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Contents
In brief

The country
- 3
11.96 million people, with output per head above the EU's
- 4
Deaths now outnumber births; the growth is net migration

Where the market is now
- 5
First residence permits for work have fallen since 2023
- 6
Half the Netherlands' rate per 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64
- 7
India leads, Türkiye and the United States follow
- 8
India fell from 1,499 in 2019 to 902; Türkiye and Morocco rose
- 9
Tighter rules in Flanders, 151,000 more people aged 20 to 64

The outlook
- 10
At most 7,390 permits in 2026, and the direction is falling
- 11
The origin mix held at 2025, and its drivers
- 11
What could change this

Method and sources
- 12
How to read this report
- 12
Sources, photographs and flags
Cover: Brussels at night, the town hall and the guild houses of the Grand Place. Photograph by Steve Knight, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Belgium issued 7,392 first residence permits for work to citizens of countries outside the EU in 2025, 10.8 percent fewer than in 2024 and 14.4 percent fewer than at the 2023 peak of 8,631. It issues 1.1 per 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64, against 2.0 in the Netherlands and 4.9 across the EU. India leads with 902 permits, and the seven sourcing centres of Werklist together received 1,282, 17.3 percent. The rules are tighter in Flanders since 1 January 2026, so the direction for 2026 and 2027 is falling: 7,390 in 2026 is an upper reading, the count of 2025 held, with a range down to 4,570. Held flat, a stated assumption, the count stays at 7,390 a year in 2031 and 2036.
First residence permits for work issued in 2025, down 10.8 percent on 2024
Permits in 2026: at most 7,390, an upper reading, with a range down to 4,570
Permits a year in 2031, held flat; the direction is flat
More people aged 20 to 64 in 2041 than in 2026, on Eurostat's 2025 projection
11.96 million people, with output per head above the EU's
Belgium has 11,955,308 people, 718,034 more than in 2015. Since 2022 deaths have outnumbered births every year, so arrivals from abroad make all of the growth. Output per head is 129 percent of the EU average, 114 percent counting prices, and a smaller share of people aged 20 to 64 is in work than across the EU. Eurostat projects 2.2 percent more people of working age by 2041.

People living in Belgium on 1 January 2026
6.4 percent more than in 2015, and 2.6 percent of the EU's 452.0 million. People aged 65 and over were 20.2 percent of the population in 2025.
GDP in 2025, billion euro at current prices
3.4 percent of the EU economy.
GDP per head in 2025
129 percent of the EU average of 41,700 euro in 2025. Counting higher prices at home, 114 percent, down from 119 percent in 2015.
Real growth in 2025
Against 1.4 percent across the EU. Over 2021 to 2025 the economy grew 14.7 percent in all, the EU grew 13.7 percent (our estimate from the yearly rates).
People aged 20 to 64 in work, 2025
Against 76.1 percent across the EU.
The EU and the single permit
Sources: Eurostat, demo_gind (population, updated 21 July 2026), nama_10_gdp and nama_10_pc (GDP, updated 21 September 2026), tec00114 (price adjusted GDP per head), tec00115 (growth), lfsi_emp_a (employment), demo_pjanbroad (age). All retrieved 27 September 2026. Figures for 2025 GDP, GDP per head and growth are provisional. Key dates: European Union, Belgium country profile; FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue, foreign workers; retrieved 28 September 2026.
Deaths now outnumber births; the growth is net migration
Since 2022 deaths outnumber births, and net migration has added 69,343 to 127,502 a year
In 2025, 112,984 people died and 109,095 were born. Net migration added 75,702, so the population grew by 71,813.
Source: Eurostat, demo_gind (updated 21 July 2026), migr_imm1ctz and migr_emi1ctz (moves of a year or more), retrieved 27 September 2026. Net migration includes Eurostat's statistical adjustment. Not published: moves in and out for 2025.
About 12.46 million people by 2041 on Eurostat's projection
Observed to 2026, then Eurostat's 2025 projection in the lighter line. The bar at 2041 runs from 12.13 million with less migration to 12.81 million with more.
Source: Eurostat, demo_gind (observed, updated 21 July 2026) and proj_25np (EUROPOP2025 baseline and migration tests, updated 11 June 2026), retrieved 27 September 2026.
The share aged 65 and over rises to 24%
Source: Eurostat, demo_pjanbroad (2025) and proj_25np (2041), retrieved 27 September 2026.
