MIGRATION - SECONDED EMPLOYEES

Important impact on the presence of seconded employees from Indian companies

Last year, the Belgian Council of Ministers approved an e-government project relating to social security. The project aims to modernise the Belgian social security system management and the legal framework for monitoring and controlling the employment of foreign nationals (called LIMOSA).

The system, which will enter into force on April 1, 2007, consists in:

- A mandatory declaration for each foreign national seconded to Belgium who is not subject to Belgian social security (comparable with the DIMONA-declaration for employees who are subject to the Belgian social security system)

- An information exchange system between the different Regions (competent for the application for work permits), the Ministry for Middle Classes (for professional cards) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (for residence permits). The information will become available and exchangeable between the different authorities

In practice, the implementation of LIMOSA will entail that each foreign national who will be assigned to Belgium without being subject to Belgian social security, will need to be registered with the Belgian social security authorities before he/she starts working in Belgium.

The person's name, contract details, place of employment, kind of employment (full- or half-time), the period of assignment and other information will need to be provided.

Exemptions will be created for, amongst others, short term assignees and trainees.

The social security authorities are yet to decide on how the project will be introduced and which information will need to be provided. In this respect, our office has been appointed as a "privileged partner" by the Belgian social security authorities in order to smoothen the implementation of their project.

Finally, please note that our office will be able to act as mandatory of your company and will be able to file the LIMOSA-declaration on behalf of the foreign employees.

We will inform you once we have more practical details.

Kind regards,

Matthias Lommers

Erwin Vandervelde

_______________________

Dear Laga,
My husband and I are Chinese. He is working in a Belgian company. He has to renew his work permit(type B) every year. I came to Belgium as a family member. So my ID is attached to his. We have been staying in Belgium more than five years.

My questions are:

1. When can he apply for work permit (type A)? He has his second work
permit(type B)
2. May I apply for work permit(type C)?
3. May we apply for Belgian nationality?

Regards,
Grace

Dear Grace,

I refer to your recent e-mail to expatica.

A work permit type A (which is valid for an unlimited period of time and valid for all jobs performed in a link of subordination with any employer) is in principle granted to foreign nationals who can prove that, over a period of 10 years, they have worked for 4 years under a work permit type B and during a legal and uninterrupted stay directly preceding the application. The 4 years period will be reduced to 3 years for foreign nationals from a country with which Belgium has an agreement relating to the employment of foreign nationals. The 4 or 3 years period can also be reduced with one year if the spouse or the
children of the foreign national are legally staying in Belgium with him/her.

As a spouse of a foreign national who is already legally working and residing in Belgium on the basis of a work permit B, you will be entitled to a work permit B as well. It is the employer who will need to apply for this document.

In order to be able to apply for the Belgian nationality, you should comply with the following conditions:

* being 18 years old, and
* having a legal residence in Belgium for at least 3 years.

As you have been legally residing in Belgium for more than 5 years, you can indeed start the application process for obtaining Belgian citizenship.

Best regards,
Matthias

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Dear Laga,

My boyfriend graduated from a university in Belgium with a BA in International Management and Human Resources Management in 2006. He returned to Bulgaria for several months to work but would like to come back to Belgium to work, as I am located here. As it is likely we would have to leave within a few months for my studies, he is looking into doing an internship, as these offer short-term possibilities. I am a Belgian national but he only has the Bulgarian nationality. Does he need a work permit for an internship and if so, how does he need to go about it?

Thank you for your help,

(Name withheld)

Dear Reader,

I refer to your recent e-mail to Expatica.

Although Bulgaria has become a member of the EU on 01.01.2007, Bulgarian nationals still need a work permit when working in Belgium (unless they are seconded by their Bulgarian company to Belgium in the framework of the free movement of services).

For immigration purposes, an internship is also considered as "work", for which a work permit should be obtained. It is basically the employer's task to apply for a work permit for the foreign employee he wants to employ in Belgium. A work permit B (for highly qualified employees or for trainees) needs to be applied for, by the employer, with the competent immigration authorities (in the Brussels, Walloon or Flemish region).

Only for internships with Belgian public institutions or some specific international organizations, no work permit will be required.

You can find more information on this subject on the following link:

http://www.vdab.be/english/permits.shtml

Best regards,
Matthias


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Hello, Laga

I am a non-EU passport holder working in Belgium for a very reputed company. I will have completed 3 years of residency in August this year. I am a professional and have a residence card which is renewed every year.

Could you let me know if I could apply for a Belgian Citizenship already.

Thanks, Ajeesh

Dear Ajeesh,

I refer to the question you raised on the Expatica website.

In order to be able to apply for the Belgian nationality, you should comply with the following conditions:

* being 18 years old, and
* having a legal residence in Belgium for at least 3 years.

As you will be legally residing in Belgium for 3 years in August this year, this means that an application for Belgian citizenship on your behalf will be accepted as of August.

Please note that applying for Belgian citizenship can have a serious
impact on your tax status in Belgium (if you enjoy the special
expat-regime).

Best regards,
Matthias

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9 February 2007

Lawyers Lynn Bogaert and Matthias Lommers work for Belgian law firm Laga, located at www.laga.be or contactable by phone: 02 800 7000.

To have your questions answered on Expatica, you can send an email to feedback@expatica.com.

Disclaimer: Although we verify the reliability of the information given, such information is general and neither Laga nor Expatica may be held responsible in any way for any possible error that might occur or for any use or interpretation that could be made of this information without the assistance of Laga.

[Copyright Laga and Expatica 2006]
Subject: Expat news