EU vs Non-EU: Which Brussels Immigration Process Applies to You

Which immigration process applies to you in Brussels comes down to one question: is your passport from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, or not? That single fact decides whether you can move first and file paperwork later, or whether you need permission to enter before you ever board a plane. This guide lays out both paths side by side so you know exactly which one is yours.

The one fork that decides everything

There are two completely different routes into legal residence in Belgium, and every other arriving guide branches from here.

• EU, EEA or Swiss nationals have freedom of movement. You do not need a visa or a work permit. You arrive, then register at your local commune (municipality) within three months.
• Non-EU (third-country) nationals need permission before arriving — a visa D (long-stay visa) and, if you are coming to work, an approved single permit already in hand. Only after that do you register at the commune.

The EEA countries are the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Switzerland is treated the same as the EU for immigration. If your citizenship is anywhere else — the UK, US, India, Canada, Australia and so on — you are a third-country national and the non-EU path applies.

Side-by-side comparison

The EU / EEA / Swiss path

If you hold an EU, EEA or Swiss passport, your only real obligation is registration. Here is how it works.

1. Move in and find an address. You need a real Brussels address before you can register — the commune verifies you actually live there.
2. Book an appointment at the service étrangers / vreemdelingendienst (foreigners' service) of your commune. Brussels has 19 communes, each running its own counter, so procedures and waiting times vary.
3. Submit a complete file at the first appointment. Since 1 September 2025, EU applicants must bring a complete file to the first appointment to validly lodge an "application for a registration certificate" (Annex 19 / Annex 19ter). An incomplete file will not be processed. Bring proof of your status — employment contract or proof of self-employment, or proof of sufficient means plus health insurance if you are not working.
4. Receive your Annex 19 and a provisional national register number. This is your proof that your application is pending.
5. Wait for the police check. A local officer visits to confirm you live at the declared address.
6. Collect your E card. Once the check is positive, you are registered in the foreigners' register and invited to apply for the first EU residence card (E card). In the City of Brussels this costs €30 for over-12s (€12 under 12), or €150 for urgent processing. Standard delivery is 1 to 2 weeks; you collect the card once your PIN arrives by post. The E card is valid for 5 years.

If you are only staying under three months (short stay), you and any family members must still report to the municipality within 10 days of arriving — skip it and you risk a €200 administrative fine.

The non-EU (third-country) path

If you are not from the EU/EEA/Switzerland, most of the work happens before you arrive. For anyone coming to work for more than 90 days, the sequence is roughly this.

1. Your employer applies for the single permit. In Brussels this goes through the region's one-stop counter. The employer, not you, files it. The application bundles both work authorisation (assessed by the region) and residence (assessed by the Immigration Office / Office des Étrangers). Since 4 May 2026, work-permit applications for non-EU nationals go through the federal One-Stop counter portal.
2. Admissibility and decision. The region confirms the file is complete (you get 15 days to fix an incomplete file), then there is a period of up to 4 months within which the region and Immigration Office must decide. If no negative decision arrives in that window, the authorisation is deemed granted.
3. You receive the Annex 46. This is the decision granting the single permit. If you nominated an embassy, it is sent there.
4. Apply for your visa D. With the single permit approved, apply for the long-stay visa D at the Belgian diplomatic post covering your country. The code B34 on the D visa means you hold a single permit.
5. Travel to Belgium.
6. Register at your commune within 8 working days. Present your passport and decision documents at your commune's foreigners' service and apply for entry in the register of foreign nationals. You will give fingerprints here.
7. Police residence check, same as for everyone.
8. Collect your residence card. Non-EU workers receive an A card (temporary, generally valid up to a year and renewed as long as your grounds for staying continue). After several years of legal residence you may move to a B card. If you register in Brussels and later apply for a permanent card, official commune fees are around €20 for the application plus €20 for the card — but exact costs vary by commune.

Note that not every non-EU arrival is about work — students, family reunification and other routes each have their own underlying authorisation. But the shape is the same: get permission and a visa D first, then register locally.

Common problems and fixes

• "I'm EU but I can't get a commune appointment for weeks." Book the moment you have an address — Brussels communes are slow. Your Annex 19 back-dates your legal status, so what matters is lodging a complete file inside the three-month window, not when the card physically arrives.
• "I brought half my documents to the first EU appointment." Since September 2025 that no longer works — the file must be complete on day one or it isn't lodged. Check your specific commune's document list on its website before you go.
• "I'm non-EU and want to start working while my card is processed." You may only work once your single permit is approved and you hold the right documents. Don't start on the strength of a job offer alone — it exposes both you and your employer.
• "My employer says they'll sort the permit after I land." For a stay over 90 days that is the wrong order. The single permit and visa D must be secured before you travel. Push back and ask for written confirmation the application is filed.
• "Which of the 19 communes am I registering with?" Always the commune where you actually live — Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Anderlecht and the rest each have separate counters and rules. Registering at the wrong one wastes weeks.

Your one next step

Work out which path is yours from your passport, then book the right appointment: if you're EU/EEA/Swiss, contact your commune's foreigners' service today and start assembling a complete Annex 19 file. If you're non-EU, confirm in writing that your employer has filed the single permit before you plan any travel — and check the exact document checklist on your commune's own website, since requirements differ across the 19 communes. When in doubt about a fee, deadline or your specific route, the official source is the Immigration Office (dofi.ibz.be) and ibz.be.