This report focuses on Belgium’s admission policy for third country nationals, more particularly regarding family reunification, labour migration, and student migration. It also compares Belgium’s conditions of entry with those of other EU Member States.

Report of the Universities UG (Ghent) and ULB (Brussels) on behalf of the Belgian government

Ad Hoc Query, requested on 3 November 2010 by the European Commission concerning the recognition of professional qualifications of third-country nationals in the member states - 15 responses

Flanders granted around 21.460 work permits to non-EU nationals in 2025, the highest level in recent years. Seasonal work and medium- to high-skilled positions accounted for a large share of the permits. New rules introduced in January 2026 give priority to domestic and EU labour before non-EU recruitment. Stakeholders, including employer organisations and political parties, have expressed differing perspectives on these developments.

On 19 September 2024, EMN Belgium presented the findings of its national contribution to the upcoming EMN Study on the Illegal Employment of Third-Country Nationals (2017-2022), in a comparative perspective with the national contributions from EMN Austria and EMN Italy.