Belgium’s Immigration Office (DVZ/IBZ) has announced the first comprehensive overhaul of its cross-border-worker regime since 1981. Published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 27 July 2026, the new provisions will enter into force the day after publication in August. The reform was prompted by four decades of economic integration, Brexit, and the rise of hybrid work, all of which have blurred the lines between daily commuting and classic expatriate assignments. Under the old system, most frontier workers from neighbouring EU countries carried an “Annex 15” document that allowed them to live in one country and work in Belgium without obtaining a residence permit. That document will now be phased out. Workers residing in Germany, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands will have a 12-month grace period—until August 2027—to convert to the updated cross-border worker card, which will be machine-readable, biometric and aligned with Belgium’s electronic residence‐permit format. During the transition they must continue to meet social-security and tax obligations in Belgium even if physically present only part-time. The changes are sharper for United Kingdom residents. Because the UK is no longer an EU/EEA member, its cross-border workers will lose Annex 15 privileges altogether. From August they must hold a Belgian long-stay (D) visa before taking up or continuing employment. The Belgian Embassy in London is already accepting appointments, but processing times exceed eight weeks—raising the risk of work interruptions if applications are not lodged promptly. For multinational employers the overhaul is more than a paperwork exercise. Companies that rely on daily or weekly commuters—especially in sectors such as pharmaceuticals around Liège, finance in Brussels and logistics in the port of Antwerp—must update posted-worker notifications, amend payroll withholding, and verify that new cards are issued before the grace period expires. Penalties for non-compliance can reach €48,000 per infringing worker, and inspections are expected to intensify once the official migration audit unit receives additional staff later this year. Policy makers argue the reform will close loopholes that enabled undeclared work and social-security avoidance, bringing Belgium in line with the EU Single Permit framework while preserving labour mobility in border regions. Worker-representative groups welcome clearer rights to paid leave and access to Belgian health insurance; employer federations warn of increased administrative burden. Companies are advised to audit their commuter populations, book embassy appointments before the autumn rush, and brief affected talent on biometrics and health-insurance registration to ensure business continuity.
Source: Belgian Immigration Office (IBZ)
