Belgium - Immigration news

2022 was a booming year for immigration and international travel worldwide, which translated into some important legislative changes. We have compiled a short overview of the most important developments which are to be taken into account, also in 2023, when managing foreign employees in Belgium.

Immigration salary threshold

As every year, the minimum immigration salary thresholds for foreign employees have increased in Wallonia, Brussels and Flanders. Effective January 01, 2023, this increase impacts new applications as well as valid permits.

Follow the link to read the full ALERT where you will be able to consult the new amounts applicable for the year 2023.

Temporary protection for Ukrainian nationals

In March of 2022, the European Commission activated the Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC) as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Directive aims to provide the displaced individuals with:

• residence permits;

• access to the labor market and accommodation; 

• social and welfare assistance; 

• medical care;

• access to education for children. 

All EU member states implemented the Temporary Protection Directive and in October 2022, the EU Commission confirmed that individuals entitled to temporary protection as a result of the ongoing situation in Ukraine will see their current status extended until March 04, 2024.

The beneficiaries of the Temporary Protection currently holding a Belgian residence permit type A valid until March 04, 2023, can present themselves to their local town hall to initiate the renewal procedure. The extended residence permit will be valid until March 04, 2024.

In practice, most town halls will proactively contact the beneficiaries and will invite them to apply for their extended residence permit, however, should the individual not receive an invitation, they can contact their town hall to secure the extension of their residence permit.

The renewal of the residence permit can also be requested after its expiry. However, if the individual has been deregistered from their local town hall in the meantime, they will have to obtain a new certificate of temporary protection and register themselves at the town hall of their residence again.
 

In-country status change

Since September 01, 2020, the possibility to change status in country had been restricted for third country nationals who already held a right of residence providing access to the labor market. As a result, a change of status to labor migrant was only possible for those in legal short stay in Belgium or those holding residence rights as a student or researcher.

However, over the last two years the Belgian immigration authorities have realized the practical impact of this legislative change and the issues it created both for employees and employers.

The current legislative change removes this restriction again and allows third country nationals with access to the labor market but whose main goal of travel to Belgium was not employment (family reunification, beneficiaries of the Temporary protection etc.) to once again change their status to labor migrant without leaving the Belgian territory. Practically speaking, they will be able to apply for a single permit as employee whilst still residing in Belgium.

General eligibility criteria remain applicable, in line with the applicable category of the single permit requested.

Please note exceptions still apply. The most common exception will be for those individuals holding a special ID card, delivered by the protocol service.
 

Processing times

There has been an important increase in processing times of single permit applications in Belgium.

Below you may find an overview based on the authorities’ current workload, as seen in practice in January 2023.

• Regional level:
  • Walloon and Brussels regions: once the application has been submitted with the Belgian authorities, 3 to 4 weeks to obtain the work authorization.
  • Flemish region: once the application has been submitted with the Belgian authorities, 6 to 9 weeks to obtain the work authorization.

• Immigration office: once the region has issued their approval, it takes about 13 to 15 weeks to obtain the approval from the immigration office (in some cases additional verifications are done: public safety, etc. in which case processing times can be extended).

• Visa D: once both approvals have been obtained and the visa D application has been submitted at the respective Belgian diplomatic post, it takes 2 to 3 weeks to obtain the visa D. Due to a higher demand for appointments, it is important to book the appointment well in advance (it can take several weeks to be able to secure a slot).

PS: The legal processing times are set at 4 months, as from the moment the application is declared admissible by the regional authorities.

However, based on feedback received from the authorities, we can expect the processing times to shorten in the future weeks/months, specifically for the visa applications.
 

Indexation of administrative fees as from January 01, 2023

Since 2015, Belgian residence or long-term visa D applications are subject to the payment of an administrative fee, which is to cover the costs of processing the application. Proof of full and correct payment is needed for the application to be admissible.

The administrative fee is charged per person and per application, with the amount being linked to the purpose of the residence application or visa D application. Certain categories of applicants are exempted from this contribution based on their age or purpose of the application.

Follow the link to read the full ALERT where you will be able to consult the new amounts applicable for the year 2023.
 

Croatia joined the Schengen area and Eurozone on January 01, 2023

Since Sunday January 1, 2023, Croatia is an official Schengen Area Member State and has adopted the euro as its official currency.

The Commission of the European Union has in the meantime announced that Croatia has successfully completed its euro changeover, but when it comes to the implementation of the Schengen acquis, we see a more gradual move.

While Croatia already started applying parts of the Schengen acquis in 2013, the last parts only became applicable on January 1, 2023. These includes the abolishment of the internal land and sea borders between Croatia and the other Schengen member states.

While the border controls on the internal land and sea borders were lifted immediately on January 1st, the internal air borders will only be lifted as from March 26, 2023.

Traveling between Croatia and other Schengen member states will thus become a lot easier in 2023.
 

Takeaway?

Employers should review their current and future foreign national employees, employed or to be employed in Belgium to understand if one of the above-mentioned changes will have an impact on their employees.

Questions? Contact the immigration professional with whom you work at EY.