Flemish Employment Minister Zuhal Demir announced on 30 June 2026 that every Single-Permit application for a non-EU worker will carry a €180 administrative charge from 1 January 2027. The Single Permit procedure – a combined work-and-residence authorisation introduced in 2019 – has become the main gateway for third-country nationals taking up jobs in Belgium. More than 21,000 foreign workers were hired through the system in Flanders last year.
![Flanders to levy €180 application charge on employers hiring non-EU workers]()
For employers or expatriates who need help navigating Belgium’s ever-shifting permit landscape, VisaHQ offers an online one-stop shop for guidance and filing support. Its Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) lists current fees, document checklists and processing times, and the team can assist with Single Permit applications as well as visas for accompanying family members, helping companies stay compliant and avoid costly delays.
Until now, employers only paid the federal Immigration Office handling fee of €152; the region itself bore its internal processing costs. Demir argues the new fee will deter “easy outsourcing” of recruitment and encourage companies to train local talent first. The move follows a series of restrictions introduced on 1 January 2026 that blocked most low-skilled and many medium-skilled profiles from outside the EU, while easing access for highly skilled staff in shortage occupations. Since those restrictions, applications for medium-skilled roles have fallen 61 %, whereas high-skilled requests have risen 12 %. Business federation Voka warned the extra cost comes on top of lengthy processing times that already stretch to 15 weeks. Employers fear the cumulative €332 outlay per file (federal + Flemish fee) could push firms to off-book arrangements or relocate functions abroad. Demir counters that the surcharge will help finance tighter fraud controls after high-profile abuse cases in Antwerp’s chemical sector and Turkish subcontracting networks. For mobility managers, the announcement means budgeting additional direct costs, reassessing Belgian workforce planning for 2027 onwards, and factoring in possible application slow-downs as the region adapts its IT and staffing. Multinationals with pan-Benelux operations may shift some head-counts to Wallonia or the Netherlands, where no comparable regional fee exists – at least for now.
For employers or expatriates who need help navigating Belgium’s ever-shifting permit landscape, VisaHQ offers an online one-stop shop for guidance and filing support. Its Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) lists current fees, document checklists and processing times, and the team can assist with Single Permit applications as well as visas for accompanying family members, helping companies stay compliant and avoid costly delays.
Until now, employers only paid the federal Immigration Office handling fee of €152; the region itself bore its internal processing costs. Demir argues the new fee will deter “easy outsourcing” of recruitment and encourage companies to train local talent first. The move follows a series of restrictions introduced on 1 January 2026 that blocked most low-skilled and many medium-skilled profiles from outside the EU, while easing access for highly skilled staff in shortage occupations. Since those restrictions, applications for medium-skilled roles have fallen 61 %, whereas high-skilled requests have risen 12 %. Business federation Voka warned the extra cost comes on top of lengthy processing times that already stretch to 15 weeks. Employers fear the cumulative €332 outlay per file (federal + Flemish fee) could push firms to off-book arrangements or relocate functions abroad. Demir counters that the surcharge will help finance tighter fraud controls after high-profile abuse cases in Antwerp’s chemical sector and Turkish subcontracting networks. For mobility managers, the announcement means budgeting additional direct costs, reassessing Belgian workforce planning for 2027 onwards, and factoring in possible application slow-downs as the region adapts its IT and staffing. Multinationals with pan-Benelux operations may shift some head-counts to Wallonia or the Netherlands, where no comparable regional fee exists – at least for now.
