Work permit for student in Belgium

Hi, I was also an international student in the same situation as you last year.

Your employer can AND SHOULD lodge your single permit application while your current card A is still valid. Once it has been lodged with the authorities (you will submit a scan copy of your eID as part of the required documents), they will have it in their system that your SP application was filed while you were legally resident in Belgium. This will remove the need to start a renewal application for your student permit. And, it covers your legal stay in Belgium, meaning that, once your current eID expires, nobody will deport you/you will NOT be illegally staying in Belgium, since a new immigration process (the SP) has been started and registered with the authorities on your behalf.

Also, DON'T forget that you CANNOT have two immigration procedures going on at the same time, i.e., applying for a single permit AND renewing your student permit. You choose one and I highly recommend that you submit ALL the docs to your employer to file your SP application. The processing time is 3-4 months (see the other megathread on this forum titled, "Single Permit Processing in 2022").

As a cautionary tale, in my case, I really underestimated the timeline and started the SP process AFTER my student permit had expired (and I didn't start a renewal process, because I had already been interviewing for jobs and was confident that I'd get an offer, which I did). What resulted was a negative decision on the residence permit part of the single permit, after the work approval had been obtained. In simple terms, instead of receiving the Annex 46 after the work authorisation approval, I received an annex 48 and an annex 13 (I think), explaining the reason for the negative decision, i.e., my legal stay had expired when the company lodged the SP application for me, and a notice to leave the country WITHOUT prejudice (i.e., NO ban) and reapply from my home country.

I'm currently awaiting my annex 46 for an entirely new job with a new employer from my home country.

@corporateminorista

Thanks alot for your reply. I really appreciate it and it's such a relief.

Although, when I contacted my communal they said that I need to have enough time (expiration of eID) to cover the entire SP procedure. But I contacted the communal in Louvain-la-Neuve but for SP the company is in Antwerp and they apply from there so it is possible that the procedure might be different between Wallonia and Flanders. I can apply for the SP in September which is roughly 2 months before the expiration date of my current student eID. Do you think I should go for the SP straight away, or not risk it and apply for an extension first?

cause if I apply for an extension, and the SP procedure itself, I will have my SP by at least February. Meaning that I should work for the company part-time from September till February, since I cannot work full-time. But if it is straight away for the SP, I can just work part-time till maybe December.

I am really confused now. 

Your company should have an HR an legal department that are better equipped to handle this.

Hello, I’m a non EU citizen with German student resident permit. I got an internship opportunity in Belgium.

My question is, I can work in Belgium only  for 3 months or 90 days as a part of my internship. The company is willing to offer me a long term job offer and is also willing to apply for the single permit. Since it takes 4 months for single permiy is it possible to apply for the single permit already while I start my internship with them ?

any help or advice on this regard will mean a lot to me.

thank you!