Changing Employer in Belgium

1. No
2. Any general practitioner can give you one. Check if they have a specific format for the work permit application.

Anyone can give details for Economics job Belgium forum!

Thank you Aneesh. This really helps.

Dear Aneesh,

I found out that there is a specific format in which I have to get the medical certificate in.
But also they told me that the certifcate has to be validated by the Belgium Consul General.

Can you please let me know if you have some information on that ?

Thank you in advance!

Deepak

There may be a format (for example: hhttp://werk-economie-emploi.brussels/documents/16195/54918/certificat-medical-travailleur-etranger.pdf/13368fba-b0c7-4750-a2b5-2f6d2782da03)

Not sure if it needs to be legalized. May be you can check with your local commune who can legalize or attest it.

Dear Aneesh,

Firstly I would like to thank you for all the info you gave. It really helped advance a lot of the process. Now I am wiating for my work permit.

I have another situation now, it is regarding the validity of my Work Permit B.
My work permit type B states that it can be extended only for 4 years since I am under
highly skilled category.

How do I extend my work permit after this ?

Any clarity on this is very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Hello, I have a silly question but I still need to ask just to be sure about this.
If you change the employer, do you have to wait until you get the new WP (renewal by the new employer) or you just can start the job once you sign the contract?

Thank you in advance for any replies


Jo

You need to wait for the new WP

deepak.ranganathan wrote:

Dear Aneesh,

Firstly I would like to thank you for all the info you gave. It really helped advance a lot of the process. Now I am wiating for my work permit.

I have another situation now, it is regarding the validity of my Work Permit B.
My work permit type B states that it can be extended only for 4 years since I am under
highly skilled category.

How do I extend my work permit after this ?

Any clarity on this is very much appreciated.

Thank you.

If your employer wants to keep you employed, they will make sure you have the paperwork. If you complete 5 years of uninterrupted stay in Belgium in between, you can get a PR and then no need of work permit. Otherwise, after four consecutive B type work permits, you can apply for other types. You will see in Brussels city official pages (google will lead you there) the types of work permits and their eligibility terms. Similar info is available for Flanders and Wallonia in their respective official pages.

Thank you, Aneesh! And I suppose the processing time should be the same as the first one I.e. 10 days, right?

Hello Deepak and Aneesh,

I would like to ask for some more information if you don’t mind. For applying the new wp, does the new employer need to wait until the current wp is expired? I read on the website werk.be, the renewal should be filed at last one month before it’s expired. So, is it only for renewing with the same employer or is it the same procedure for the new employer?

Thank you so much in advance!!

Jo

New employer does not need to wait till expiry of current WP. That clause (you mentioned) is only applicable if the person continues to be employed by the same employer

Thank you so much, Aneesh!!!

Hello everyone! Good morning...

I am a newcomer in this forum but I already have a question that I hope somebody can help to answer it.
I have a work permit type B that will be expired at the end of January 2018. However, my current employer had terminated the contract since last month. Do I have to leave the country? Btw, I still my residence permit that is valid until the end of February 2018.
And for the time being I have signed a new contract with a new employer.
Can anybody help me with my question?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Afaik, You can legally stay till Feb 2018.


Updating this thread for consistency of information:

Work permit cancellation can technically result in RP cancellation too. By law, your employer is supposed to inform the commune that your contract ended, but this is a process and some times it takes time. It is always good to consult the commune on this matter.

If you quit your job or if your contract is terminated, it is your employer's obligation to notify the ministry/commune you no longer work for them, then the ministry/commune will cancel the work permit and also cancel your residence and you have 1 month to leave Belgium. Also, strictly speaking, you are supposed to return your work permit to the commune if you are no longer working, which will initiate a cancellation of your residence permit (as you your RP is granted based on your WP). You may choose not do this and hope they will take forever to cancel.

To conclude, if all goes strictly as per process, you will lose your right to stay when your WP is cancelled. Now the interesting part is how long all this takes. It depends on how fast your employer reports the end of the work contract, then the ministry/commune takes time to process this notification.

Therefore, it is possible that during this whole process, you may stay in Belgium and find a new job, which means a new work permit and continued right of residence. (OR you may already have a job in hand when you leave your current one - well and good in such case).

So, always consult your commune.

Thank you Aneeshsk!
Do I need to provide the medical certificate and information sheet or not in order for the new employer to apply for the renewal of current wp?
I am sorry but it seems that the employer and I have different understanding for this matter.

Thank you again for your advice

-Ardo

Dear Ardoos,

Yes you have to provide a medical certificate and an information certificate which should be filled and signed and sealed by the commune in the area of your residence.

Medical certificates are in 3 formats for expats according to the region where your company is located (Wallonia, Brussels or Flanders). You can download the format online and just go to any general doctor in Belgium and he will fill it for you after a few tests.

