Changing Jobs in Belgium on Single Permit
Asha MenonCommunity desk
Brussels · Belgium · 31 January 2024 · 2 min read
Your single permit is tied to your employer, so changing jobs is not simply a resignation — a new permit application has to be started, and the order in which you do things determines whether you have an uninterrupted right to work.
At a glance
Do not resign when you sign
This is the mistake that costs people their status. A signed contract is not an approved permit. Resign only once the process has reached the point where it is actually required — typically when the regional office asks for it — because a resignation followed by a refused application leaves you with neither job nor permit.
The sequence
- Find the role. LinkedIn does most of the work in the Belgian market, particularly in technology and the international sector.
- Interview and offer. Read the contract properly — salary, benefits, notice, and any non-compete. Take advice on it if you are a foreign national; the permit consequences are not always spelled out.
- New single permit application. Your new employer initiates it with the region. This is the long pole: budget one to three months.
- Resign when required, not before.
- Serve your notice. See notice periods in Belgium — capped at 13 weeks for an employee on a post-2014 contract.
- Start, and register the change with your commune if asked.
Tell the new employer early that you need a permit. Belgian employers who hire internationally do this routinely; ones who do not may not have realised it applies. Their HR has to file it, so a company that has never done one before is a timeline risk you want to know about during the interview, not after.
When you do not need a new permit
If you hold an unlimited work permit or a residence status that carries the right to work, your employment is no longer tied to a named employer and none of the above applies. That is the strongest argument for applying for the A Card Illimité as soon as you qualify — see the unlimited work permit.
Two things worth checking in the contract
- The start date should be flexible enough to absorb a permit delay. Fixing it before approval creates a problem for both sides.
- Any non-compete — permitted in Belgium but tightly constrained, and often unenforceable as written. Worth a professional opinion before you sign rather than after you want to leave.
Written in 2024, and general guidance rather than immigration advice — regional procedures and processing times change. Confirm with your region’s employment authority, and take professional advice where your status is at stake.
From our desk, not official advice
Written by the Namaste Community desk under our standing byline, from the questions this community asks most often — not a single person's own account. Rules change and offices differ — check anything that matters with the people who decide it.
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