Amendment to the regulations on labour migration in the Flemish Region

On the Belgian labor market, companies have been facing a shortage of employees for several years. This labor market shortage combined with an increasing globalization are at the root of an increased recruitment of employees from outside of the European Union.

However, employees who are not nationals of an EEA member state or Switzerland (hereafter referred to as "third-country nationals") cannot automatically be employed on the Belgian territory. For an employee-third-country national who wishes to be employed on Belgian territory, an authorization to work - in the form of either a work permit (stay of less than 90 days) or a single permit (stay of more than 90 days) - will have to be applied for by the employer (or a proxy holder) with the competent Region, unless the person can legitimately claim an exemption.

The Flemish Region has recently made some changes to its migration policy, which will affect future applications for work permits, as well as single permits.

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