Hope that answers your questions.

Deepak

Dears,

I got a new job and signed the contract with the new employer and my current employer is asking me to deregister in the commune as I came to Brussels through the current employer.

I will get my new WP somewhere around 2nd or 3rd week of October.

My current employer is asking me to deregister and travel back on 1st week of October.

Could someone please help me with the regulations?

Thanks,

Dear Hanuman,

You don’t have to deregister or rather you can’t register as per my knowledge. Your old WP becomes invalid automatically once you get the new WP.

The employer cannot ask you to leave. If you have a valid residence permit, you are allowed to stay in Belgium for the duration mentioned on your RP.

I hope this answers your question.

Kind regards,
Deepak

Deepak is right. Legally, your employer cannot force you to do this. But contractually they may (as you mention you were sent here on an on-site assignment from your Indian employer). If the contract has such terms (regarding you leaving the job before the assignment ends) your employer can demand that you deregister and go back to your home employer to complete the exit formalities. If you fail to do so, they can hold your relieving letter or full and final settlement. it all depends on how the company deals with such situations. Do negotiate (ask if you can visit India to complete the exit formalities without deregistering). If your Indian employer is so strict about this and there will be consequences like the ones I mentioned above, you make a conscious decision by weighing pros and cons.

If you end up having to deregister, then deregister, collect module 8, go to India, use your new WP to apply for a fresh D type visa to enter Belgium. The gap may impact your PR eligibility. Like I wrote above, consider all aspects and make a decision

Updating this thread for consistency of information:

Work permit cancellation can technically result in RP cancellation too. By law, your employer is supposed to inform the commune that your contract ended, but this is a process and some times it takes time. It is always good to consult the commune on this matter.

If you quit your job or if your contract is terminated, it is your employer's obligation to notify the ministry/commune you no longer work for them, then the ministry/commune will cancel the work permit and also cancel your residence and you have 1 month to leave Belgium. Also, strictly speaking, you are supposed to return your work permit to the commune if you are no longer working, which will initiate a cancellation of your residence permit (as you your RP is granted based on your WP). You may choose not do this and hope they will take forever to cancel.

To conclude, if all goes strictly as per process, you will lose your right to stay when your WP is cancelled. Now the interesting part is how long all this takes. It depends on how fast your employer reports the end of the work contract, then the ministry/commune takes time to process this notification.

Therefore, it is possible that during this whole process, you may stay in Belgium and find a new job, which means a new work permit and continued right of residence. (OR you may already have a job in hand when you leave your current one - well and good in such case).

Hi Aneesh,

Good information for all.
Just curious- how he will get new WP ,if he has done deregister and travelled back to India . Ministry will send to commune and not to home country.

Regards

In such case the new employer must collect new work permit And send it to the employee.

Hi aneeshks,

could you please share a link (or a reference to the document/law) where did you find information regarding possibility of cancelation WP?

As an a example, I contacted my commune in Nijlen with such question and they replied that as far as they now anybody has right to stay in Belgium till the end of validity of ID card.

I dont have the official reference. The info provided here, was based on the experience of another forum member (provided by the immigration consultants/lawyers). We can find the official reference but it will take a long time reading / going through the laws / decrees, etc.

After all, if your commune states so, you can trust that information. As long as they are ok with your stay, there should not be an issue.

Now the residence and WP legislation is being modified and implemented, which is expected to alleviate a lot of complexity. I dont know when this will get implemented fully, but it is a good progress.

Hi All
Need your urgent help

I got offer from local company to work.I have gone through other old threads and discussion but still have some question.

Q-If new employer is applying new work permit and is in progress .but if old employer send you back to home country.Also consider that  spouse' work permit in progress and applied.
a) Is it risky if your current employer send you back to india
(In this case ,yes , it's mandatory that I have to deregister RP and submit WP before going).
B)would wife work permit can be rejected as she might not be on dependent visa as my work permit change in progress and I will be going back to serve notice period

As my RP will be deregistered based on WP then my wife RP will have problem .

Can you pls advise .though I have gut feeling that it might be risky.


Regards

So, current WP holder (I assume husband in this case) works for an Indian company and is on an assignment here. He has a RP which he got with the support of his current WP that was arranged by the Indian employer. Dependent (wife in this case)'s residence is linked to husband's residence permit, as his family member.

He got a job with a Belgian company and they are applying for a new WP for him. His Indian employer wants him to surrender his current RP and go back to India to serve his notice period there.  Dependent is also trying for a job here and a Belgian employer is submitting or has submitted a WP application for her.