642.0 billion euro in 2025, and the IMF forecast to 2031
Real growth under each year: observed to 2025 (Eurostat, tec00115), the IMF forecast after; the other years are the 2025 value moved by these rates. Sources: Eurostat, nama_10_gdp (2025 provisional); IMF, World Economic Outlook April 2026; retrieved 27 September 2026.
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ReportsFirst residence permits for work have fallen since 2023
Permits rose to 8,631 in 2023 and fell 14.4 percent by 2025
Belgium issued 7,392 first residence permits for work in 2025, against 8,290 in 2024 and 6,114 in 2019.
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits issued for employment, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026.
A first residence permit for work is the first a citizen of a country outside the EU receives to work in Belgium: a single permit, an EU Blue Card or an intra corporate transfer permit. Renewals are not counted.
Four in five run for a year or more
The share valid for 12 months or more: 77.0 percent in 2019, 82.3 percent in 2025.
Share of permits valid for 12 months or more
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst by length of validity, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026.
Half the Netherlands' rate per 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64
First residence permits for work for every 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64
The first residence permits for work a country issues in a year, divided by the residents aged 20 to 64 living there on 1 January of that year. These are first residence permits only, as Eurostat counts them.
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst (first residence permits for employment) and demo_pjangroup (residents aged 20 to 64 on 1 January), reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026 and 25 September 2026, retrieved 27 September 2026. Werklist calculation. The EU line: migr_resfirst and demo_pjangroup for the 27 EU countries (residents aged 20 to 64 in 2024 summed from single years of age, demo_pjan).
Per 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64 in 2025, by length of permit
| EU | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All lengths | 1.1 | 2.0 | 4.9 |
| 12 months or more | 0.9 | 1.4 | 3.6 |
| 3 to 11 months | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.3 |
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst by length of validity and demo_pjangroup, 2025, retrieved 27 September 2026. Werklist calculation.
Belgium issued 1.1 first residence permits for work per 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64 in 2025, against 2.0 in the Netherlands and 4.9 across the EU; the median of its seven peers in Western Europe is 2.2. The Netherlands peaked at 3.1 in 2022, Belgium at 1.3 in 2023. On permits of 12 months or more the order holds: 0.9 in Belgium, 1.4 in the Netherlands and 3.6 in the EU.
The Netherlands: highly skilled migrants need a recognised sponsor
Sources: Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), highly skilled migrant (updated 11 September 2026) and income requirements from 1 July 2026; retrieved 28 September 2026.
India leads, Türkiye and the United States follow
India received 902 permits in 2025, Türkiye 820 and the United States 809; Türkiye fell from 1,272 in 2024. Of Werklist's seven sourcing centres, India had 902, the Philippines 276, Indonesia 40, Nepal 30, Vietnam 13, Uzbekistan 11 and Bangladesh 10: together 1,282, 17.3 percent.
| Citizenship | Permits 2024 | Permits 2025 | Share 2024 | Share 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 991 | 902 | 12.0% | 12.2% | |
| 1,272 | 820 | 15.3% | 11.1% | |
| 750 | 809 | 9.0% | 10.9% | |
| 621 | 479 | 7.5% | 6.5% | |
| 286 | 421 | 3.4% | 5.7% | |
| 363 | 385 | 4.4% | 5.2% | |
| 231 | 276 | 2.8% | 3.7% | |
| 366 | 273 | 4.4% | 3.7% | |
| 299 | 192 | 3.6% | 2.6% | |
| 251 | 189 | 3.0% | 2.6% | |
| Other origins | 2,860 | 2,646 | 34.5% | 35.8% |
| All origins | 8,290 | 7,392 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst by citizenship, reference years 2024 and 2025, updated 28 September 2026, retrieved 30 September 2026.
India alone received 12.2% of the permits issued in 2025
Shares of the first residence permits for work issued in 2025, by citizenship.
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst by citizenship, reference year 2025, updated 28 September 2026, retrieved 30 September 2026.
Belgium issued 1,282 permits to the seven centres, fewer than each of four peers
Permits for citizens of the seven sourcing centres (Nepal, India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and Uzbekistan) in 2025, against all first residence permits for work: 17.3 percent in Belgium, 21.6 in the Netherlands, 16.1 in Germany, 8.8 in France and 39.3 in Ireland.
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst by citizenship, reference year 2025, updated 28 September 2026, retrieved 30 September 2026.
India fell from 1,499 in 2019 to 902; Türkiye and Morocco rose
India leads, and the seven centres hold 17.3 percent
Permits rose from 6,114 in 2019 to 8,631 in 2023 and fell to 7,392 in 2025. Türkiye rose from 416 to 1,304 in 2023 and fell to 820; India fell from 1,499 to 902, while the Philippines rose from 93 to 276.
