New immigration rules in the Brussels Region as from 1 October 2024
Foreign employees who are not European Economic Area (EEA) citizens need a work permit or a single permit to work on the Belgian territory, unless they are exempt from this requirement.
The authority to grant a work permit or a single permit has been regionalized and each region can determine its own conditions to grant a work permit/single permit. The Brussels Region has amended its rules regarding the single permits, with effect on 1 October 2024. The most important changes are the following:
1. New definition of “remuneration”
Certain categories of employees must reach a minimum salary threshold. The minimum threshold was previously an annual amount, which did not only include fixed salary but also other payments and benefits, such as double holiday pay, 13th month premium, company car, meal vouchers, etc.
The Region has now changed its definition of “remuneration”:
- The minimum threshold is now a monthly amount, calculated based on a percentage of the monthly average gross salary in the Brussels Region;
- The only remuneration taken into account corresponds to Code 1 of the DMFA declaration (= quarterly declaration to the Belgian social security). The following salary elements fall under Code 1: fixed monthly salary, benefit in kinds such as laptop, mobile phone, housing and overtime pay for example. Other elements such as double holiday pay, 13th month, etc. are therefore excluded from this monthly threshold. Taking into account the above, the Region has determined new salary thresholds (see below).
- Employers will no longer be required to send out individual accounts and pay slips to the authorities in the framework of yearly controls, as the latter will carry out this control themselves via the social security database.
The new thresholds for the various categories are the following:
| As from October 2024 | As from January 2025 | |
| Highly qualified staff | 3,591.72 EUR per month | 3,703.44 EUR per month |
| Executive staff | 6,445.60 EUR per month | 6,647.20 EUR per month |
| European blue card | 4,604.00 EUR per month | 4,748.00 EUR per month |
| ICT – manager | 5,294.60 EUR per month | 5,460.20 EUR per month |
| ICT – expert | 4,373.80 EUR per month | 4,510.60 EUR per month |
| ICT - trainee | 2,532.20 EUR per month | 2,611.40 EUR per month |
The amounts will be updated automatically every year on 1 January.
! This also applies for seconded employees, for whom the overall gross monthly salary (Belgian taxable salary and foreign social security) should be looked at. Since no DMFA is declared for seconded employees, the Region will control the salary thresholds punctually on an individual basis.
The above changes apply to every application and renewal introduced as from 1 October 2024.
According to the Region, most of the current single permits should comply with the new thresholds. The Region will apply a pragmatic approach if this not the case: they will mainly verify whether the other conditions are complied with. We however advise employers to adapt the monthly salaries to the new thresholds.
2. New required application documents
The Region now requires new documentation for certain types of single permits categories, such as a description of the open position or an organizational chart of the company.
3. Publication of the job offer on the Actiris website
From now on, it will be required to publish a job offer five weeks in advance via the Actiris services and to obtain a notice from Actiris regarding the result of these steps, specifying that the position could not be filled on the local employment market.
However, this specific procedure must not be followed for certain categories (highly qualified staff or ICT e.g.) or for functions included in the list of bottleneck professions published by Actiris.
4. Single permits for indefinite duration
Employees may now apply for a single permit for indefinite duration after 30 months covered by an authorization to work issued by the Brussels Region (vs. 4 years before).
Internships will now be taken into account to reach the 30 months.
5. Changes regarding the European blue card
The new Brussels legislation takes into account the new “European Blue Card-Directive”.
As a consequence:
- It will be easier for employees to switch from an employer to another;
- A higher degree education degree is no longer required for employees working in the ICT sector. Professional qualifications may be demonstrated by proof of professional experience (via a CV or training e.g.).
6. Automatic withdrawal of the authorization to work upon termination
In the event of termination, the employer previously had to ask the Region to withdraw the authorization to work. This will now happen automatically as the Region is able to access the Dimona declarations.
! Action points:
- Check the salary thresholds of your employees working with a single permit in the Brussels region to make sure they are aligned with the new point of view of the Brussels’ authorities.
- Make sure your recruitment team is aware of the new thresholds when recruiting foreign staff in need of a single permit.
- If you are a client of Pro-Pay’s immigration team, we will audit your file in the coming weeks and reach out to you to discuss our conclusions.
Do not hesitate to contact our legal department for a second opinion on the comp & ben package of your staff or for more information at the following e-mail address: legal@pro-pay.be.
