New Single Work Permit Procedure - Belgium

Hi! I am holding annexe 46 with B34 code. I am supposed to start my new job in september. Due to the corona restrictions I can't apply for the visa. Do you think I will be able to get the visa in august?

Hello,

sorry but I'm 99% sure it will be impossible for you to request your visa on August.
I'm not working in the government, neither am I an official or whatever, but it's just unrealistic...


Covid19 is slightly spreading a bit more these last 14 days in Belgium, so don't expect any change anytime soon for non-EU countries and non-high skill worker.

I think you may still hope for "end of the year" (I'd say October+)... if the virus stays under control.
We'll see in the next coming weeks/months...

Are you under non-high skill worker? What is the profession?

B34 is the single permit. (generic)
B29 is for high skill worker and that's what he needs to be allow to have his visa issued (during the covid19).

Hi Alex.
I have been issued a single permit under B34. We had applied for a single permit under a highly-skilled worker. I found that B29 was for highly skilled blue color workers. Doesn't B34 (generic) also contains a clause for highly skilled workers? At the moment only B29 is allowed.
Here is the link:
https://www.vlaanderen.be/gecombineerde … eschoolden

Thanks, folks for the discussion here.

thanks for your prompt reply Alex!

Can you guys give the timeframe of the single permit application, work permit received time, single permit received time?

hi
You have more than 40 pages of time frame in this forum... just scroll up and back.
+- 4 months for the whole process.

Hi, i know that. I was wondering what is the timeframe these days. After March, specifically.

Well it doesn’t seem like there are any undue delays in processing. I haven’t gotten the single permit yet, but I was told the work authorization from Flanders has come through within 2 weeks.

Hi,

Have any anybody applied for Blue Card Belgium (B29 code) ? How long will it take?

Regards,
Prabakaran

Any one had the experience when u applied for single permit as an high skiller worker and you have an resident permit in another EU country, which allows u you to enter Belgium without repuirement for a visa. Do u still need to apply for a D visa before coming to Belgium?

Kostadorn wrote:

Guys,

I have some info which might be useful for somebody. I remember someone asked this question before already. I have the same story, so my employer found it out.

"If you are a citizen of a country for which Visa is not needed in principal to entrance EU , do you need a VISA D in case of a Single permit?"

1. YOU DO NOT NEED VISA D in case you have provided your future Belgian address with your Single Permit application. In this case, Immigration Office will send annex 46 (or 47) to you, employer and to the City Hall of your future residence. You have to go to the city hall once you are in BE with printed annex 46 (or 47) and they will register you + provide a single permit card.

2. YOU DO NEED VISA D in case you didn`t know yet your future residence address and did not provide it in your single permit application. In this case, Immigration Office will send annex 46 (or 47) to you, employer and to the Embassy of your current residence. Even if you do not need a Visa to entrance Belgium in general, City Hall with refuse you registration as far as they did not receive documents from the Office. In this case, VISA is required to get your single permit.

I hope this can be useful to ppl who was curious about it.

Thanks for the useful informtion! When you fill the application form. Did you mark you are are currently abroad, but you fill the fututre belgium address. Do u also fill the blank which embassy is applicable? It is a bit tricky on the form.

My work permit is approved, and I am waiting on the residence permit. However, due to  some delay in the paperwork and notice required to vacate apartments, sell car etc., I have decided to ship my belongings to Belgium, and wait out the single permit / visa process. Are there some statistics on how often a residence permit is rejected while work permit is approved? Of course, the safe thing to do is start all the process once the permits are approved, but things are slow because of covid and I will not be able to wait through things.

Hello,
Did anybody hear anything about when they would start issuing visa D for B34s?

Hello everyone,

After receiving the Single Permit, I am currently waiting for Visa D B34s to start being issued again, as I think many here are. However, I would like to ask if you'd have any information that could help with this situation:

My partner is a British citizen that plans to move with me to Brussels when the Visa is emitted. If that happens before 31st December 2020, she'll still be treated as a EU citizen and she is able to register for residency.

However, on the chance that the pandemic situation extends itself further, do you know if I would be able to request a partner visa for her, based on my single permit, even though at no point in the process I declared I was going to have family moving along with me?

Additionally, we have a stable union (legally recognized in Brazil where we currently live) but we are not married, so I'm not even sure if that would be recognized.

I have messaged the local consulate about it but still have not received a response. So I thought I would check if anybody would have some suggestions around here.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

You must have a civil/legal status with her (married, a kind of legal cohabitation ...) or you'll be considered as 2 separate cases.
Which official document do you have in Brazil?