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits issued for employment reasons, by citizenship, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 28 September 2026, retrieved 30 September 2026.
Of the seven sourcing centres, India received 902 first residence permits for work in 2025, the Philippines 276, Indonesia 40, Nepal 30, Vietnam 13, Uzbekistan 11 and Bangladesh 10.
| Citizenship | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 | Share 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,499 | 991 | 902 | 12.2% | |
| 416 | 1,272 | 820 | 11.1% | |
| 738 | 750 | 809 | 10.9% | |
| 221 | 621 | 479 | 6.5% | |
| 301 | 286 | 421 | 5.7% | |
| not reported | 363 | 385 | 5.2% | |
| 93 | 231 | 276 | 3.7% | |
| 360 | 366 | 273 | 3.7% | |
| 34 | 33 | 40 | 0.5% | |
| 21 | 52 | 30 | 0.4% | |
| 23 | 14 | 13 | 0.2% | |
| 4 | 18 | 11 | 0.1% | |
| 9 | 24 | 10 | 0.1% | |
| Other origins | 2,395 | 3,269 | 2,923 | 39.5% |
| All origins | 6,114 | 8,290 | 7,392 | 100.0% |
Source: Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits issued for employment reasons, by citizenship, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 28 September 2026, retrieved 30 September 2026.
Tighter rules in Flanders, 151,000 more people aged 20 to 64
The rules as they stand on 28 September 2026
Since 1 January 2019 one single permit covers residence and work. The region of the workplace decides on the work, the federal Immigration Office on the residence.
In Flanders since 1 January 2026 a vacancy must be published at the employment service VDAB for at least 9 weeks, and ten occupations left the list of medium skilled shortage occupations.
In Brussels highly qualified staff must earn at least 3,703.44 euro gross a month in 2026, an EU Blue Card holder 4,748.00; that authorisation runs at most three years.
After the region approves the work, the Immigration Office takes about 15 to 16 weeks on a first application, on the estimate of the Flemish Government.
Sources: FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue, foreign workers; Flemish Government, new rules on economic migration since 1 January 2026 (3 December 2025) and estimated processing times; Brussels Economy and Employment, minimum pay and highly qualified staff; retrieved 28 September 2026.
About 151,000 more people aged 20 to 64 by 2041
Eurostat projects 6,876,069 in 2026 and 7,027,251 in 2041, a rise of 2.2 percent. With lower migration the fall is 79,150; with higher migration the rise is 396,254.
Source: Eurostat, proj_25np, EUROPOP2025 baseline and migration sensitivity tests, updated 11 June 2026; 2025 observed, demo_pjangroup, updated 25 September 2026; retrieved 27 September 2026.
Citizens of Belgium who left in 2024, down from 30,787 in 2019
Fewer citizens left than in 2019, and the number aged 20 to 64 is projected to grow.
Eurostat, migr_emi1ctz, retrieved 27 September 2026
Unemployment in 2025, against 6.0 percent across the EU
The share of the labour force aged 15 to 74 without a job and looking for one.
Eurostat, une_rt_a, retrieved 27 September 2026
Guaranteed minimum monthly income from 1 July 2026, euro gross
The floor for full time pay in any job, including one filled with a single permit.
Flemish Government, wages for foreign workers, retrieved 30 September 2026
At most 7,390 permits in 2026, and the direction is falling
We expect at most 7,390 first residence permits for work in 2026, the count of 2025 held. Since 1 January 2026 ten occupations have left the Flemish shortage list and a vacancy must stand 9 weeks at VDAB, so the direction for 2026 and 2027 is falling. Held flat, a stated assumption, the count stays at 7,390; the peers' rate and demand without migration are scenarios.
Permits in 2026, our estimate
an upper reading of 7,390; the range runs down to 4,570
Permits a year in 2031, held flat, a stated assumption
direction flat; peers' rate 11,400 and demand without migration 12,400, scenarios
Direction of the rules and of the count
Permits in 2027: falling, no yearly number
Held flat at 7,390 to 2041; the two scenarios reach 15,500 and 19,000
Permits issued to 2025; for 2026 an upper reading, the count of 2025 held, with its range and the direction falling under the Flemish rules, which no count sizes; for 2027 the direction only. From 2027 one line on a stated assumption and two scenarios. Demand without migration is a scenario, not a forecast: the demand of the working age read on Eurostat's projection without migration, in which people aged 20 to 64 fall by 392,090 to 2041; the line held flat leaves it out because the baseline projection keeps those arrivals. The peers' rate, a scenario, not a forecast: Belgium moving from 1.08 first residence permits for work a year per 1,000 people aged 20 to 64 to 2.21, the median of its seven peers, over ten years; it would need rules that admit more medium skilled work in all three regions, which no draft law names.
