Work in Belgium as a UK techie: the four key routes

Eyeing an IT role in Brussels? Secondment via a UK employer can save you considerable hassle post-Brexit. But three other routes, plus short-trip exemptions if you just need to install software, can work for UK techies too. Just check the rules of each region — or the ‘peanut butter’ phrase could be yours to utter.

UK nationals can work in Belgium post-Brexit in four main ways: secondment, a highly qualified worker permit, freelance cooperatives like Smart, and temp or fixed-term contracts. Knowing these four ways to work in Belgium as a UK citizen is handy if the advert for your dream tech job doesn’t state “Belgium-based candidates only,” as this Data Engineer role in Brussels warns. In this article, I will unpack each of these four key routes, writes Kevin Austin, co-founder of Access Financial, a specialist since 2004 in facilitating compliant placements overseas for UK techies and other workers.

Why do UK techies need a work permit for Belgium?

Since the UK’s Brexit decision took effect on January 31st 2020, UK citizens are classed as non-EU nationals, meaning UK passport holders need prior work authorisation for most paid work in Belgium, potentially including the more than 170 Belgium tech jobscurrently live on Free-Work.

UK citizens staying longer than 90 days in Belgium need a single permit (permis unique / gecombineerde vergunning), which covers both residence and work — as you’d need for this permanent Technical Project Leader role in Brussels.

As 2027 comes into sight, Belgium may now be just a Eurostar ride from London, but landing a contract or full-time tech role in one of the nation’s three main tech centres, Brussels, Antwerp or Ghent, takes more than a mere train ticket as a UK techie.

Which UK nationals don’t need a Belgian work permit?

Not every UK national needs a permit to work in Belgium. UK nationals who were already legally resident in Belgium before January 1st 2021, and who hold a Withdrawal Agreement residence card, are the exception. 

Withdrawal Agreement residence card holders keep their right to work in Belgium without a permit.

Who issues work permits in Belgium?

Work permits to work in Belgium as a Briton are handled regionally rather than nationally — that’s a quirk of Belgium’s immigration system worth keeping in mind before you see which of the four main routes to work in the country as a techie suit you.

The practical effect of Belgium issuing its work permits regionally is that Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, plus the German-speaking Community in the east, each assess applications under their own rules. The region where you will mainly be working generally decides which authority handles your case.

What are the four main routes to work in Belgium as a UK techie?

Not dissimilar to France, Belgium offers four main routes for UK tech workers looking to work in Europe’s sixth most densely populated nation.

If none of the four apply to you, read on, especially if you’re a tech entrepreneur because I’ll also outline Belgium’s generous exemptions for short business trips. Belgium also hosts seasonal workers, and potentially, in future, 18 to 30-year-olds under a proposed youth scheme; two further work permit routes I’ll also outline after the four key routes for techies:

1.     Secondment/ICT: a UK employer posts you to Belgium, with Intra-Corporate Transfer (ICT) permits lasting up to three years

2. Highly qualified worker/Blue Card/professional card: single permits for skilled employees, and a ‘professional card’ for freelancers

3. Freelance cooperatives (‘Smart’): you find the client, and the cooperative employs you and handles social security; a setup familiar to UK umbrella company workers

4. Intérim/CDD: temp agencies and fixed-term contracts, offered by some big-name tech recruiters but, in practice, best if you already hold Belgian working rights.

What’s the most typical way UK techies work in Belgium?

Secondment (with the Limosa declaration filed — see below) and the highly qualified worker single permit are typical starting points for UK tech workers, including contractors, who don’t have Belgian working rights. Intérim, fixed-term contracts and Smart usually depend on already holding Belgian working rights.

1. Secondment/ICT

The simplest path British techies take to work in Belgium is having a UK organisation send them to Belgium via the Secondment/ICT route.

A British employer can post you to Belgium to deliver a specific client contract, applying for your work authorisation on your behalf. Alternatively, a UK business could transfer you to a Belgian branch or group company under an Intra-Corporate Transfer (ICT) permit.

ICT permits can last up to three years for IT managers and technology specialists (one year for trainee-level tech roles). Before the secondment begins, the employer must also file a Limosa declaration with the Belgian authorities. 

Since January 1st 2019, self-employed workers eyeing work in Belgium must file a Limosa declaration only in three risk sectors: construction, meat processing and cleaning, meaning most self-employed techies should be exempt.