As a UK, she'll have easier access for residence in Belgium until the 31 December, after that... no one know as it seems UK & EU are doing nearly nothing on the matter and just do focus on the covid.
It will depend if Bojo decide to ask for a new delay or not. (which is plausible when you check the current economy of UK...)

fmmaciel,
"União Estável", is what they call here legal cohabitation. This is a valid document, but not easy going as Marriage Certificate. Make sure you have this sworn translated to French or Dutch + apostile (in the doc and translation), with less than 6 month old.

But i think the best idea now, is that she doesn't need a Visa, so if things don't get much better till end of the year, she should come and register.

She should come by herself as a UK.

And once you're together in Belgium and both registered (& living together), you can request to have the F card (family member of EU, it takes 6 months) at the commune once she receive her E card.
You'll be able to stay 5 years without work permit anymore... (if you do start the process before the 31 December)


Bring your proof of relationship with you (pictures, flight tickets, visa, ...), you'll have to proof that you know each other since 2 years as you're not married.

Alex and Fernando, thank you very much for your suggestions!

Getting the União Estável document translated is a great suggestion, I'll get that done soon.
It seems to be that her going ahead before December 31st seems to be the easiest way, as you mentioned. It was not our intention to move separately, but we are all having to adapt in these times.
Regarding the F card, I will definitely pursue that after eventually moving in too.

Again, thank you!

fmmaciel wrote:

Alex and Fernando, thank you very much for your suggestions!

Getting the União Estável document translated is a great suggestion, I'll get that done soon.
It seems to be that her going ahead before December 31st seems to be the easiest way, as you mentioned. It was not our intention to move separately, but we are all having to adapt in these times.
Regarding the F card, I will definitely pursue that after eventually moving in too.

Again, thank you!

Just a point, the Sworn Translation + Apostille is a government requirement, so you will need it to get the F Card. In your case you will also need you Birth Certificate Sworn Translated + Apostille.

Good news: got my permit. Took 1 month exactly to the day! But it came with B34! Oh well. I did not get an email about it directly.

Hi everyone,

I am writing to see if there is anyone in a similar situation of being stuck in their countries despite holding Annex-46 and wants to act on it:
I was offered a job in Brussels back in October 2019 and got my Annex-46 (with national mention B34) on 30 March 2020. By that time, borders and visa processes were shut down due to COVID-19 and the Belgian Consulate in Istanbul still tells me that they won't process visas for B34 (they also said they could if the mention was B29- EU blue card).
So it has been five months since I got my Annex 46 and nearly a year since I committed myself to a new job in Belgium but I can't start this new job because I won't be granted any visa. Prolonged travel ban= prolonged unemployment for the likes of us as it is not easy to consider alternative jobs when one is committed to moving to and working in another country in very near and unknown future (as soon the borders open...). This last five months have been very exhausting with my life on hold and added to this is the psyche of being constantly being alert, checking the border situation only to be disappointed.
Of course I believe in the necessity of distancing, quarantine, testing, limitations on touristic travel...etc. But we must not forget that the ban on us is in place against the background of mostly free travel within the EU (even for touristic, non-essential purposes) bars and restaurants open in Belgium, production/services continuing as usual and blue card holders, family members, students being able to travel.
I really don't believe anymore that stopping COVID-19 requires subjecting migrants to this much burden and uncertainty. Annex-46 holders are not tourists. We are people who have to travel to Belgium for living and working there and have fulfilled nearly all the conditions that lengthy system of single permit required from us, with only two administrative steps remaining. I think there has been a serious lack of consideration with respect to our situation.
If there is anyone else suffering in the same way (being refused visa/travel for months despite being granted Annex-46), I think we should come together and think of ways to bring this forward... Especially before the end of August when the EU/Belgian travel restrictions will be reconsidered.

Hello!

I too am in the same predicament currently waiting for the embassy to accept single permits with B34 code. I also know of at least 2 other people waiting as well. I received my single permit back in June and I've been checking for updates everyday hoping for progress. I've gotten the same response from the embassy to just wait. I'm praying and hoping that the wait isn't too much longer. This does put so many single permit holders in a vulnerable position as we are all waiting to move and start the new jobs that we've signed contracts for. How do you know that they'll be discussing further travel restrictions at the end of August?

As discussed before, I find myself under the same situation. I was lucky to be able to keep my previous job for a few months, and currently started working remotely for my Belgium employer through a temporary contract, putting the main contract on hold through a force majeure argument.
It's an unconfortable situation, and definitely not ideal, but it was the way my employer and I could mitigate the circunstances.
Even so, I understand not all jobs allow for this type of accomodation.

