Belgium Simplifies Hiring Highly Skilled Workers While Tightening Anti-Fraud Measures

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Belgium’s parliamentary Committee on the Interior has approved, at second reading, a bill to simplify procedures for highly skilled workers from outside the European Union while strengthening measures against fraud in professional migration.

Belgium Simplifies Hiring Highly Skilled Workers While Tightening Anti-Fraud Measures

Minister for Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt said the changes would help companies attract international talent more quickly and easily through the European Blue Card, without lowering the requirements for professional migration.

The card allows highly skilled non-EU workers to live and work in Belgium if they meet specific conditions, including requirements on salary, qualifications and working hours. Under the bill, applications must be processed within a maximum of 90 days. The changes also make it easier for Blue Card holders to move within Europe. For example, they may travel temporarily to another EU country for a work project without applying for an additional work permit.

Van Bossuyt said the government’s first priority was to help people living in Belgium find jobs. However, she noted that some companies need highly specialised expertise that is not available locally. Attracting such talent, she said, is important to keeping Belgium’s economy strong and competitive, and unnecessary administrative hurdles should not discourage highly skilled workers.

At the same time, the bill gives Belgium’s Immigration Office additional tools to tackle abuse under the broader single-permit system. Applications may be rejected more easily when there are serious doubts about the authenticity of documents or when a company appears to have been set up solely to bring people into Belgium, rather than to employ them.

The bill also strengthens protections for workers who suffer serious violations by their employers, such as repeated non-payment of wages. Under certain conditions, they may be given up to six months, instead of three, to find a new job.

Van Bossuyt said professional migration can support the economy but must not be used to facilitate abuse. The bill therefore aims to simplify procedures for people genuinely coming to work in Belgium while taking a firmer approach to fraud.

Source: Belgian Minister for Asylum and Migration, 14 October 2026.