Single permit and work visa

There are 3 stages for applying for a work visa:

1. application for a work authorisation;
2. application for a single permit to the Immigration Office;
3. application for a long stay visa D.
    

Applications for a single permit have to be made by your Belgian employer at the Regional Office of Employment in Belgium for non-EU nationals or EEA nationals. Please consult our section Where should your employer apply for your work permit? for more information/

To enable your future employer to obtain a single permit, provide them with:

• Proof of having paid the administrative fee into the Belgian bank account.
• A medical certificate by a doctor appointed by the Belgian Embassy. A blood test for syphilis and a chest x-ray for tuberculosis must be undertaken first, so that you can hand the results to the designated doctor. The medical document should be less than 3 months old on the date of your application. If you live 150 km or more away from a designated doctor, you can choose a different doctor. Please ask the doctor to send us a letter on the clinic’s letterhead which states your name and the doctor’s full name and signature. This letter may also be sent to us as a scanned copy by email to canberra@diplobel.fed.be. The Embassy will then need to legalise the doctor’s signature. Consult our consular fees.
• An original national Police Clearance from all countries you have lived in during the last year and 2 photocopies. This document has to be legalised by means of an Apostille. You can obtain the Apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia / Department of Internal Affairs in New Zealand. See “Obtaining Documents (Apostille)”.
• Three passport photos

Your employer will send these documents along with a photocopy of the employment contract on an approved form, to the appropriate regional office.

The processing time can be weeks or months.

When the work authorisation is issued, an application for a single permit is sent to the Immigration Office (Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken/Office des Etrangers) in Brussels. If it is approved, you will receive a document called Bijlage 46 or Annexe 46. If you nominated an Embassy in your application rather than a municipality in Belgium, the Bijlage /Annexe 46 will be sent to the Embassy.
 

Once you have your single permit approval, the Bijlage 46 or Annexe 46, you can apply for your long stay visa D - work visa.

Please refer to the VFS Global website for a checklist of required document.

Processing time

Your visa is normally issued within 2 weeks.

Notes

If your spouse and/or children wish to join you they will need a long stay visa (family reunion visa). For more information for your specific situation please contact the Visa Section by email at canberra@diplobel.fed.be.