My sentiment is the same: I understand the need for restrictions, and I understand that essential B29 visas needed to be resumed earlier. However I don't understand why visa issuances for students could be resumed and not B34s, especially considering I would guess that the number of student visa requests is probably larger than the number of B34 requests.

I also feel that this should be brought forward, but I really don't know how. Any ideas?

Aside from the official dofi website, I have been trying to keep updated through the https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/ and some belgium news websites. Do you recommend any other source of information on this?

Same situation with me... below is the mail received form the local embassy after enquiry with them. Latest instructions they received from DOFI was on the 17/08... looks like we should forget about visas being issued in August and probably hope for mid/ end September.

"Good Morning Mr xxxxxx
We trust this email finds you well.
We regret to inform you that as of now, we are currently not taking in visa applications for single permit code B34 until further notice.

We understand your frustration, and we wish there was more we could do;  but the latest instructions we got from Head office were from yesterday 17 of August 2020, where they clearly stated that we could not accept B34 visa applications until further notice

But as soon as we have the green light, it will be notified on our website.
"

Globalstateofmind wrote:

Hello!

I too am in the same predicament currently waiting for the embassy to accept single permits with B34 code. I also know of at least 2 other people waiting as well. I received my single permit back in June and I've been checking for updates everyday hoping for progress. I've gotten the same response from the embassy to just wait. I'm praying and hoping that the wait isn't too much longer. This does put so many single permit holders in a vulnerable position as we are all waiting to move and start the new jobs that we've signed contracts for. How do you know that they'll be discussing further travel restrictions at the end of August?

Hi Globalstateofmind,
End of August is basically what I've been told by my employer and by some others. This is the Belgian law that envisages the restrictions and it also seems to have a deadline of 1 September in article 24: http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi_lo … e_name=loi
Then there should be a reconsideration before the measures expire. Or perhaps we should try urging one, given our predicament:)

Hi Gkh214!

Thanks for the information and the link. I'll be sure to look through that. Do you have any suggestions for how we can push the matter. I spoke with another person in the same predicament who passed the story on to a local newspaper over there but it seems like they weren't too concerned with writing about it. The person also suggested having our employers write a letter in solidarity but I don't know if they would be interested in that considering the logistics involved. I'm open to hearing any suggestions!

fmmaciel wrote:

However I don't understand why visa issuances for students could be resumed and not B34s, especially considering I would guess that the number of student visa requests is probably larger than the number of B34 requests.

I also feel that this should be brought forward, but I really don't know how. Any ideas?

You've to realize that student visa are done from +/- May to Augustus for the VERY late people.
After end of September, those visa are very limited (nearly only internship / erasmus), knowing that after October, you can't join university anymore under regular terms ("normal" scholarship, meaning except erasmus).
AND... non-EU pay full price for studies...



But they're obviously a lot more workers than students

In the last report from 2019 from dofi: https://dofi.ibz.be/sites/dvzoe/FR/Docu … 202019.pdf

In 3.3.1.1$  Students:
Agreement: 1.490
Denial: 2.457
Total: 3.962

In 3.3.2$ you'll see that there was 2805 agreements to renew the A card of students (192 denials), which give you an clear idea of non-EU students in Belgium, EU excluded (majority).


In 3.3.3$ you'll get the single permit info: 4217 agreements, 8706 renewed, 492 changes of status.
Total: 13415 (knowing that after 5 years of stay or change of status such as family member of EU, you don't need a work permit anymore)
Denial: 14 people........ 
Annexe 43: number of peoples that did only pay a part of the fee for new/renewal of work permit.

gkh214 wrote:

This is the Belgian law that envisages the restrictions and it also seems to have a deadline of 1 September in article 24: http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi_lo … e_name=loi

These "emergency" laws are subject to modification at 'any' time, depending on the national health security.
You can expect a national security council the last week of Augustus that will extend the current emergency laws or simply revoke/don't extend them.
We'll see what's going to happen in the next couple weeks.

Globalstateofmind wrote:

Hi Gkh214!The person also suggested having our employers write a letter in solidarity but I don't know if they would be interested in that considering the logistics involved. I'm open to hearing any suggestions!

Let's be honest, immigration just doesn't give a sh**** about it..........
The current laws are strict and they've to carry it out... the law is the law, especially for the immigration...


