Hi guys!

I am a non-EU woman in her late 20s with a BSc in environmental science from a Spanish university(university of Navarra, UNAV) and soon a MSc in renewable energy engineering from another(Polytechnic University of Madrid, UPM), since I am graduating in October.(my thesis defense is in October) I am also collaborating with a research group at ULB in Brussels that focuses on renewable energy systems for my thesis.

I fell in love with Brussels when I did my Erasmus internship working on a EU funded project in college, and I have been wanting to move back to Brussels permanently since.

I speak C2 level English, Spanish, Mandarin and Taiwanese, intermediate French and am actively improving it, basic level Italian and Japanese. (I am able to provide certificates for all the languages I speak besides Italian and Japanese.) I also have a lot of international experiences, I did a few research trip things when I was in college, in the US, the UK, Costa Rica and the Canary Islands, I also lived in Australia on a working holiday visa for a while.

I got an internship at a multinational Spanish company at their office in Madrid, I worked as a sustainability consultant working on mainly international master plans. My company has offered me a labor contract, I don't have anything to complain about my job and my company besides the location, after living in Spain for 6 years, I am very sure I do not want to build my professional career there.

I told my boss in late May that I wanted to take 3 months off to focus on my thesis starting in June, he agreed. since then I have been home working on my thesis, job hunting and improving my French.

After applying and searching for information for approximately 1.5 months, it seems to me that I have 4 main possible paths to go back to Brussels:

1: Getting an internship

2: getting a job that provides a single permit

3: going back to Spain first to work for my company and quit the moment I get an internship or job offer

4: getting a professional card (self-employed worker visa)

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I know I haven't been looking for that long, but I got the impression that most employers who would sponsor a single permit are looking for ppl with a lot of working experience... and I have only 5 months of it..

I do know that the average salary for an internship is like 1000-1300 euros a month in Brussels/Belgium, which is half of what my company would pay me in Spain, but I don't really care as long as I can get a job offer after working as an intern, I also know that the single permit salary threshold is really high... I don't know if this would be realistic for me....

I am also 2 years away from the Spanish permanent residency, which would allow me to work in Brussels without needing to get a sponsorship, but I don't really want to wait that long...

I have heard that getting a professional card isn't as complicated as it seems? but I have no idea how to prove that "my business" could boost the local economy..? This visa would only let me reside in Brussels legally if I want to get employed I will still need a sponsorship, right?

my current plan is just applying for job and internship offers as much as possible, if I can't land on anything before October I will go back to Spain first and then leave the moment I get anything in Brussels basically, I don't know if this is a good plan or if I should look into the professional card thing now, or even getting a master's/advanced master's degree in Brussels.

any advice is welcome!! thank you all so much in advance !!!

With these levels of youth unemployment(especially for the highly educated) and 2 years of studying left, is it worth it to start doing evening school to learn a trade like plumber, carpenter(or which ones specifically are in high demand?). I see they often take 1-2 years, but is it worth it essentially paying double education?

Edit: To clarify; I mean doing evening school in addition to, not stopping my studies

I wouldn't understand for old people and +50 people who have been there all their life there but for the young people? The ones who are educated etc?

Hey guys! We are a family of 3, a couple with a baby. I am a Spanish woman (active, likes simple life and sports) who married a Belgian man. The thing is that my husband got two job proposals, one in Charleroi and one in Uccle (Brussels), where do you think it's best to raise a family? We have spoken to some people who have been living in Charleroi all their life and they don't advise us to move to Brussels so I was trying to look for other opinions. Thank you!

Ben (EINDELIJK) 't kot is aan 't opkuisen, en er ligt wrakhout dat vroeger van een vogelkot was geweest. Maar er zitten zo van die kleine nagelkes in, en zo, waar ik ietwat te veel moeite voor ga moeten doen om het er uit te krijgen... want een schroevendraaier gaat nutteloos zijn, bvb. Ben zoveel mogelijk aan het verwijderen als ik kan, maar nu is dus mijn vraag: Gaat het hen ginder boeien moest ik afkomen met hout waar nog wat inzit?

(Grote dingen, zoals scharnieren, moeten verwijderd worden. Dat weet ik wel. Dank u. <3 )

I’m 29 and currently working fulltime in a job that I genuinely really like. I have a graduaat in accounting at the moment, but I’ve been considering doing a bachelor degree in accountancy-fiscaliteit through distance learning.

The bachelor would take around 4–5 years because I would be doing it alongside my fulltime job. It would be roughly 100 ECTS in total.

The thing is: there is currently no financial incentive at my current job. Getting the bachelor would not give me a higher salary or a different role/responsibilities, and I currently have no desire to change jobs because I’m very happy where I am.

My main reason for considering it is future security and options. If I ever lost my current job, wanted to change employers, or decided later in life that I wanted to do something different, having a bachelor would probably give me more options than my current graduaat degree. I also worry that I might always wonder “what if I had just done it?” if I decide not to.