In summary, secondment via a UK employer or UK organisation can save you — including if you’re a contract or freelance techie — considerable hassle, as it’s the UK employer who handles the bulk of the immigration paperwork.

2. Highly qualified worker/Blue Card/professional card

Belgium has no single ‘talent’ visa.

Instead, skilled UK employees apply for a Belgian single permit as a highly qualified worker or EU Blue Card holder. The Belgian employer submits the single permit application through the official Working in Belgium platform. Each permit carries a minimum salary threshold, set by the region and updated every year.

Freelancers, contractors, start-up founders and other British individuals who want to work for themselves in Belgium need a professional card (carte professionnelle / beroepskaart). Both the single permit and professional card are too involved for a short assignment — in IT or any other sector. But the single permit/professional card are an excellent fit if your technology contract work is likely to roll over into long-term work.

3. Freelance cooperatives (Smart)

Belgium has no direct equivalent to France’s portage salarial (its closest equivalent to a UK umbrella company), but Belgian freelance cooperatives like Smart (formerly “SMart”) fill a similar gap. You find the client and agree your fee. Smart then invoices the client, pays you as an employee, and handles Belgian social security contributions.

Smart is widely used by artists, creatives, and independent consultants — including those providing IT services — because it gives clients a simple, compliant way to engage freelance talent. As a UK citizen, you’ll still need the legal right to work in Belgium to use Smart, but the cooperative can significantly simplify negotiations with the client, especially if you don’t speak Dutch/Flemish or French.

4. Intérim/CDD

Belgium has a large, tightly regulated temporary staffing market (intérim / uitzendarbeid), led by technology staffing agencies including Randstad and Adecco, which Brits might know from the UK, alongside Start People and Tempo-Team.

Belgium also has a pool of standard fixed-term contracts (contrat à durée déterminée / contract van bepaalde duur).

Temporary workers in Belgium are legally entitled to the same pay as permanent staff doing the same job. Recruitment agencies, including those that place temps, are generally not able to sponsor your initial entry, however. The temp and fixed-term route therefore works best if you already have valid Belgian working rights or a residence card.

Do UK tech workers need a Belgian work permit for short business trips?

UK tech workers don’t need a Belgian work permit for certain business-visitor activities, though none of the ‘business visitor exemptions’ cover ordinary contract IT work, beyond short software installations.

Under the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, UK nationals can visit Belgium visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180 daysfor certain business activities. Permitted activities include:

• Meetings and consultations

• Trade fairs and market research

• Negotiating sales 

• After-sales installation or repair.

Belgian regional rules then set specific work permit exemptions that could work in software and self-employed techies’ favour, though some apply only in certain regions (so the onus is on you to check their applicability in advance), such as:

• urgent repairs (up to five days a month)

• installing software (up to eight days a month)

• initial installation of supplied equipment (up to eight days, excluding construction)

• self-employed business visits (up to five days a month)

• closed-circle meetings (up to 20 consecutive days and 60 days a year).

 Be aware, some Belgian business-visitor exemptions still require a Limosa declaration. However, for specialist consultants, potentially including those in technology, IT and software, the business-visitor exemptions are a legitimate shortcut.

Can UK nationals do seasonal work in Belgium?

Yes, but only with a seasonal worker permit (travailleur saisonnier / seizoenarbeider), which a Belgian employer must arrange before you travel. Fruit farms in Haspengouw, resorts along the Belgian coast and tourist businesses in the Ardennes rely on these permits.

Belgian seasonal worker permits cover agriculture, horticulture and hospitality, though the eligible sectors vary by region. Flanders, for example, covers only horticulture and hospitality. Seasonal workers are limited to a maximum of five months’ work in any 12 months.

Be aware if you’re a techie who’d like a break from coding all day: you cannot arrive in Belgium and look for seasonal work locally, because the permit must be in place before you travel. In Flanders, for example, the employer must first show it could not fill the seasonal role locally. Focus your applications on established growers and hospitality groups that have recruited foreign (or British) seasonal staff before and know the process.

Is there a scheme for young tech Britons to work in Belgium?

Not yet. The UK and EU are negotiating a capped, reciprocal “Youth Experience Scheme” (YES) and the EU has proposed an age range for applicants of 18 to 30.

