Belgium
Belgium
Below is a summary of details on work permit exemptions, related to technical work, for foreign employees in Belgium.
In principle, any employment in Belgium of a foreign employee requires a work permit, unless an exemption applies.
Several activities are considered business visitors’ activities, which do not trigger a work permit requirement, such as technical activities like initial assembly or first installation of a product. Such a service is defined as: (i) an essential part of a sales/supply agreement; (ii) necessary for the use of the product; and (iii) provided by qualified and/or specialized employees of the supplier. Work in the construction/building industry is excluded.
Official comments from the authorities refer to the following example:
An American company sells a highly technological printing press to a Belgian printing company. The company sends two technicians. They have to install the printing press, adjust it, and provide the Belgian client’s personnel with a training course. All of this takes 5 days. This American company and its employees are exempt.
The work permit exemption only applies to employees who are posted/assigned to Belgium, and the work cannot take longer than 8 days.There is no salary requirement.
Another business visitor activity is urgent maintenance of and repair work on a product. The scope of this work by specialized technical workers is the performing of urgent maintenance of and repair work on goods supplied by the foreign employer to a Belgian customer. The regulations explicitly confirm that IT work falls under the scope of this work permit exemption.
Official comments from the authorities refer to the following example:
The air-conditioning in a Belgian company is defective. The company contacts the supplier in…, who sends out a technician. After half a day the technical problem is solved. The … employer/supplier is exempt from the declaration.
This exemption only applies to employees who are posted/assigned to Belgium, and the employee cannot work more than 5 days per month.The remuneration of the employee must be at least equal to the Belgian minimum wage.
The employer who invokes a work permit exemption must be able to prove that the conditions for the exemption are met (such as in the event of audit by social inspection services). There are specific rules regarding the minimum initial documentation required:
- For initial assembly and/or first installation of a product: a sworn statement by the employer, and a copy of the supply contract;
- For urgent maintenance of and repair work on a product: a sworn statement by the employer, and a statement by the client regarding the urgency of the work.
In the event of an audit, the social inspection services can “overrule” the employer’s sworn statement: they can opine on the basis of the facts that the work permit exemption does not apply. This could result in civil or criminal proceedings.
As a general requirement, to be able to invoke a work permit exemption, the employees must be legally residing in Belgium. Unless the employees reside in a hotel, they must make a declaration of arrival with the municipal authorities of the town where they will reside within three working days of arrival.
Legal residence in Belgium for visa waiver citizens implies that the employees have not yet resided in the Schengen area more than 90 days in any 180-day period. Furthermore, these employees must hold a travel document that (i) is valid “at least 3 months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States” (this requirement may be waived in “a justified case of emergency”), and (ii) has “been issued within the previous 10 years.”