To answer the questions,
1. If the husband de-registers his RP in the commune, then I believe his dependents right to residence will also end. You may go to the commune and ask them this question for an official answer.
2. Is going back to India risky when your current WP application is in progress ?
-> I think it can have an impact. For example, if the new company used your current RP as a supporting document for the WP application, when the labor office processes the application, if the RP is not valid anymore, it can be confusing for them. The ideal solution will be to get your new WPs while being here and then go to India and apply for a fresh visa to get back to Belgium (for both of you). This is what I think, I am no expert on legal matters. You may seek support of your new employer. If your employer can confirm de-registering your current RP will not impact the processing of your new WP application, then well and good. In this scenario, they can collect the new WP on your behalf and send it across to India for you to use it for a fresh visa application.

Another way is to negotiate with the Indian employer and make a deal of you not de-registering the residence permit. That will avoid a lot of complications.

Good luck with the whole process.

Hi,

Anyone here has any experience with going back to India when new WP is in progress. What happen to RP status? any issue face in immigration?

Hello

I slightly have different situation. My wife and myself both are employed. We have already registered our marriage in commune. If I get a new job then my old employer asks me to deregister and go back to India. What should I do?

Since my wife is already working and has a WP I still have right to stay?

Thanks
Madhav

De registering means returning your residence permit. If you do that you don’t have the right to stay anymore using that permit and you must do a fresh registration as your wife’s dependent. Negotiate with your employer that you can travel back to India to serve the notice period if that is what they want, without having to deregister.

Hello Aneesh ,

Thank you so much , i was quiet relieved after reading your post  , Will commune provide the required information about latest rules

Thanks,
Sreevidya

And if my new employer has WP process on the existing RP , do my current employer still has right to ask me to deregister

There was nothing mentioned in my Assignment letter

Your employer has no right to ask you to deregister your residence permit. All they can do it to cancel your WP, which they for sure will do. Your residence wont get impacted becuase your new employer is applying a new WP based on your current RP.

thanks aneesh ,my new employer told that when new WP is approved the old WP will anyways get cancelled , is that correct

Thanks,
Sreevidya

Yes. As WP type B is associated to an employer, when new wp type b application is processed, the old one will get automatically cAncelled.

Hi Guys/@aneeshks

I have already got most of doubt clear while going through this thread, so big thanks to everyone. Still there are some open concerns i want to put

- If I am attached to an indian employer and switch to local employer, what will happen to the depedent status of my spouse and kid, do new employer has to do any formality ?

- is it possible that my current emloyer doest not ask to de resgister, and i can finalize my releving fomalities in Indian and come back with same RP card to join my new employer.

- if my current WP is valid till 2020 and I join an new employer with new work permit now how can I make sure the continuity to my employment, to justify the fact of no gaps for 5 years to be eligible for 5 yerars card or PR.

Thanks

thanks aneesh

Binu_binu wrote:

Hi Guys/@aneeshks

I have already got most of doubt clear while going through this thread, so big thanks to everyone. Still there are some open concerns i want to put

- If I am attached to an indian employer and switch to local employer, what will happen to the depedent status of my spouse and kid, do new employer has to do any formality ?

- is it possible that my current emloyer doest not ask to de resgister, and i can finalize my releving fomalities in Indian and come back with same RP card to join my new employer.

- if my current WP is valid till 2020 and I join an new employer with new work permit now how can I make sure the continuity to my employment, to justify the fact of no gaps for 5 years to be eligible for 5 yerars card or PR.

Thanks

1. Your employer doesnt have to do anything special. Your new WP gets linked to your RP. Your dependents stay attached to your RP as usual. In the next renewal, you show your new WP and it goes like normal. In a few months, there will not be a seperate RP card. So most likely your next renewal will follow the single permit model (work authorization extension and RP extension in one procedure).

2. It depends on your employer.

3. Your new WP will have a longer validity than your current RP. So, when your current RP is about to expire, you go to the commune and ask for RP renewal based on your new WP. It will most likely be extended till end date of your new WP. At the expiry of your new WP, your employer does the WP renewal again. And by that time, it will be most likely single permit system in place. So your renewal request of WP will also automatically result in your RP extension. The system has details on when your WPs were cancelled, approved, etc. I dont think there will be an issue in continuity of stay. Commune can confirm this.

Hi,
I just checked the comments and I can conclude:
1. If you change an employer in Belgium and have a new WP you can continue to work on the existing RP if it is active with the new WP

Hope this is correct.

Additionally I have below questions:
1. If the last working day on the current employer is 31st January and if the New Work Permit with the new employer is from 19th January (based on Contract), is it still possible to work till 31st with the current employer?.
2. If we have to de-register the RP in order to return to India to get a new Visa D, can this application be applied in Belgium itself? (have a new Visa before we leave the country)