The Belgian Council of Ministers has released the legislation in order to be able to implement the EU Intra-Company Transferee (ICT) permit with effect from the December 16, 2021. The EU ICT permit will enable the entry to Belgium for eligible managers, specialists and trainees from outside the EU for more than 90 days and facilitates their mobility across the EU.
Once implemented, the Belgian EU ICT will be a combined work and residence permit and the holder will be subject to eligibility requirements, including having at least a higher education degree. Applicants will also need to have worked for the home entity for at least 3 months if moving to the Flanders and Walloon region, and 6 months for Brussels, and their main residence must be outside the EU when applying for the permit.
Applicants must also receive a salary similar to that of a Belgian national in a similar post: specific thresholds are set on a regional level to meet this requirement.
Dependants of EU ICT permit holders will be permitted to work in Belgium once they have received their residence permits and do not require an independent work permit.
EU ICT permits can be held for 3 years, after which individuals will need to change to another permit type such as the Highly Skilled Permit. Alternatively, they can leave Belgium for a cooling off period of 3 months before applying for another EU ICT permit.
EU ICT permit holders from other EU member states who wish to work for the Belgium entity of their home company for over 90 days can apply for a mobile ICT permit. They will be permitted to commence working while the application is being processed as long as the Posted Worker (Limosa certificate) is submitted. Mobile ICT permit holders will be subject to the same salary thresholds as mentioned for the EU ICT applicants.
The application process for the EU ICT permit will be like other single permit applications and will be submitted via the Regional Employment Authorities, with final approval by the Federal Immigration Office. Processing times are also expected to be similar.
For further information on immigration in the Belgium, please contact the Sterling Lexicon immigration team.
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