Belgium’s May 1 Work-Permit Shift Hits Short Stays

The portal is now the rule

Belgium is moving short-work permits and commuter permits to the Working in Belgium portal, with digital-only submissions kicking in on May 1, 2026. Email, PDF and other filing routes are getting shut down, so employers, honestly, need to stop treating this like a soft change, because the old channels are ending and the new one is the only game in town.

The government says the switch should cut processing from about six weeks to roughly three and that’s the real draw. It also brings automated checks with social-security data, which, surprisingly, should make the paperwork less messy if the upload is clean.

Nomads may feel this indirectly

This rule mainly targets non-EEA hires, cross-border commuters and short assignment workers, so tourists on visa-free stays or Schengen visas aren’t affected. Still, if you’re working remotely from Belgium on a short permit, the filing change matters, because the permit path is now fully digital and the system is stricter about what it accepts.

The document list is specific. Employers need biometric-quality photos, full passport scans and portal-generated powers of attorney and they’ll have to authenticate with eID or itsme, which, frankly, means last-minute scrambling probably won’t go well.

What to do before the deadline

If you’re hiring into Belgium, switch your process now, not later. Flanders and Brussels close email filing on April 30, while Wallonia keeps a grace period for email until August 31, so regional timing still matters and the wrong channel could delay everything.

Set up portal access, digitize passports and train your team before the cutoff. Read our full Belgium guide for the complete picture and check our visa updates for more policy changes.