🇧🇪 Brussels · Belgium
Moving to Brussels: the complete expat guide
Brussels is the capital of the EU and one of Europe's most international cities — and also one of its most bureaucratic to land in. This guide walks you through the order things actually happen: registering with your commune, getting your National Register Number, finding a flat, opening a bank account, joining a mutuelle, and understanding what you really take home after Belgium's famously high taxes.
Free tool · 2026
Brussels Salary Calculator
Gross to net take-home pay — social security, income tax and your commune's surcharge, verified against official Belgian payslip figures.
Calculate your net payWhat you need to sort out
Arriving & commune registration
Whether you are EU or non-EU sets your whole path. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens have freedom of movement and register at their commune within 3 months (Annex 19); non-EU arrivals usually need a visa D and, for work, a single permit before arrival. Your first real task on the ground is booking the commune’s "service étrangers / dienst vreemdelingenzaken" appointment — it leads to your National Register Number (NRN), the 11-digit number that gates your bank account, health insurance, tax file and itsme.
Housing & renting
Search on Immoweb and via agencies; landlords typically want proof of income around 3× the rent. Since the 1 November 2024 reform the rental guarantee is capped at 2 months’ rent (was 3) and cannot be paid in cash or to the landlord directly. The landlord must register the lease for free within 2 months — if they don’t, you can leave without penalty.
Banking
The big four are BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC/KBC Brussels, ING Belgium and Belfius; expat-friendly digital options include N26, Wise and Revolut. EU arrivals can usually open a basic account before they have an NRN; you’ll need it for a full account. itsme — the federally-recognised digital identity app — quickly becomes essential for banking, government and signing contracts.
Healthcare & the mutuelle
Joining a health insurance fund (mutuelle / mutualité / ziekenfonds) is compulsory for everyone legally resident. You pick one of the funds (Solidaris, Partenamut, the Mutualité Chrétienne, the Neutral or Liberal funds, or the public CAAMI/HZIV) — the state reimburses most of your care once you’re registered. Do this in your first weeks; healthcare reimbursement depends on it.
Getting around
STIB/MIVB runs Brussels’ metro, tram and bus on the rechargeable MOBIB card; a season pass is around €56/month. SNCB/NMBS runs the trains nationally. Brussels is compact and walkable, and cycling has grown fast with the city’s expanding bike network.
Taxes
Belgium taxes employment income on a progressive federal scale (25% / 40% / 45% / 50%) after a tax-free sum and a standard professional-expense deduction, plus your commune’s surcharge of roughly 5–7%. Most of it is withheld at source as précompte professionnel; you reconcile it with an annual declaration (Tax-on-web). Use the calculator below to see your real net.
The bilingual reality
Brussels is officially French/Dutch bilingual. In daily life French dominates, but administration, schools and many services exist in both — and the EU bubble runs heavily in English. Which of the 19 communes you choose affects your rent, your income-tax surcharge, the local vibe and the language tilt.
More Brussels guides are on the way — step-by-step walkthroughs of commune registration, the single permit, lease registration, choosing a mutuelle, and the 19 communes. In the meantime, the salary calculator above is live, and our Nordic relocation guides cover the same ground for Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.