Moving to Brussels from the USA (Guide for Americans)

Moving from the US to Brussels means switching from a country that taxes you wherever you live to one that expects paperwork before you even board the plane. This guide walks a stressed American arrival through the specific route that applies to you — visa, permit, tax, healthcare, banking and driving — with the US-only traps flagged. It assumes you are a US citizen, which makes you a third-country national in Belgian eyes.

Step 1: The permit and visa come first — always

There is no "arrive first, sort it out later" option for Americans. For a stay over 90 days you need permission before you travel. Which route depends on how you'll earn money.

• Employed by a Belgian employer → the single permit (a combined work + residence authorisation). Your employer files it, not you, through the federal One-Stop counter (onestopcounter.workinginbelgium.be). Since 4 May 2026, all work-permit applications for non-EU nationals must go through this portal — email and PDF submissions are no longer accepted. The Brussels region and the Immigration Office (Office des Étrangers / dofi.ibz.be) decide together.
• Self-employed / freelance / starting a company → a professional card, not a single permit. You apply through an approved enterprise counter (if already resident) or the Belgian consulate covering your US address. You must prove your project's economic usefulness to Brussels with a business plan (max 20 pages). Fee: €140 to apply, plus €90 per year of validity when the card is issued. A first card is usually granted for two years on a probationary basis (five years maximum).

Once the single permit or professional card is approved, you apply for a long-stay D visa at the Belgian consulate that covers your US state. Only then do you fly. On a single permit your D visa carries the code B34.

Rough timeline: the single permit decision can take up to 4 months after a complete file is lodged; the professional card and D visa add more weeks. Start 4–6 months before your intended move.

Step 2: Register at your commune within 8 working days

Brussels has 19 communes (Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Saint-Gilles, and so on), each with its own foreigners' service. You register at the one where you actually live.

1. Book an appointment at your commune's service étrangers / vreemdelingendienst as soon as you have a real address — do this within 8 working days of arriving.
2. Bring your passport, D visa and permit documents. You will give fingerprints.
3. A local police officer visits to confirm you live at the declared address.
4. Once the check is positive you collect your residence card. Employed Americans typically receive an A card (temporary, tied to your permit, renewed as your grounds continue). Commune card fees are modest (roughly €20–30) but vary — check your commune's site.

Registration also gets you a National Register number — the 11-digit ID that unlocks everything else: banking, health insurance, utilities, tax filing. Nothing works without it.

Step 3: You keep filing US taxes — this never stops

This is the biggest US-specific shock. The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live. Moving to Belgium does not end your US filing obligation — it adds a second one.

What continues from the US side:

• Form 1040 every year, reporting your worldwide income. Living abroad gives you an automatic filing extension to 15 June (further to 15 October on request), but any tax owed is still due 15 April and interest runs from then.
• FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if your foreign accounts combined exceed $10,000 at any point in the year — this includes your Belgian current account, savings, and often pension-type accounts. Filed separately from your 1040.
• Form 8938 (FATCA) if foreign assets exceed the threshold (for expats, $200,000 at year-end or $300,000 at any point, for a single filer — higher if married filing jointly).

What softens the double-tax blow:

• The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE): for tax year 2026 you can exclude up to $132,900 of foreign earned income (Form 2555), plus a foreign housing amount.
• The Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116): Belgian income tax is high — often higher than US tax on the same income — so most Americans in Belgium use the credit to wipe out their US tax bill entirely. Belgian tax paid becomes a credit against US tax.
• The US–Belgium tax treaty (in force since 2008) reduces some double taxation, but its "saving clause" preserves US taxing power over citizens — so it does not excuse you from filing Form 1040.
• The US–Belgium Totalization Agreement (in force since 1984) stops you paying Social Security into both systems. If a US employer posts you to Belgium, you can stay in US Social Security for up to 5 years with a Certificate of Coverage — otherwise you pay into Belgian social security.

You also file a Belgian return (via Tax-on-web at finances.belgium.be) as a Belgian tax resident — usually due around June–July each year. Belgian tax is steep; budget for an accountant who handles both sides in year one.

Step 4: Health insurance — join a mutualité

Belgium's healthcare runs through a mutualité / mutualiteit (health insurance fund) you must join once registered. You choose one (Partenamut, Solidaris, the CM/Christian fund, or the neutral public HZIV/CAAMI). It is largely reimbursement-based: you pay the doctor, then get most of it back.

• Registration takes roughly 2–4 weeks to process; coverage starts once your details are active.
• There can be a waiting period of up to about six months before some benefits apply. Coming straight from the US (outside the EU), you usually can't shortcut this with an E104 form the way an EU mover could.
• Keep private international health cover for your first months to bridge the gap — this is exactly the scenario travel/expat medical insurance is built for.

Step 5: Open a bank account — and expect FATCA friction

This is a genuine US-only pain point. Under FATCA, every US citizen is a "US person" whose account a Belgian bank must report to the IRS. Compliance is expensive, so some smaller Belgian banks quietly refuse Americans.

What helps:

• Apply to larger banks (BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC/CBC, ING, Belfius) which have FATCA processes in place, rather than niche players.
• Have your US Social Security number (SSN) or ITIN ready — the bank will require it and a self-certification (W-9-style form).
• Bring your National Register number, residence card and proof of address — no local account opens without registration first.
• Use Wise or Revolut as a bridge for your first weeks — they onboard Americans readily and give you Belgian/EU IBAN details for salary and rent while your main bank is being set up.

Note a live legal wrinkle: the Belgian Data Protection Authority has ruled that transferring Belgian account data to the US under FATCA breaches EU GDPR — an unresolved "breach FATCA or breach GDPR" tension. It doesn't change your obligation to disclose your US status when opening an account, but it's why banks are cautious.

Step 6: Driving on your US licence

You may drive on your valid US licence for up to 185 days after you register at your commune. To keep driving after that, exchange it for a Belgian one.

Good news for Americans: in the City of Brussels, a US licence is exchanged by authentication (your licence is sent to the police to verify it's genuine), not by re-sitting a driving exam. Fees are €38 for the Belgian licence plus a €5 authentication survey; the process takes around two months. Book via MyBXL or your commune. (Rules can vary slightly by commune and are confirmed case by case, so check your own commune's page.)

Common problems and fixes

• "My employer said I could start work once I land." Wrong order for Americans. The single permit must be approved before you travel — starting work on a job offer alone exposes you and your employer.
• "I forgot the US filing — I'm paying Belgian tax already." Belgian tax doesn't cancel US filing. File late returns; the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures exist for expats who didn't know. Talk to a US expat accountant before the IRS contacts you.
• "Three banks turned me down." That's FATCA, not you. Go straight to a large bank, lead with your SSN/ITIN, and run a Wise/Revolut account in the meantime for salary and rent.
• "I can't do anything — no bank, no phone contract." You're missing the National Register number. It comes from commune registration; chase that appointment first, everything else follows.
• "Do I lose the FEIE if I go back to the US often?" Possibly — the FEIE needs either the bona fide residence or physical presence (330 days abroad in 12 months) test. Track your US days carefully in year one.

Your one next step

If you have a Belgian job offer, email your employer today and get written confirmation the single permit application is filed through the One-Stop counter — nothing else can start until that's moving. If you're self-employed, begin your professional card business plan. In parallel, book a consultation with a US-expat tax accountant now, before you move, so your first Belgian and US filings are set up correctly. For the authoritative rules, use the Immigration Office (dofi.ibz.be) and the IRS page for citizens abroad.