Kingdom