At the time of writing (October 16th 2026), no agreement has been reached, and the YES is not open for applications. If launched, this work experience scheme for 18 to 30-year-olds will become the most straightforward route for younger workers, potentially including techies. 

Work in Belgium as a UK techie: five more must-knows

1. What about exit holiday pay in Belgium?

Belgium’s exit holiday pay (pécule de sortie / vertrekvakantiegeld) is holiday pay that a Belgian employer settles on your final payslip when you leave a salaried (white-collar) job. Exit holiday pay is not a bonus: it is holiday pay you have already earned, and Belgium has no French-style end-of-contract bonus.

Exit holiday pay comprises 15.34% of the gross pay earned that year, as an advance on next year’s holiday pay, plus pay for any leave still untaken this year.

If you move to another Belgian employer, the new employer offsets exit holiday pay against your pay as you take that leave (under settlement rules updated in January 2024). Exit holiday pay therefore only works out as extra cash in hand if you leave the Belgian labour market altogether, for example to return to the UK.

For temps in IT and other industries, exit holiday pay depends on status:

• white-collar agency workers receive their holiday pay from the agency with their wages

• blue-collar agency workers are paid by the national holiday pay office (ONVA/RJV) or a sector holiday fund the following year, usually in May or June.

2. Can an Irish passport let Brits work in Belgium?

Yes. An Irish passport makes you an EU citizen, free to work in Belgium without a single permit or professional card.

If one of your parents was born on the island of Ireland, you are probably already an Irish citizen and can simply apply for the passport. If an Irish-born grandparent is your link, you may qualify through Ireland’s Foreign Births Register, which takes many months to process, making it prudent to apply well before any Belgian tech contract starts.

The good news? An Irish passport gives you the Belgian working rights that intérim, fixed-term contracts and Smart usually require, so all three routes open up to you.

3. When’s Belgium’s peak hiring season?

Belgium’s peak hiring seasons are September and January, when the country’s primary hiring surges occur.

Belgium largely slows down during July and August, and the Belgian construction sector takes a collective break of around three weeks in July. 

A single permit can take three to four months to get, so UK techies eyeing a September start should begin the job-hunting process in spring.

4. What about Belgian employer job applications?

Belgian employers typically expect a CV of one or two pages, in the language of the region where you’ll work, paired with a tailored cover letter.

Belgium has three official languages, and the language you need depends on where you work. Dutch is used in Flanders, French in most of Wallonia, and German in just the German-speaking Community (Ostbelgien) in the east. Brussels is bilingual, and English is also widely used in the Belgian capital, especially around internationally focused roles.

Adding a professional photo to your CV for review by a Belgian employer is common but optional. Job boards worth bookmarking include VDAB (Flanders), Le Forem (Wallonia), Actiris (Brussels), ADG (German-speaking Community), StepStone, Jobat and Free-Work’s Belgium tech jobs, which include numerous hybrid roles, such as this Senior AI engineer role being offered on both a contract and permanent basis.

5. How long can UK techies stay in Belgium without a permit?

UK techies can stay in Belgium for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period without a permit. The 90-day allowance covers the whole Schengen area, not just Belgium, so days spent in neighbouring France, the Netherlands or Germany count too.

Eurostar passengers heading to Brussels complete the EU’s Entry/Exit System checks at London St Pancras before boarding, registering their fingerprints and photo. The Entry/Exit System logs every entry and exit electronically, so attempting to work informally on a tourist entry is illegal and easily flagged.

Which route to work in Belgium suits UK techies best?

For UK tech employees, an employer secondment (with the Limosa declaration filed) or a single permit sponsored by a Belgian employer is generally the most straightforward path. For UK tech freelancers, a professional card or a freelance cooperative such as Smart is the usual route, once working rights are in place. 

The takeaway: check Belgium’s regional rules before you sign

Belgium’s immigration policies evolve, and that’s as true for British fruit pickers and 18 to-30-year-olds as it is for AI Engineers and Technical Project Leaders with UK passports wanting to work in Belgium on a hybrid or permanent basis. Critically, though, to work in tech in Belgium, remember each region applies its own rules. Always verify current requirements with the relevant regional authority and the Immigration Office before finalising any IT job acceptance or agreeing to any contract role, bid or tender; else you too might be caught uttering that much-loved, popular phrase in Belgium, Helaas pindakaas, which translates as “Unfortunately peanut butter,” but means “That’s too bad.”