Wait & see for the last week of Augustus, they'll have to decide what to do about your cases (allow visa or delay again)

AlexFromBelgium wrote:

You've to realize that student visa are done from +/- May to Augustus for the VERY late people.
After end of September, those visa are very limited (nearly only internship / erasmus), knowing that after October, you can't join university anymore under regular terms ("normal" scholarship, meaning except erasmus).
AND... non-EU pay full price for studies...

But they're obviously a lot more workers than students

In the last report from 2019 from dofi: https://dofi.ibz.be/sites/dvzoe/FR/Docu … 202019.pdf

In 3.3.1.1$  Students:
Agreement: 1.490
Denial: 2.457
Total: 3.962

In 3.3.2$ you'll see that there was 2805 agreements to renew the A card of students (192 denials), which give you an clear idea of non-EU students in Belgium, EU excluded (majority).

In 3.3.3$ you'll get the single permit info: 4217 agreements, 8706 renewed, 492 changes of status.
Total: 13415 (knowing that after 5 years of stay or change of status such as family member of EU, you don't need a work permit anymore)
Denial: 14 people........ 
Annexe 43: number of peoples that did only pay a part of the fee for new/renewal of work permit.

I stand corrected.

However, if i understand correctly, the 8706 renewed + 492 changes of status are for people already in the country, right? So that new requests are 4217 in a year, which is more than the total for students, but not as much.

Another relevant aspect would be how these visa recipients would choose to travel to the country. Students would tend to all move in for the beginning of term, a concentrated flow during a critical pandemic period in many countries of origin. On the other hand, it's possible to assume that workers would attempt to move in more evenly spread out throughout the year (even though there is a backlog now to be considered). If the goal was just to reduce risk, then these aspects should be taken into account.

BUT I understand that the reason is not just based on the health risk. Financial reasons (tuition) and proper functioning of universities is probably weighing more heavily. And the companies that sponsor the various single permits are spread out across many different activities and sectors, making it impossible to apply any pressure for change.

The EU recommendation was to allow Highly Skilled workers and students. The distinction of B34 / B29 is something that Belgium has implemented. NL allows those with work permits which mentions “highly skilled”. If B29 is indeed the EU Blue Card, Belgium has not really been giving it out often. From 2016 - 2018 they only gave out less than 50 of these permits and I imagine that it was easier to exempt Blue Card than all High Skilled Permits.

What is frustrating is, it doesn’t clearly state that B29 is a EU Blue Card anywhere in the government websites (other than some consulate websites recently). There seems to be confusion causing people to file under highly skilled, get it with the wrong code. It would have been nice to have a simple process to switch to the other code under the condition that employers / employees provide sufficient justification for requiring someone to be in Belgium. Or even an indication of how long the restrictions would last. This open ended uncertainty is quite frustrating.

fmmaciel wrote:

As discussed before, I find myself under the same situation. I was lucky to be able to keep my previous job for a few months, and currently started working remotely for my Belgium employer through a temporary contract, putting the main contract on hold through a force majeure argument.
It's an unconfortable situation, and definitely not ideal, but it was the way my employer and I could mitigate the circunstances.
Even so, I understand not all jobs allow for this type of accomodation.

My sentiment is the same: I understand the need for restrictions, and I understand that essential B29 visas needed to be resumed earlier. However I don't understand why visa issuances for students could be resumed and not B34s, especially considering I would guess that the number of student visa requests is probably larger than the number of B34 requests.

I also feel that this should be brought forward, but I really don't know how. Any ideas?

Aside from the official dofi website, I have been trying to keep updated through the https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/ and some belgium news websites. Do you recommend any other source of information on this?

For starters, what I had in mind was a joint petition that adresses DOFI as well as some EU and Belgian politicians while also seeing what we can do with respect to (social) media. We could consider a platform  where we share information, respective stories of our precarity and try being heard; for example by the teams of the likes of Ylva Johanson (the person responsible for EU border policies) and Phillipe Goffin (Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs who was said to be supportive in the case of Moroccan binationals stranded in Morocco).

Did you check the #loveisnottourism (or#loveisessential) movement for the reuniting of the binational couples under COVID-19? They employed similar means and have been successful in some EU countries.

I also had some thinking on the legal aspects of the issue and with knowledge of human rights law as well as some experience in the continental system, I can say that the travel ban on us is at best questionable in terms of it's adequacy and necessity, legal certainty, right to equal treatment, transparency and the EU Single Permit Directive itself. We can certainly expand upon it in the coming days with the help of a Belgian lawyer.

What I would suggest for now, if you are interested, would be to set-up a facebook group or some safe space where we could share information. I would be open to any suggestions regarding the platform, not being the most social media literate person...

