Changing jobs on a single permit: Annex 46, Annex 49, and the gap that catches everyone

Your single permit is tied to one employer. Change jobs and the new employer applies again from the beginning — and the timing is the whole problem. Your old permit expires on a fixed date; the new one is issued whenever the authorities get to it. The gap between those two is where people panic, resign too early, or discover they cannot legally work for a month. It is survivable, but only if you know the paperwork before you hand in your notice.

A single permit is two decisions wearing one name

This is the thing that explains everything else. A single permit combines the right to work and the right to reside, and those are decided by two different authorities:

Two consequences follow, and they explain most of the confusion people run into. First, neither office can tell you the whole story — the region can approve the job while immigration is still sitting on the residence side, and your HR will report the first as if it were the decision. Second, the region that matters is where you will work, and the three regions run their own systems, timelines and portals.

The three annexes, and which is which

Half the confusion in every conversation about this comes from mixing these up. People routinely tell each other the commune issues Annex 46, or that they must wait for the employer to send Annex 49. Neither is right.

What actually happens, in order

People who tracked their own files reported roughly ten weeks end to end in a good run, and repeated warnings that the offices were overloaded and quoting ten to twelve weeks just to treat the file. Large employers often route applications through an external firm, which adds two to three weeks of internal document checking before anything reaches the authorities. Ask your HR when the file was actually introduced with the authorities — that is the date the clock starts, not the day you sent them your passport scan.

The trap: the start date on your approval

Practical sequencing that avoids the hole:

• Accept the offer, but agree a flexible start date in writing, tied to the permit rather than the calendar
• Let the new employer file before you resign
• When the employment approval lands, read the start date first, then count backwards to your notice
• If your current card expires in the window, go to the commune before it expires and ask about Annex 49

When your card expires before Annex 46 arrives

This is common and it is not an emergency, provided you act before the expiry rather than after it. Go to your commune with your work authorisation and ask for the temporary extension. Reported experience: a few weeks to get Annex 49, then Annex 46 within about a week of that, then another week or so for the card and its PIN — five to six weeks in total for a renewal that felt like a crisis at the time.

Communes are not interchangeable

The federal timeline is the federal timeline, but the counter experience varies enormously between the nineteen Brussels communes and beyond. Some are reported as fast and organised, others as slow; some take walk-ins for renewals, others appointment only, and the policy changes without notice. Three practical habits:

• Email your commune’s registration desk rather than queuing blind — several people got appointments that way when the counter had none
• Book an appointment even if walk-ins are allowed. It costs nothing and it is your fallback if the policy changes
• Ask whether urgent issuance is possible once you hold Annex 46 — where offered it can compress the card wait dramatically, for a fee

If you are new here: the eight-day rule

Arriving in Belgium, you must report to your commune within eight days. This catches people staying in temporary or company accommodation, who assume they must wait for a permanent address. You do not — report anyway, explain the situation, and provide the temporary address. In Brussels, emailing the city’s registration service with your passport, visa and work permit or hosting agreement has worked for people staying in short-term accommodation.

Short-term rental agreements are frequently accepted for this first registration. The police residence check will come to whatever address you registered, so be reachable there.

Family, and a few things people always ask

• Dependants can work. The spouse of a single permit holder does not need a separate work permit or job card once they hold a dependant residence card
• The family can usually travel together. Dependants apply on the strength of the main applicant’s Annex 46 — you do not have to travel first and send for them later
• Your card matches your permit. The residence card is issued for the validity of the work authorisation, so a one-year permit means a one-year card and an annual renewal
• Name mismatches cause real trouble. If your passport carries a married surname and your older documents a maiden name, carry the marriage certificate that links them
• A short gap between jobs is generally not fatal to long-term residence later, which is assessed on your contribution record over years rather than on a fortnight’s break — but do not treat that as licence to be uninsured or unregistered

What I would tell anyone changing employer

1. Never resign before the new file is introduced with the authorities — and know the difference between that and sending documents to HR.
2. Read the start date on the approval before you count your notice period. It is the single most common way people end up in a gap.
3. Go to the commune before your card expires, not after. Annex 49 is routine in advance and stressful in arrears.
4. Learn the three annexes. You will get better service at the counter than someone asking for the wrong one.
5. Assume three months and plan your money accordingly, especially if a start date slips into a new quarter.