Professional Cards in Belgium

Professional card (beroepskaart) is an authorization / long stay visa from the Belgian authorities allowing to establish and manage company, and reside in Belgium for foreign (non-EU) nationals or simply to work in Belgium as a self-employed person. 

It depends on  the workload of the authorities and the period of the year, but in general, you can expect from 12 to 16 weeks once the dossier is sent.

Yes, it is possible to do from many countries. If you can apply for Belgian visas from your country, then you can apply for the professional card as well.

No, to work as employee your employer needs to request a work permit (arbeidskaart). Please check our respective Work Permit Services.

Nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) / European Union (EU) and Switzerland (including Belgian nationals) do not need a professional card to work as self-employed professionals in Belgium. Additionally, certain categories of foreign nationals are exempt from this requirement due to their activity, residency status, or international treaties. These categories include but not limited:

• Family members of EEA nationals (spouses, descendants under 21 or in their care, and parents in their care).
• Spouses and dependent family members of Belgian citizens.
• Recognized refugees.
• Partners assisting or replacing their spouses in self-employment.
• Foreign nationals on business trips not exceeding 90 consecutive days for specific professional purposes.
• Foreign nationals coming for short-term (up to 90 days) professional activities such as lecturing, journalism, sports, arts, or internships.

The request for a professional card is treated as follows:

Forwarding the Application: The consular or diplomatic representation or the business counter that receives your application forwards it to the competent regional administration (Brussels Capital Region, Flemish Region, Walloon Region).

Initial Verification: The regional authority checks if your application complies with the required rules. If it does not, your application is rejected, and you are notified through the initial receiving entity.

Assessment Criteria:

• Right of Residence: Verification of a valid right of residence in Belgium or the country where the application was made.
• Regulatory Obligations: Ensuring you or your company have basic management knowledge (not always applicable) and, if necessary, professional knowledge for the intended activities. Certificates from the business counter must be enclosed.
• Relevance of the Project: Evaluation of economic utility based on job creation, investments, economic benefits for Belgium, market opening, and addressing unmet needs. This includes reviewing your application form, motivational letter, business plan, CV, financial capacity, financia plan, and business contracts, etc.
• Final Decision: If the criteria are met, the regional authority issues the professional card. If not, they notify the refusal and the reasons for it.

Professional cards for foreign entrepreneurs are typically issued for a period of 1-2 years and can subsequently be renewed. The validity duration depends on the nature of your self - employed activity, whether it is a classic business, an innovative project, or involves sports or cultural activities.

First of all, we have a continuous successful experience in obtaining professional cards. Using our experience and examples from previous successful dossiers will increase your chances of approval to maximum. Also we are only agency providing full scope of services including financial and business plans.

Low running costs of our company allow providing the best pricing. We guarantee!

Our fee depends on the services you requested. In general, we have the best pricing for professional card services in Belgium, because we focus only on professional cards and work permits, and can serve multiple clients in parallel. If you contact immigration lawyers, they usually don't provide fixed price and charge 150-250 EUR per hour VAT  excl. Also they don't have reusable templates for motivational letters and business plans.