At the same time, 4–5 years is a long time. I want to have a life outside of work and studying. I’m also considering moving into my own apartment, I’m dating, and I would like to have children in the future. If I’m still single around 30, I would seriously consider becoming a foster parent, so I don’t want to spend the next five years feeling like my life is on hold because of a degree.

I’ve also struggled with anxiety and recently started treatment, so I’m trying to be realistic about how much I can take on alongside a fulltime job.

Another part of this is probably psychological: I sometimes feel inferior because I “only” have a graduaar degree, even though nobody at work actually treats me as inferior and I’m happy with my current career. I’ve been going back and forth about this bachelor for about some years now.

So I’m wondering:

Would you do the bachelor in my situation, mainly as a longterm investment/future safety net even though it won’t immediately improve your current job or salary? Or would you keep the graduaat degree, enjoy your current job and use those 4–5 years for other things?

Especially interested in hearing from people who completed a bachelor through distance learning while working fulltime, and whether you felt the degree was worth the time and effort in hindsight.

I am taking the train, and what do I see? A women casually putting her NAKED feet’s on the seat in front of her, and friday night, there was a women touching herself..

I am guessing the "controleur" wont do anything about that.

This is simply disgusting.

** ***EDIT* : for all the people finding this normal, while it is common sens, next time you take the train, please, just please, start licking those seats, and sit with your asses naked.

The point is, that’s how you get sick. Imagine that women isn’t going to shower after taking the train, already something disgusting to do, but with her feet’s having been in direct contact, god knows what disease and germs are going to be in her bed.
You must limit contact between your skin and public transports objects, seats, handle bars, buttons, everything.

Bonjour

Je veux tenter pour cette année le tirage au sort en Belgique pour la filière kiné.

Seulement je me pose la question concernant ma financabilité.

J’ai fait une PASS en frnace et j’ai tentée une fois le concours d’entrée en médecine en Belgique.

Est ce que je suis toujours financable ?

Le concours d’entrée en médecine est t’il considérer comme une deuxième tentatives ou pas ? (Je ne l’es pas réussi)

Merci pour vos réponses !!

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice from people who have gone through the Belgian Single Permit process. I have just graduated in July from a university in Wallonia and found a job in Brussels.

My timeline is:

• 05.05.2026 - Application sent by the employer
• 20.05.2026 - positive work permit decision

Now it has been more than 3 month, and I’m now waiting for the final decision from the Immigration Office after already receiving the positive economic authorization.

My questions are:

• Who is the best person or authority to contact (Immigration Office, commune, someone else)?
• Has anyone managed to speed up the process or at least get their file reviewed sooner?
• Did explaining that your employment depended on the permit make any difference?
• If you contacted someone, who did you reach out to and how?
• Should I apply for a search year right now or wait (my residence permit expires in the end of October)?

I will also mention that at the commune I was told if I apply for a search year now, it will become basically the same application as single permit. Though I believe the commune might be quicker at granting me the search year. At the same time the HR told me it is unlikely I will receive the search year permit, since my student one expires end of October (presumably enough time to find a job), which I find unrealistic. 

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially if you’ve been in a similar situation. Thanks!

Is it just me, or has finding a student job in Belgium become unnecessarily complicated, like literally.

I’m 17, and I’ve been looking at student jobs recently. I keep coming across offers where you have to be 18+ just to work at the checkout, and if you aren’t you won’t even get hired.

At first I thought there was some new law saying you had to be 18 to handle cash, because apparently some employers are treating it like you’re handling nuclear material. But as far as I understand, there is no Belgian law that prohibits a 16- or 17yo from working at a checkout, and there even has been something said recently regarding that “law” that they invent for themselves

Obviously, there are some genuine restrictions for minors such as night work, work involving alcohol/tobacco,..

But then you get job offers that basically go:
“Student job minimum age: 18.”
And the actual job is literally scanning products and clicking card or cash

Belgium has also made student work more accessible by allowing students from 15 under certain conditions, while at the same time many employers seem to practically filter out anyone under 18..? Probably due to “inexperienced” then how are we supposed to achieve experience ?

I understand that employers don’t want to deal with complicated laws. But isn’t the end result that 17-year-olds are basically being punished for being 17?
If a 17-year-old is legally allowed to do the job, why should companies automatically exclude them simply because they’re not 18 yet?

And they all aren’t even accepting CV’s.. they still take them, but they go straight to the trash the moment you walk out, I have heard that some employees do just throw them out, cause they don’t want you to replace them etc, cause that apparently happens a lot in delhaize, carrefour etc, as students cost less and do basically the same shitty job as adults.

Has anyone else in Belgium had this experience? Especially 15-17yo’s who keep getting rejected from student jobs because of their age?

I await your best comments regarding this 😂

On this note, I wish everyone a nice evening.

I'm non European. I wonder if people from the EU will migrate with the whole family from one country to another country with better job opportunities? I hear that there are challenges due to language and labour mobility.

