Changes after obtaining employment authorisation

If the foreign national employee himself quits and thus breaks the contract, the employer must report this to the Economic Migration Service. Furthermore, the same labour and social law rules apply as for other employees who resign themselves.

Because there is no more employment at that point, employment authorisations after the notice period are no longer valid.

If an employee changes employers, the new employer must apply for an employment authorisation for the new employment. The employee cannot do that himself.

• If the previous employment has already ended, his previous employer must notify the Economic Migration Service. The employee then only has to wait for the new employment authorisation to start with the new employer.

• If the previous employment is ongoing, the previous employment authorisation remains valid until the previous employment:
  • effectively ends (by termination of the employment contract)
  • terminated after a notice period
  • terminated by mutual agreement between employer and employee. In that case, the employee may still continue to work for the ‘old’ employer during the application for the new employment authorisation (and during the notice period) provided that such employment is still covered by that ‘old’ employment authorisation (either work permit or single permit).

The employer or employee does not need to return the original work permit and/or employment authorisation . The ‘old’ employer must only report the effective end date of the previous employment (notification requirement for change of employment situation). Thus, the employee concerned may keep his previous work permit: the validity of that permit nevertheless expires when a new employment authorisation is issued.

Required documents

A change of employer is a renewal of an existing employment authorisation. And so, with the new application, all ‘renewal documents’ have to be submitted, except the pay slips of the previous employment, as that is not the responsibility of the new employer applying for renewal. A certificate of retribution, a medical certificate and an excerpt from the criminal records registry are therefore not necessary.

In case of dismissal of the employee for whom an employment authorisation has been granted, the employer must immediately notify that dismissal and the effective end date of the contract to the Economic Migration Service with an accompanying document (letter of dismissal, C4 etc.).

Based on that notification, the Economic Migration Service will have the single permit revoked after the statutory notice period. Because employment has then ceased, the employment authorisation is no longer valid. And as a result, the single permit is also no longer valid.

In practice, the Immigration Office will not effectively implement the revocation until three months after the cessation of employment, leaving the employee with three months of temporary residence to seek new employment if necessary. If the employee does not find new employment within that three-month period, he/she must return to his/her country of origin.

Since the single permit is only effectively withdrawn after three months, the employee’s stay remains ongoing during that period, even if his or her employment authorisation is no longer valid. The latter makes it a bit tricky for new employers, who see the single permit stating: “Labour market: limited”. As a result, some employers think that the employee in question can start working for them immediately, which is not the case: they must first apply for a totally new employment authorisation. The employee cannot do that himself.

With that new application, all ‘renewal documents’ must be submitted, except the wage statements of the previous employment, as that is not the responsibility of the new employer submitting the new application. A certificate of retribution, a medical certificate and an excerpt from the criminal records registry are therefore not necessary.

For a foreign national employee who is not eligible for an employment authorisation on the basis of his occupation but who was nevertheless granted an authorisation because the prospective employer had demonstrated that he could not find anyone else in the local labour market: if that employee changes employers, that new employer must again demonstrate that there is no manpower available in the labour market.

See category ‘other’