Before you start

For third-country nationals: an approved single permit or professional card before you travel, and a type D visa
For EU/EEA and Swiss nationals: no permit, but the same obligation to register with your commune
An address in Brussels with your name on the letterbox and the doorbell
Legalised birth and, where relevant, marriage certificates — start these months before you move

Step-by-step

1
Have your employer lodge the single permit with the right region
The region is determined by where the workplace is, not where you live. A job in Brussels is a Brussels-Capital file with a monthly salary floor (€3,703.44 gross for a highly qualified profile in 2026); a job in Antwerp or the Flemish periphery is a Flemish file with an annual one. Employers who have only ever hired in Flanders regularly apply the wrong test.
Via employerWho: Your employer4–5 months before the start date
2
Collect the type D visa and travel
Once the permit is approved, the Belgian post abroad issues a type D long-stay visa. The visa fee rose from €180 to €250 on 1 July 2026. The visa gets you in; it does not make you resident.
In personWho: You
3
Report to your commune within eight working days
Go to the foreigners' desk (service des étrangers / dienst vreemdelingenzaken) of the commune where you actually live, with passport, visa, permit and proof of address. You receive an Annexe 15 — a paper slip that is your only proof of legal presence for the next few weeks.
In personWho: YouWithin 8 working days of arrival
4
Be at home for the police check, or at least be findable
A neighbourhood officer calls at the address to verify you live there. Name on the letterbox, name on the bell, and a neighbour who can confirm you exist. If the report is negative the registration fails and you start again — this is the single most common stall in the whole process.
In personWho: YouDays to a few weeks after registering
5
Collect your national register number and eID
After a positive report the commune enters you in the register and invites you back to apply for the electronic card. You choose PIN and PUK codes; keep the PUK, because losing it means a new card. The national register number, not the card, is what every other institution asks for.
In personWho: You2–8 weeks after the police check
6
Check whether you owe a civic integration obligation
Brussels runs a compulsory reception pathway (parcours d'accueil / inburgeringstraject) for most newly-registered adults who have been in Belgium under three years, with language tuition, roughly sixty hours of civic orientation and social support. You are notified by the commune, have six months to sign up and eighteen months to complete it, and non-compliance carries administrative fines. EU nationals and several other categories are exempt.
In personWho: YouWithin 6 months of being notified

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the type D visa
The approved single permit or professional card
Proof of address — registered lease or ownership title
Legalised and translated birth certificate, and marriage certificate if applicable
Passport photographs to Belgian specification
Employment contract

Things most newcomers don’t know

Work authorisation in Belgium is regional, and Brussels is not Flanders.

The residence half of a single permit is federal, but the work half belongs to the region where the job sits. Brussels-Capital states its thresholds monthly (€3,703.44 gross for a highly qualified profile in 2026, €6,647.20 for management, €4,748.00 for an EU Blue Card) while Flanders states annual figures and Wallonia different ones again. Employers, recruiters and even some lawyers carry advice across the boundary unchanged, and it is wrong in both directions. Establish which region owns your file before anything else.

Source: Brussels Economy and Employment

The police visit is a real administrative step, not a formality.

Belgian communes verify residence in person through a neighbourhood officer before entering you in the register. There is no appointment: the officer comes when they come, and if they cannot establish that you live there the file stops dead. Because the national register number depends on it, and the bank account, health fund and phone contract depend on the number, one missed doorbell can cost a month. Put your name on the letterbox the day you get the keys.

Source: FPS Home Affairs (IBZ)

Your national register number matters more than the card it is printed on.

Belgium runs a single identifier across tax, social security, health, banking and government services. Every institution asks for it, and until the commune issues it you cannot open a normal bank account, join a health fund, or activate itsme — the digital identity app that unlocks MyMinfin, online banking and most government portals. Newcomers plan around the plastic card and are surprised that the number arrives first and is the thing that actually unblocks life.

Source: FPS Home Affairs (IBZ)

Belgium has no digital nomad route, and no golden visa either.

Remote work for a foreign employer is not a basis for residence here, and there is no investor programme that converts capital into a permit. The self-employed route is the professional card, which is regional, judged on whether the business is genuinely useful, and costs €140 plus €90 per year of validity. Anyone arriving on the assumption that Belgium has quietly launched a nomad visa is working from a proposal or from another country's rules.

Source: Immigration Office

Common mistakes to avoid

Letting an employer apply Flemish salary thresholds to a Brussels job, or the reverse.
Missing the eight-working-day window to report to your commune after arrival.
Not putting your name on the letterbox and doorbell before the police check.
Assuming remote work for a foreign employer can be regularised later — it cannot.
Leaving birth and marriage certificate legalisation until after you arrive.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.