Belgium’s northern region has quietly made it harder—and costlier—for companies to recruit talent from outside the European Union. A package of reforms championed by Flemish Employment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) came into force on 1 January 2026, but its real-world impact only became clear this weekend when fresh statistics were released. Between January and July, employers filed 4,125 single-permit applications—12 % fewer than in the same period a year earlier. Medium-skilled roles saw the sharpest fall after new rules restricted eligibility to posts on the official shortage-occupation list, while low-skilled hires were capped at short seasonal assignments. At the same time, the regional handling fee for a work authorisation rose to €180 and federal visa-D charges climbed to €250, lifting the up-front cost of bringing in a third-country national to over €430 per employee. Demir argues the policy forces firms to “look local first” and reserves work permits for profiles Flanders genuinely lacks, such as asbestos-removal technicians and specialised researchers. Business federations disagree. VOKA warns that construction, logistics and care providers cannot fill vacancies domestically and will now resort to posting staff employed by foreign subsidiaries—an arrangement that deprives Belgium of social-security income and undercuts labour-market oversight. The trucking lobby Febetra notes the sector is already short 5,000 drivers and fears the gap will widen as veteran employees retire. Economists say the long-term effect hinges on whether stricter migration really pushes the region’s 180,000 registered job-seekers back into work. Labour-market scholar Jan Denys calls the measures “more severe than the European average for low- and medium-skilled migrants, but still liberal for high-skilled profiles,” suggesting competitiveness risks are limited unless Brussels or Wallonia follow suit. For global-mobility managers the message is clear: hiring non-EU nationals into Flanders now involves higher fees, a narrower eligibility window and longer lead-times. Companies planning 2027 workforce allocations should budget additional compliance costs or consider alternative structures such as intra-EU postings—though these, too, face tighter scrutiny under the EU’s forthcoming Labour Mobility Package. In practical terms, HR teams should review open requisitions against the updated shortage-occupation list, factor in the new €430+ fee combo, and allow at least eight weeks for approvals. Existing permit-holders are unaffected until renewal, but future salary thresholds will be indexed in January, adding another layer of cost predictability to the equation.
Source: The Brussels Times
