Belgium

For a higher-education graduate or current higher-education student undertaking a structured professional traineeship with a Belgian host.

For employment or training under a recognised international exchange programme, such as an eligible Erasmus arrangement, for no more than 90 days.

For an EU long-term resident from another Member State taking employed work in Belgium.

For a highly qualified third-country employee meeting the competent region's qualification, contract-duration and higher salary threshold.

For a journalist exclusively linked to a foreign newspaper, press agency, radio station or television station.

For a worker employed in Belgium while keeping residence outside Belgium and meeting the competent region's frontier-worker conditions.

For an ICT permit holder from another participating Member State working in Belgium for more than 90 days within the same undertaking or group.

For a manager, specialist or trainee employee transferred from a non-EU group entity to a Belgian entity of the same undertaking or group.

For an ICT permit holder from another participating Member State working in Belgium for up to 90 days in the same undertaking or group.

For an occupation outside a preferred category where the competent region accepts the job after its labour-market or shortage assessment.

For a highly skilled employee with a qualifying state-recognised higher-education credential and the salary required by the competent region.

For an employee who manages a company and workers and meets the applicable regional managerial salary conditions.

For employment in a medium-skilled occupation placed on the competent region's migration or shortage list.

For a specialised technician needed for assembly, start-up, maintenance or repair of supplied installations.

For a worker employed abroad who receives specific vocational training in a Belgian company under a sales-contract arrangement.

For a third-country national resident outside the EU taking approved seasonal employment, subject to the regional employment conditions.

For short training at a Belgian group headquarters under a training agreement between entities of the same multinational group.

For an EU long-term resident from another Member State carrying on self-employed activity in Belgium.

For a third-country national carrying out an independent professional activity in Belgium with a professional card or a statutory exemption.

For a qualifying performing or creative artist who meets the competent region's artistic-activity and remuneration conditions.

For a doctorate-level postdoctoral researcher carrying out fundamental scientific research at an eligible Belgian host.

For a researcher holding a permit in another participating Member State who will conduct research in Belgium for more than the short-mobility period.

For a third-country researcher hosted by a recognised Belgian research organisation under a hosting agreement.

For a researcher holding a valid researcher permit in another participating Member State who conducts part of the same research project in Belgium for the short-mobility period.

For an EU long-term resident from another Member State enrolled in Belgian study or vocational training.

For a student admitted to a private or non-recognised higher-education institution who presents a coherent study project under the discretionary Article 9 procedure.

For a third-country national admitted to full-time study at a Belgian higher-education institution organised, recognised or subsidised by public authorities.

For a third-country student admitted to Belgian secondary education who can show the programme is unavailable at home and meets the discretionary Article 9 conditions.

Potential route for a third-country student participating in recognised exchange or mobility in Belgium.

For an extended family member who was dependent on or belonged to the EU sponsor's household in the country of origin.

For a direct descendant under 18 or a dependent direct descendant of the Belgian citizen, spouse or registered partner.

For a direct descendant under 21 or a dependent direct descendant of the EU sponsor or qualifying spouse or partner.

For an unregistered partner able to prove a durable de facto relationship with the EU sponsor.

For an extended family member whose serious health condition strictly requires personal care by the EU sponsor.

For a qualifying family member of a Belgian citizen whose family life was created or strengthened during genuine residence in another EU Member State.

For an eligible family member joining a temporary-protection beneficiary under the post-August-2025 rules, whether the family member independently needs temporary protection or uses the special family route.

For a qualifying family member of an EU long-term resident moving to Belgium from another Member State, particularly where the family already existed there.

For a qualifying family member of a person admitted to reside in Belgium under the stateless residence status effective from September 2024.

For an eligible family member joining a third-country sponsor authorised to reside in Belgium for medical reasons under Article 9ter.

For a legally registered partner of a Belgian citizen where the relationship is stable and lasting and both partners meet the personal conditions.

For a legal partner of a protection beneficiary who satisfies the stable, lasting and personal-status tests.

For a legal partner of a third-country resident where the registered partnership and stable, lasting relationship tests are met.

