Non-EU citizen: self-employed
WORKING IN GENK │ SELF-EMPLOYED NON-EU CITIZEN I WANT TO WORK AS A FREELANCER
Do you want to work as a self-employed person in Belgium but do not have EU nationality?
Then you need a professional card. This is an official document that gives you permission to carry out a self-employed activity in Belgium.
The card is personal and only valid for the profession for which you apply.
- The card is personal and only valid for the profession for which you apply.
- You apply for the card at a region. Do you live in Genk? Then that is the Flemish Region.
- A professional card from a region is valid throughout Belgium. So you do not need to apply for a new card if you also want to work in another region.
Discover the conditions for the Flemish Region
IMPORTANT
If you later want to change something about your work as a self-employed person (for example because you start doing a different kind of work or because the name or form of your business changes), you must have this updated on your professional card and therefore request an amendment.
Learn all about the professional card for foreign entrepreneurs
ON THIS PAGE Go quickly to
Submit your application on time then. Exactly how you do that depends on the date you applied for your current card.
With this simulator, you can check whether you need a professional card to start as a self-employed person in Belgium.
PROCEDURE REQUEST A PROFESSIONAL CARD
Would you like to work as a self-employed person in Belgium? Then you need to apply for a professional card from the Flemish Region.
View the procedure here.
Click on the titles to see the full procedure.
Compile an application file and gather all documents
For every first application for a professional card, you need the following documents:
A copy of your identity card or international passport.
A copy of your temporary residence permit > if you are applying from Belgium:
Proof of registration in the aliens register (= electronic residence card type A).
European Blue Card (= electronic residence card type H).
Arrival declaration (= appendix 3).
Provisional residence permit (= appendix 15).
Special identity card for diplomatic staff.
An extract from the criminal record not older than 6 months.
A copy of your diploma (minimum qualification level 4 = secondary education).
Payslips and/or bank deposit slips as proof of stable and regular means of subsistence.
> Reference framework is 120% of the subsistence minimum - from 01/02/2025 this amounts to 25,575.44 euros starting from the granting of the professional card.
Your CV (and portfolio if necessary).
A business plan and financial plan.
Shareholders register or UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owners). This is not required for a sole proprietorship.
Documents based on the category (innovative, economic, cultural, artistic, or sporting added value) for which you are applying for the professional card.
An overview of the additional documents per category can be found on the website of the Flemish Region.
Translate all documents
All documents must be prepared in Dutch, French, German, or English.
Be sure to take this into account:
Include both the translation and a copy of the original document in your file.
All documents you receive from official authorities (such as government, schools, or banks) must be translated by a sworn translator. If the translator is sworn abroad, those translations must also be officially approved. This is done with a legalization or an apostille stamp from the government of that country.
Submit your application
Depending on where you are, the application process differs:
You are staying abroad:
If you are staying abroad or do not have a valid residence permit, you can apply for a professional card at the Belgian diplomatic or consular post in the country where you have valid residence.
The staff on site will provide you with all practical details. When applying abroad, the embassy or consulate will send your file to the Economic Migration service within 5 days.If you are already staying in Belgium:
If you already have a temporary residence permit and are not exempt from a professional card, you can apply for a professional card via the digital counter on the Flemish government website. (Department of Work and Social Economy: DWSE)
Attention: this cannot be done via a smartphone, only via a computer or laptop. Click here for more information about registering at the WSE counter.
- Do you have an 'appendix 3' or are you the holder of a special identity card for diplomatic staff? Then you must go to the registration office to receive a token/digital key. After that, you can register at the WSE counter. Click here for more information about online identification without eID.
Await the decision
As soon as the government has received the payment, they check whether the application is complete and correct. They verify if all required documents have been attached.
Is something missing?
You will then receive an email asking you to send the missing information.
You have 30 days to arrange these documents.
Within 120 days you will receive an answer about your professional card.
Is your file complicated? Then it may take longer.
Your professional card application is approved:
You or an authorized representative submitted the professional card online via the WSE portal:
You will then receive an email with instructions to arrange the payment. After the payment is processed, you will receive a second email with instructions on how to download your professional card via the WSE portal.
You applied for a professional card via the Belgian embassy or consulate abroad:
You must first apply for a type D visa. As soon as you have the visa, you can travel to Flanders and collect your professional card at the business counter you have chosen.
Source: vlaanderen.be
Application costs
Approximately € 140 for processing the application (non-refundable).
Upon approval: an annual fee (approx. € 90/year).
After approval of the professional card
After your arrival in Belgium with a type D visa, you go to the town hall to register. You show your visa and your professional card there. The municipality registers you and issues an electronic A-card (Temporary residence card).
As soon as you have this A-card and your professional card is approved, you may start as a self-employed person in Belgium.
Next, complete the following steps to start your self-employed activity:
Register with a business counter (e.g., Xerius, Acerta, Liantis,…).
Register your activity with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (KBO).
Apply for a VAT number (via the business counter or FPS Finance).
Join a social insurance fund for self-employed persons.
Join a health insurance fund.
What is disguised self-employment?
If you are officially self-employed but in practice work for one boss like a ‘regular’ employee, you are ‘pseudo self-employed’. This is not allowed according to Belgian law and is considered a form of social fraud.
Pseudo self-employment means that someone officially works as a self-employed person,
but is actually treated as an employee.
For an employer, it can be very advantageous to have you employed as self-employed and not as an employee.
He then does NOT have to:
pay social contributions;
pay vacation days;
pay sick days;
take out occupational accident insurance;
pay minimum wage;
... .
He also does not have to respect labor rights and you are not entitled to a notice period. As a self-employed person, you bear the costs for social contributions and taxes yourself (quarterly contributions, every three months).
If you do not do this, you can get into serious financial trouble!
In short: The employer saves money, but that is not fair to the employee.
If authority, salary, and labor are present, you are actually an employee.
That means:
You have a boss who tells you what to do.
The boss checks whether your work is done well.
The boss pays you for the work.
In that case, you must have an employment contract, just like other employees.
Differences between an employee and a self-employed person
There is a big difference between being an employee or self-employed. This is often exploited in the case of international workers.
See here the major differences between an employee and a self-employed person.