Expat checklist

Moving to Belgium for work

The things to arrange in your first weeks, in the order you usually need them. For everything the government handles we link to the official page, so you always read the current rules.

1. 1

   Check whether you need a permit

   Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland can work without one. Everyone else usually needs a single permit or another work authorisation, often applied for by the employer.

   Belgium.be: coming to Belgium
2. 2

   Register at your municipality

   Register at the municipality (commune or gemeente) where you live. You then get your national register number and later your residence card, which employers, banks and doctors ask for.

   National Register
3. 3

   Join a health insurance fund

   As an employee in Belgium you join a health insurance fund (mutualité or ziekenfonds). It reimburses part of your medical costs and pays benefits when you are ill.

   Belgium.be: health insurance
4. 4

   Open a bank account

   Salary and rent are paid by bank transfer, so you need an IBAN. A money transfer service helps while you still pay or receive money in another currency.

5. 5

   Find a place to live

   Never pay a deposit before you have seen the place or signed a contract. In Belgium the rental deposit is usually put in a blocked account in your name.

6. 6

   Learn the local language

   Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, both in Brussels. Even a little helps at work and with the authorities. Short lessons online fit around a full-time job.