Professional Card Renewal/Permanent Residence Timing

Hi everyone,

I have a somewhat unusual situation that I'd be interested to see if anyone has had experience with. I'm an independent, working in Belgium with a professional card and residence permit A. My current professional card expires on 19 April 2021. The application for renewal is meant to be lodged three months before expiry - i.e., 19 January 2021.

However, I've also recently passed five years in Belgium. In August, I applied at the commune for permanent residence (résident de longue durée - card D). The five month period for approval of that application expires on 26 January 2021.

There is no reason why my permanent residence application should be declined (I've been here for five years and have proof of income etc) and if it is approved, then of course I don't need to renew my professional card. However, if for some unforeseen reason (no matter how unlikely) it is declined, then I obviously do need to renew my professional card. However, I won't know for sure that it has been approved/declined until 26 January, which is one week after the deadline to renew the professional card.

So, my question is: Has anyone been in a similar situation and what did they do - e.g., is it worth lodging the professional card renewal application "just in case" (and then perhaps contacting the authorities and cancelling the application once I do receive my permanent residence)? Or, is the three month renewal deadline not strictly enforced, so I could simply have all the documents ready and then, if on 26 January I found out my permanent residence was declined, I can then lodge the professional card application as soon as possible?

Thanks a lot for any experiences or help!