Source: Werklist estimate from Eurostat migr_resfirst (reference years to 2025, updated 11 September 2026); 2026: the count of 2025 held as an upper reading, its range down to 4,570, the direction falling under the Flemish rules in force since 1 January 2026 (Flemish Government, 3 December 2025), which no count sizes; 2027: the direction only; the lines from 2027: held flat, the count held at 7,390, as the rise of 4.3 percent a year before 2025 is not carried after the fall of 2025; demand without migration, a scenario, the demand anchor read on the projection without migration; the peers' rate, a scenario: the median of their 2025 rates, Eurostat migr_resfirst over EUROPOP2025; retrieved 27 and 28 September 2026. Values rounded to three significant figures; the table gives the lines in 2031, 2036 and 2041 only, each line in a row of its own; Low and High give the range of 2026.
The origin mix held at 2025, and its drivers
The seven centres hold about 17% from 2025 to 2034
Our estimate holds the shares of 2025; our range for Nepal in 2031 is 0.3 to 0.6 percent. India holds 12.2 percent, the Philippines 3.7, Indonesia 0.5, Nepal 0.4, Vietnam 0.2, and Bangladesh and Uzbekistan 0.1 each.
Source: Werklist estimate on Eurostat migr_resfirst by citizenship, updated 28 September 2026, retrieved 30 September 2026. Shares of each year's permits, to 2034, held at the shares of 2025.
The drivers of the estimate
None of these numbers enters the lines; they stand beside them.
2.2 percent more from 2026 to 2041. It enters no line: the working age does not fall.
Not carried into the lines: the count fell 10.8 percent in 2025, and after a fall in the last observed year the trend carried is not positive.
30,655 left and 16,198 returned, all ages.
The IMF's projection of real GDP growth for the year the estimate starts.
Of the labour force, the IMF's projection for the year the estimate starts.
Against 2.21, the median of its seven peers, and 4.92 across the EU.
Sources: Eurostat proj_25np (EUROPOP2025); the Werklist country record, edition 2026.1; Eurostat migr_emi1ctz and migr_imm1ctz; IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2026; retrieved 27 September 2026.
What could change this
The first change is why the direction for 2026 and 2027 is falling; its size is not published. The other two sit outside our estimate. Each could move the numbers on this page and the one before.
Fewer shortage occupations in Flanders
Since 1 January 2026 ten occupations, among them truck driver, baker and butcher, have left the Flemish list for medium skilled work, and vacancies must stand 9 weeks at VDAB. It is why 7,390 in 2026 is only an upper reading.
One online window for applications
Brussels takes every application through the federal single window from 4 May 2026, Flanders from 1 September 2026, when a Flemish fee of 180 euro also applies. Its effect on the count is not known.
68 shortage occupations in Brussels from 1 July 2026
The list of Actiris, the Brussels employment service, names 68 shortage occupations from 1 July 2026, among them mason, roofer, tower crane driver, maintenance mechanic and lorry driver. Its effect on the count is not known.
How to read this report
What a first residence permit for work is
Eurostat's first residence permits for employment, valid three months or more, without renewals: in Belgium single permits for residence and work, EU Blue Cards and permits for intra corporate transfers. Work of up to 90 days is outside it: it needs a short term work authorisation of the region, not a residence permit.
What the direction and the lines mean
For 2026 we give an upper reading, 7,390, with its range down to 4,570, and the direction falling: the effect of the Flemish rules of 1 January 2026 is not published. For 2027, the direction only. From 2027 one line, held flat, on a stated assumption, and two scenarios in grey: what would have to be true, never a forecast.
How the estimate is made
We start from the 7,392 permits of 2025. The count fell 10.8 percent in 2025, so the rise of the years before is not carried. The Flemish rules of 1 January 2026 point to fewer permits and no count sizes them, so the count of 2025 held, 7,390, is an upper reading for 2026, and the line held flat keeps it to 2041.
Numbers, dates and words
Past counts are printed exactly; estimates are rounded to three significant figures. The comparisons with the Netherlands, Germany, France, Ireland and the EU are our arithmetic on Eurostat data. Permits are counted, not people; people appear only where we speak of the population.
