Employing a foreigner in Flanders: intra-corporate transferee

Employees who are transferred within a company are called ‘intra-corporate transferees’. They can come to work in Flanders under certain conditions. Their future employer can apply for a work permit for this purpose.

Not every foreigner needs a work permit

Foreigners coming to work in Flanders, the employer must obtain a work permit beforehand. For certain groups of foreigners, this requirement does not apply and you are exempt.

This applies,among others, to:

Employment for up to 90 days, so-called short-term mobility, in particular short-term employment with a Limosa declaration.
Persons participating in a restricted meeting in Belgium, with a maximum of 60 days per calendar year in our country, and no more than 20 consecutive calendar days per meeting.
The foreign employee receiving training at the Belgian headquarters of a group of companies. That training is part of a training agreement between the headquarters of that group. The training, and therefore also their stay, shall not exceed three months (with a Limosa declaration).

The full list of exemptions can be found here.

Therefore, if the foreigner does not belong to one of these groups, a work permit is required. The employer can only employ the foreigner if they meet the conditions which apply to the type of work which the foreigner is to perform.

Who is considered as an intra-corporate transferee (ICT)?

An intra-corporate transferee (ICT) who does not belong to one of these well-defined categories and therefore does not require a work permit, can work in Flanders if they meet the following conditions:

The Flemish company (as a user of the posted employee) and the foreign company established in a third country (as a seconding employer) belong to the same company or group of companies;
A manager transferred within a company does not have to present a diploma. However, they must demonstrate that they perform a managerial/executive function. A manager is a person who manages the company, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the company, supervises the work of subordinate employees and is authorised to represent and commit the employer.
A specialist transferred within a company must present at least a level 5 diploma (Flemish Qualification Structure) or equivalent experience for a manager in the field of information and communication technology or a specialist in the field of information and communication technology.
An intern transferred within a company must have at least a university degree (VKS6), i.e. at least a bachelor’s degree;
The posted employee coming to the Flemish company as an intra-corporate transferee must have already been continuously employed for three months by the original employer , i.e. the third-country company;
Income:
- This may not be less favourable than that of comparable positions in accordance with applicable laws or collective agreements or practices for the entire duration of the transfer;
- There is a presumption that this salary criterion is met if:
  - the salary for a manager is €73 574 in 2023 (160% of the average Belgian annual salary) – this amount increases to €74 611 in 2024.
  - the salary for a specialist and trainee employee is €45 984 in 2023 (100% of the average Belgian annual salary) – this amount increases to €46 632 in 2024.
- However, this presumption can be refuted, which means that it can be justified in the application that the average salary is lower in the specific sector. This will then be taken into account when processing the application. The salary amounts (see above) are therefore not absolute!
Period of validity:
- A managerial and specialist work permit is issued for the duration of the posting, with a maximum duration of three years. The future employer may apply for this single permit immediately for three years.
- A trainee employee work permit is issued for the duration of the posting, with a maximum duration of one year.
- Extensions may be granted within these maximum periods;
- If the maximum duration of the work permit has been reached, a new transfer application for the same employee can only be submitted after an interval of three months.

Procedure for obtaining a work permit for a fixed duration, more than 90 days

As an employer, you apply for the fixed-term single permit for your future foreign intra-corporate transferee (ICT).

So-called short-term mobility (employment up to a maximum of 90 days) is exempt, in particular short-term employment with a Limosa declaration.

Importantly, there are two different situations for employment as an ICT (intra-corporate transferee) for long-term mobility (employment longer than 90 days):

Employment with posting from the initial foreign company (established in a third country outside EU) to the Flemish branch of the multinational group: (1) third country > (2) Flanders;
Employment with further posting from an EU branch to the Flemish branch of the multinational group:
(1) third country > (2) EU country > (3) Flanders.
In this case, the person concerned has already been posted as an ICT from the initial foreign company (established in a third country outside the EU) to a branch in an EU country. The person concerned then already has an ICT work permit in that other EU country. In such a case, there are three companies involved:
- The Flemish company (as a second user of the posted employee)
- The company established in another EU Member State (as a first user of the posted employee)
- The foreign company established in a third country (as an initial posting employer)

All three must belong to the same company or (multinational) group of companies.

In practice, when applying for an ICT work permit in Flanders in the second situation, proof of the following is always required: the ICT permit from the other EU Member State (valid for the entire duration of the transfer to Flanders), the multinational group and the salary criteria.
The diploma requirement and seniority no longer need to be demonstrated as these are criteria for obtaining the initial ICT permit in the other EU Member State and it is reasonably assumed that these criteria have been met.

