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Work Permit

Belgium generally requires a candidate to have a work permit or evidence that the  employer has applied for one on your behalf before you can apply for a residence permit or long-stay visa. European Union nationals don't require work permits to find employment in Belgium. Non-EU nationals must have a work permit, usually applied for by their potential employer, in order to be legally entitled to work in the country. 
The employer, not the individual, files the work permit application, and before a permit is granted, the employer must prove that no Belgian or European Union citizen is able to do the job.
Applications relating to artists, specialized technicians and trainees require slightly different processing.
There are two  ways for the candidate to be employed with a work permit:
1. One can obtain the work permit  direct from the Belgian company provided the candidates meets all the requirements of the Belgian company towards obtaining the work permit.
2. As the employee of a foreign company that is providing services to a Belgian company. This foreign company may not be a recruitment agency and must produce a service contract as part of the application. Where this occurs, the application needs to be made in conjunction with a Belgian accountant who must administer the payrolling of the candidate to ensure that all tax and social security is duly paid.
Those who wish to be self-employed in Belgium must apply for a Professional Card. The application process can take up to a year, and the permit must be renewed annually.
There are three types of work permit in Belgium:
1. A ‘C’ permit is valid for only one year, allowing the holder to work for multiple employers. This is usually issued to migrant agricultural or domestic workers. C permits generally aren't renewable.
2. A ‘B’ permit is valid for one employer and runs for one year, after which it can be renewed (by the same employer, usually for the same job or job classification). If you change employers, your new employer must apply for a new B permit. You may find that you have to return to your home country and re-apply for a residence visa before you can start your new job! Once you've renewed a B permit four or more times, i.e. have lived and worked in Belgium for five years on the same permit, you can receive an unlimited A permit.
3. An ‘A’ permit allows you to work for any employer in Belgium for an unlimited period of time. These permits are issued only to the following categories of applicant: the spouse of an A permit holder, the non-EU spouse of a Belgian national, the non-EU spouse of an EU national legally resident in Belgium, and any foreigner with five years' uninterrupted (legal) residency in Belgium.

Exemption from the work permit

The main categories of foreign nationals exempt from the work permit requirement are as follows:

Nationals of a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA) and their spouses, their descendants aged under 21 years or who are still dependent on them, relatives in the ascending line who are dependent on them and their spouses.
The spouse of a Belgian and their descendants aged under 21 or who are dependent on them, their dependent relatives in the ascending line and their spouses.
Foreign nationals in possession of a residence permit.
Foreign nationals authorised or admitted for an unlimited period of time.
Acknowledge refugees in Belgium.
Students staying legally in Belgium to work only during school holidays (the Christmas holidays, the Easter holidays and the summer holidays).
Students on training courses that are mandatory for their studies in Belgium.
Apprentices hired under the terms of an apprenticeship or sandwich course contract.

Requirements for a Belgian Work Permit
The only open requirement is that the position is "high level" – commanding a salary in excess of BGF 8200 per month (GBP 1366) if paid in Belgium, or BGF 140000 (GBP 2333) if paid elsewhere.
The candidate must show that the qualifications and experience necessary to fill such a high level position, but there is no need to advertise for the positions.
If the application is for an assignment permit (b above) then the candidate should have at least 6-12 months experience with the service provider, to justify the claim that they have experience with the company's systems.
A Belgian work permit is employer specific, and working for another Belgian company would not be legal unless and until a new application had been made by the new employer and approved by the authorities.
Processing time 
Time taken to process a candidate on-site with a Belgian Work Permit depends on the kind of documents one prepares.  The whole process, from lodging the application to collecting the visa / permit from the centre, takes about 4 - 6 weeks.
The possession of a work permit does not exempt the holder from visa requirements. Once the permit is issued, it will often take about a week for the client to receive a visa from the Belgian Embassy. We can guide and help our clients  on the process of applying for your visa.  Before applying for the work permit/visa and is approved, the applicant may need to obtain a Shengan visa. The embassy will not however start work until the permit has been approved.

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