Sources
Every source retrieved 27, 28 or 30 September 2026.
- Eurostat, migr_resfirst, first residence permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship, reference years 2019 to 2025, updated 11 September 2026; the tables by citizenship from the release of 28 September 2026. ec.europa.eu/
eurostat/ databrowser/ view/ migr_resfirst - Eurostat, demo_gind, demo_pjangroup and demo_pjanbroad, population, births, deaths and age. ec.europa.eu/
eurostat/ databrowser - Eurostat, migr_imm1ctz and migr_emi1ctz, immigration and emigration by citizenship. ec.europa.eu/
eurostat/ databrowser - Eurostat, proj_25np, EUROPOP2025 population projection, baseline and migration sensitivity tests, updated 11 June 2026. ec.europa.eu/
eurostat/ databrowser/ view/ proj_25np - Eurostat, nama_10_gdp, nama_10_pc, tec00114 and tec00115, GDP, GDP per head and growth. ec.europa.eu/
eurostat/ databrowser - Eurostat, lfsi_emp_a and une_rt_a, employment and unemployment. ec.europa.eu/
eurostat/ databrowser - International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, April 2026, real GDP growth. imf.org/
external/ datamapper - FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue, Foreign workers: the regions' competence and the single permit since 1 January 2019. emploi.belgique.be/
fr/ themes/ international/ travailleurs-etrangers - Flemish Government, New rules on economic migration since 1 January 2026, 3 December 2025. vlaanderen.be/
departement-wewis-werk-sociale-economie - Flemish Government, Employing a foreign worker in Flanders: single window, fee, processing times and wages. vlaanderen.be/
werken/ een-buitenlander-in-vlaanderen-tewerkstellen - Brussels Economy and Employment, Minimum pay from 1 January 2026, highly qualified staff, shortage occupations, single window news of 1 May 2026. economie-emploi.brussels/
autorisation-travail - Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), the Netherlands, Highly skilled migrant, updated 11 September 2026, and income requirements from 1 July 2026. ind.nl/
en/ required-amounts-income-requirements - European Union, Belgium, country profile: member since 1 January 1958. european-union.europa.eu/
principles-countries-history/ eu-countries/ belgium_en
Photographs and flags
Wikimedia Commons: the Grand Place at night, Steve Knight, CC BY 2.0 (cover); the Grote Markt, Antwerp, Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0 (page 3); port cranes, Antwerp, Alf van Beem, CC0; the Graslei, Ghent, Lichtinval.be, CC BY-SA 4.0; a building site, Brussels, Trougnouf, CC BY 4.0; houses of the Beguinage, Brussels, Nenea hartia, CC BY-SA 4.0; container cranes at dusk, port of Antwerp, Trougnouf, CC BY 4.0 (back cover). Flags: circle-flags by HatScripts, MIT licence.
What this report answers
How many first residence permits for work has Belgium issued each year since 2019?
7,392 in 2025, 10.8% fewer than the 8,290 of 2024 and 14.4% below the peak of 8,631 in 2023. In 2019 Belgium issued 6,114.
Which countries do the new hires come from?
Citizens of India received 902 permits in 2025, of Türkiye 820 and of the United States 809. The seven Werklist sourcing centres received 1,282 together, 17.3 percent.
How does Belgium compare with the EU and its peers?
1.1 first residence permits for work for every 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64 in 2025, against 2.0 in the Netherlands and 4.9 across the EU; the median of its seven Western European peers is 2.2.
How long do the permits run?
82.3% of the permits of 2025 run for 12 months or more, up from 77.0% in 2019.
Which rules apply to employers who hire from abroad?
Since 1 January 2026 a vacancy in Flanders must be published at VDAB for at least 9 weeks, and ten occupations left the list of medium skilled shortage occupations. One single permit covers residence and work since 1 January 2019.
How is the working age population changing?
It grows: Eurostat projects 6,876,069 people aged 20 to 64 in 2026 and 7,027,251 in 2041, a rise of 2.2 percent, about 151,000 more.
How many first residence permits for work do we expect Belgium to issue in 2026, and what comes after?
At most 7,390 in 2026, the count of 2025 held as an upper reading, with a range down to 4,570; under the Flemish rules the direction for 2026 and 2027 is falling. Held flat, a stated assumption, the count stays at 7,390 a year in 2031; the peers' rate, 11,400, is a scenario.
The full report answers each question with its figures, charts and sources. Request the full report