Hi ...

Not sure if this is the correct forum for my question, but I remember reading about people changing employers while I was waiting for my single permit to be approved

My situation
I have been in Belgium since Nov 2019 and working for one employer. Now may have the opportunity to go and work for another. my permit is obviously linked to my current employer for 3 years .
Questions
1. Has anyone got experience with changing employers and the process to get a new work permit ? 
2. What documentation is require?

Chris

That is indeed the most frustrating part, the uncertainty that there is no timeline of how long this will last. I'm sure we are all so eager to finally be able to move and start a new chapter in a process that has undoubtedly been extremely long and time consuming. Additionally the longer it takes the more jobs are at risk of being in jeopardy and some persons single permits are due to be expired pretty soon with which another process will have to begin.

Hello,

I am in the exact same situation. My single permit (with code B34, so mad at myself for not negotiating for a Blue Card threshold salary) was approved on February 2020 and just before my visa appointment the borders closed. Waiting without any reliable information ever since.

What bothers me is that the EU council classifies travels of highly skilled migrants (both blue cards and national schemes) as essential travel. Single permit is also a highly skilled migrant scheme, with the relative salary threshold (above 42k per year if I am not mistaken). So it is not the EU councils decision, it is purely a decision taken by Belgium. With everything going back to almost normal, I feel very down since I feel like we are the only ones being left out. I began to lose hope because honestly I don’t grasp the logic, we will all  test and quarantine, why is it considered “risky” to issue visas for all single permit holders?

Long story short, I am down to any kind of group/petition whatever.

ChrisD wrote:

Hi ...

Not sure if this is the correct forum for my question, but I remember reading about people changing employers while I was waiting for my single permit to be approved

My situation
I have been in Belgium since Nov 2019 and working for one employer. Now may have the opportunity to go and work for another. my permit is obviously linked to my current employer for 3 years .
Questions
1. Has anyone got experience with changing employers and the process to get a new work permit ? 
2. What documentation is require?

Chris

I am in the same situation. The new employer applied for me the renewal and it was accepted within 1 week.

So in your case, just ask the new employer apply for you, you will need to submit all papers similar to the first time you apply for your single permit except the payslip. But your HR will tell you all that stuffs.

You also need to resign from your current employer. The Work office will need an official end date on your resignation letter signed by your current employer. The new employer will submit your single permit application with this scanned letter otherwise it will not be approved.

Due to the expiry date of my current residence card (single permit includes Work authorization and Residence permit in the same card) is in 2022 so I can already start working with my new employer. My card is still supposed to be changed by DOFI with a new expiry date but I need to wait for their "light" so I can pickup the card at my commune. But in general I can already start working.

I got information from two different sources that visa restrictions are being lifted for single permit B34 after today’s national security council meeting. Lookout in your embassy webpages for updates.

I just recieved contract today which i was waiting for last 2 weeks. So this news sounds relatable. They put start date from October 1st am not sure if application process will finish in 40 days. But  I assume they are more aware about processing time.

Peterjohn123 wrote:

ChrisD wrote:

Hi ...

Not sure if this is the correct forum for my question, but I remember reading about people changing employers while I was waiting for my single permit to be approved

My situation
I have been in Belgium since Nov 2019 and working for one employer. Now may have the opportunity to go and work for another. my permit is obviously linked to my current employer for 3 years .
Questions
1. Has anyone got experience with changing employers and the process to get a new work permit ? 
2. What documentation is require?

Chris

I am in the same situation. The new employer applied for me the renewal and it was accepted within 1 week.

So in your case, just ask the new employer apply for you, you will need to submit all papers similar to the first time you apply for your single permit except the payslip. But your HR will tell you all that stuffs.

You also need to resign from your current employer. The Work office will need an official end date on your resignation letter signed by your current employer. The new employer will submit your single permit application with this scanned letter otherwise it will not be approved.

Due to the expiry date of my current residence card (single permit includes Work authorization and Residence permit in the same card) is in 2022 so I can already start working with my new employer. My card is still supposed to be changed by DOFI with a new expiry date but I need to wait for their "light" so I can pickup the card at my commune. But in general I can already start working.

Thank you PeterJohn

My card also expires 2022 - I was just not sure if last day at current employer and start date of new single / work permit will cause a problem if it is too far apart, but if I can transition over without problems it will be great. How long ago was your application for new permit done?

Chris

Just got a tweet reply from the São Paulo Belgium Consulate saying that they are resuming B34 Single Permit visa issuances as of today!
Check your local consulates/embassies! Good luck!