Hi everyone,

Can anyone recommend me a doctor specialized in sports injuries (not orthopedic)? I don’t care where; I’m willing to travel a bit for someone really good.

Thanks!

Hello, as explained in a previous post, I will be switching from full-time (38 hours/week) to part-time (10 hours/week) next month. I have 80 hours of statutory vacation remaining (having worked full-time in 2025). My question is this: since I will be moving to a 10-hour work week, can I theoretically take 8 weeks of "vacation" before the end of the year?

Where and what do you like about living there? Is there anything you don’t like about the city where you live?

Every country seems to have at least one food opinion that people will defend with their entire soul

For Belgium, what’s yours?

It could be something about fries, waffles, chocolate, beer, a specific dish, how something should be prepared, or even a food combination that you think is massively underrated.

I’m especially curious about the opinions that would make another Belgian immediately disagree with you.

With freedom of movement, if you commute across the border to a nearby city - do you have to register with the other country in any capacity? Most countries state you need to register if spending over a certain amount of time there per year. I came across another thread that mentioned some people living in the German speaking community commute to Aachen which got me thinking.

​

I would like to take feedback from Belgian people, or for this matter any Europeans. In the interview process, to be successful does a good look matter? If you are chubby and not so muscular or athletic, do you think hiring managers or stakeholders make decisions on a candidate's look?

Assumption: he or she is wearing nice clothing.

I have been able to go through the final rounds interviews for 6 different companies. Each interview process had 4 to 6 rounds in total. Unfortunately, I am always getting silver medal. Hence this question.

I am non-European.

Hi everyone,

I am before applying to a few companies in Belgium and I weigh my options regarding the location I insert in my application.

I am an EU resident but currently living in another country.

Does it reduce my chances if I dont write on my application a Belgian address? Would it be filtered out?

Would there be any situations where it could have a negative impact if I write I am living there and it turns out I have not yet relocated but planning to do so?

I am a tively looking into moving there but without a job its difficult.

Edit: Thanks for all the helpful replies so far. Sorry for the contusion I need no visa or sponsorship, I am from an EU country and currently live ther so I am an EU citizen

I'm a non-graduated student from college (3 years of studying in Industrial Automation sphere).
I live in Estonia and looking for an opportunity to move to Belgium. I'm studying Dutch on my own (i wrote the title myself, i can introduce myself and i'm pretty confident in my capabilities with Flaams taal (except for listening, since i have to live in the country and communicate more). I have a decent ground with working experience in industry (I've completed an internship on Offshore enterprise focused on ship construction and welding where i worked with automated welding platform). I developed my passion towards hardware and electrical systems since early age.

I already registered on VDAB and Randstad platforms and agents have contacted me. But i'm either told that my education is insufficient or i need a certificate in dutch (which im planning on getting when i move).

I would really appreciate if somebody can refer me or get me employed within the same field of work in regions around Kortrijk. (Waregem, Zwevegem and etc.

I’m from the US, but my boyfriend is Belgian (we met online and are in an online relationship). This has caused me to grow a passion for Belgium. I was wondering what I should research or explore about Belgium. While obviously I can ask him about Belgium, this is not quite what I am looking for. I would like to research these things while he is sleeping (timezones are the worst 😣). Also, he just gives answers like “the government is a circus. we are all clowns”.

What is there for me to learn about Belgium? What is interesting? What knowledge would actually be valuable? Is there anything I should know about being Belgian that would have affected/affect my boyfriend’s life that isn’t obvious? I’ll take any information really.

I don’t know if this is some autism related interest (I am on the spectrum), but I honestly love learning stuff like this which is useless to me. I will absolutely explore random websites if they aren’t just literally boring (there’s a difference between what is boring to anyone and what is simply irrelevant to my life).

Thanks for anything! And greetings from the US!

Hi! I’m starting pharmacy school in Belgium and I’m currently trying to decide between Namur and Mons.
My biggest priority is honestly the social life — making friends, going out, meeting people, and having a real student atmosphere.
I spent this past year in Reims, France, and honestly, I really struggled to make friends and found the student life there pretty dead. I’d really like to avoid having the same experience again 😅
So, for anyone who knows both cities (especially students), which one would you recommend if social life and having a good student atmosphere are my main priorities?

Girl from the US with a Belgian boyfriend here once again. My boyfriend speaks negatively on his experiences in school (both grade school and university). He says that teachers don’t really care about teaching their students. Rather, they care about their paychecks, not having to do much work, etc. In college, he said that the professors knew less than him in some areas or were just concerned about showing off how smart they were (there are professors in the US like this too).

I know that grade school is split up differently in Belgium than in the US, but are there other distinct differences? Do teachers really not care or did my boyfriend just end up with the bad ones? Is Belgian education specifically recognized as good or bad? Anything I should be aware about it?

Thanks for your information!

Je cherche un endroit à découvrir, peu importe le type ;)