Stap 1
Employee identity document
Employee is not in Belgium at the time of application:
Personal data in an international passport.
Employee is in Belgium at the time of application:
Personal data in an international passport
And a Belgian residence permit.
Proof(opens in new window) that the requested administrative costs (fees) have been paid
Extract from the criminal register(opens in new window), if the applicant is over 18 years of age. Legalised(opens in new window) and translated (Dutch, French or English)
The standard medical certificate(opens in new window) showing that the employee is not suffering from a disease which is a threat to public health, as referred to in the annex to the law of 15 December 1980
Proof that the employee has health insurance(opens in new window) or a declaration of commitment (in Dutch)(PDF file opens in new window)
These documents must be no more than 6 months old at the time of submitting your application.
Stap 2
An employment contract signed and dated by both parties.
The employment contract must be drawn up in the language of the region where the employer concerned is established.
Employment through service vouchers or as a community worker is excluded for work permits.
Stap 3
Employee’s diploma
Awarded by a government
Demonstrating that the employee has completed post-secondary programme higher studies:
they have attended classes for that purpose at an educational institution recognised as a higher education institution by the country in which it is located
their diploma meets qualification level 5 (manager or specialist) or level 6 (trainee employee)
Employment contract
Indicating a gross annual salary of at least €45 096 for a specialist and trainee employee, or at least €72 154 for a managerial employee
With proven seniority of at least three months of continuous employment with a foreign employer
Multinational group
The Flemish company (as a user of the posted employee) and the foreign company established in a third country (as a seconding employer) belong to the same company or group of companies
Stap 4
Only submit a complete application. It is not possible to email documents afterwards to add them to a file which has already been submitted.
If the file has been processed, but you want to cancel/stop the application, you can do so via the ‘stop’ button. The Economic Migration Department will then process the cancellation/stop request.
If the employment contract with the employee has been terminated early, you must press the ‘stop early’ button in the employee’s file.
After you have submitted the complete application via the one-stop shop(opens in new window), it is automatically forwarded digitally to the competent region. The competent regions, besides Flanders, are:
Brussels-Capital Region
Brussel Economie en Werkgelegenheid
Directie Economische Migratie
Sint-Lazarusplein 2
1035 Brussels
02 204 13 99 (from 9 to 12)
Website of the competent service in Brussels(opens in new window)
Walloon Region
Direction générale de l’Economie, de l’Emploi et de la Recherche 
Direction de l’Emploi et des Permis de travail
Place de la Wallonie 1
5100 Jambes
081 33 43 62
permisdetravail@spw.wallonie.be(opens in your email application)
Website of the competent service in Wallonia(opens in new window)
German-speaking Community
Ministerium der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft
Abteilung Beschäftigung, Gesundheit und Soziales,
Gospertstrasse, 1
4700 Eupen
087 59 64 86
Website of the competent service for the German-speaking Community(opens in new window)
Stap 5
The competent region will examine the “employment” section of your file.
After you have submitted the complete application, you can follow up the status of your application in the one-stop shop(opens in new window). For each change of status of your file, you will receive a notification and a digital letter via your eBox (in Dutch)(opens in new window).
These statuses are possible:
The file has been submitted
Additional information requested by the region
Admissibility
Inadmissibility
Positive decision concerning work or negative position concerning work
After a ‘positive decision concerning work’, the file is automatically forwarded to the Immigration Department of the federal government, which will examine the “residence” section of your application. The following stages are possible:
Being processed by the Immigration Department
Additional information requested by the Immigration Department
Positive decision concerning residence (Annex 46/47) or negative decision concerning residence (Annex 48).
In case of a positive decision on both work and residence (single permit), the Immigration Department will communicate this decision to the employee, the employer and the municipal council or the Belgian diplomatic and consular post specified in the application.
If the employee is in Belgium, the Immigration Department will issue an electronic single permit via the municipality. This permit contains both the work permit and the residence permit.
If the employee is abroad, the employee, who has provided a foreign address in their application for a work permit, must apply for a visa D (national long-stay visa) at the Belgian diplomatic or consular post competent for their place of residence.
That post will issue the visa, upon presentation of a valid passport and the decision to grant a single permit (Annex 46 or 47), provided that the decision presented by the employee is fully consistent with the decision communicated to the post by the Immigration Department.
The national entry B34 made on the visa D means that the employee has received a single permit. The entry B29 means that the employee is a highly qualified employee (EU Blue Card).
If the employee has arrived in Belgium
Then, within 8 working days, the employee must register in the aliens’ register (in Dutch)(opens in new window) of the place of residence and apply for the issue of a single permit.

What to do when changing the employer?

During the first period of 12 months this can only done under the conditions of the Blue Card. This implies that the 2^nd employer demonstrates an employment contract for a high-skilled position with a gross annual salary of at least 130% of the average gross annual salary (currently this is €60621,60). The 2^nd employer notifies the Economic Migration Department in writing of the change of employer. The employment can only be started after confirmation of the change by the Economic Migration Department;
After 12 months, the Blue Card issued is valid for any employer, provided the employment meets the conditions of Article 21. No notification of a change of employer is required;
After 24 months (= renewal application), a 3-year Blue Card is issued, valid for any employer and valid for employment under the Blue Card.