For an unmarried minor child of the protected sponsor, spouse or partner.

For a joint minor child or the minor child of the sponsor, spouse or qualifying partner.

For a first-degree direct ascendant who has parental authority over and provides effective care to a minor Belgian child.

For a parent whose presence and care enable a minor EU/EEA/Swiss citizen to exercise residence rights in Belgium.

For a parent joining a protected minor under the current rules for unaccompanied or specified accompanied minors.

For a legally registered partner whose relationship with the EU/EEA/Swiss sponsor is stable and lasting.

For the spouse or a partner in a registered partnership equivalent to marriage of a Belgian citizen who has not exercised EU free movement.

For the spouse or equivalent registered partner of a recognised refugee or subsidiary-protection beneficiary.

For the spouse or a partnership treated as equivalent to marriage of a third-country national with limited or unlimited Belgian residence.

For the spouse or a partner in a partnership equivalent to marriage of an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen exercising residence rights in Belgium.

For an unmarried adult child whose disability and dependency meet the current protection-family conditions.

For an unmarried child over 18 whose disability and dependency satisfy the statutory family-reunification conditions.

For a person travelling to Belgium for a genuine marriage or legal-cohabitation project and intending to use the appropriate family-reunification procedure afterwards.

For an EU long-term resident from another Member State moving to Belgium for another permitted purpose with sufficient means and health insurance.

For an eligible non-EU national with five years of legal and uninterrupted Belgian residence, sufficient means, medical insurance and no public-order or security bar.

For a third-country national who completed qualifying higher studies in Belgium and applies before the student residence expires.

For a third-country researcher completing a qualifying Belgian research project or qualifying research mobility and seeking work or business creation.

For a person admitted to Belgium using EU long-term resident status from another Member State who completes the Belgian five-year limited-residence period in the qualifying categories.

For an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen genuinely seeking employment in Belgium and able to show a real prospect of engagement.

For an EU/EEA/Swiss pensioner with sufficient resources and comprehensive health insurance.

For an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen genuinely carrying on self-employed activity in Belgium.

For an economically inactive EU/EEA/Swiss citizen with sufficient resources and comprehensive health insurance.

For an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen enrolled in qualifying Belgian education with resources and comprehensive health insurance.

For an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen employed in Belgium.

For a non-EU family member completing five continuous lawful years with the EU sponsor under free-movement family rules.

For an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen completing five continuous years of lawful residence, or meeting a listed early permanent-residence exception.

For a young person placed with an eligible Belgian host family for cultural and language exchange with limited light household tasks.

For citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Taiwan or South Korea aged 18 to 30 whose primary purpose is a holiday.

For a third-country national participating in an EU-recognised voluntary-service scheme with an authorised Belgian host.

For a minister serving a local community of a religion recognised under the competent regional rules.

For a short-stay traveller unable to leave before expiry because of force majeure, humanitarian reasons or documented serious personal reasons.

For a third-country traveller meeting Schengen entry conditions, with a C visa when the traveller's nationality is not exempt.

For a person physically present in Belgium who fears persecution for a Convention reason or faces war, torture or other serious harm on return.

For a person actually residing in Belgium who can prove exceptional circumstances making an application abroad impossible or especially difficult.

For an international-protection applicant recognised as a refugee by the CGRS or the Council for Alien Law Litigation.

For a person recognised as stateless who seeks the Belgian residence status introduced by the 2024 legislation.

For an international-protection applicant who does not qualify as a refugee but would face a real risk of serious harm on return.

For Ukrainian nationals and other persons within the EU implementing-decision categories who were displaced from Ukraine and meet Belgium's temporary-protection conditions.

For a person residing in Belgium with an illness creating a real risk to life or physical integrity, or inhuman or degrading treatment because adequate treatment is unavailable or inaccessible in the country of origin or stay.

For a paid top-level athlete, trainer or referee with a qualifying professional sports contract.

For nationals subject to the airport-transit visa requirement who pass through the international transit area of a Belgian airport.