Starting a business in Belgium as a foreigner
Are you ready to start your activities in Belgium? Liantis can help you get started, hassle-free! Liantis offers a one-stop shop where you can get all the required formalities done easily.
Starting in Belgium – from A to Z
Are you starting a company in Belgium and have a registered office or address in Belgium? Then your company will be treated as a Belgian company.
If you are going to start a trading company, you may – depending on the region – have to demonstrate your knowledge of business management and possibly your professional competence too. Non-trading companies often follow their own professional regulations*. Liantis is very happy to help you get started in Belgium and to answer all your business questions.
* As of 1 November 2018, the distinction between trader and non-trader is no longer explicitly recorded in Belgium’s business register, the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.
Before you start: professional card
You are not a European Union national? Then you probably need a foreigners’ professional card before you can carry out independent activities. Besides EU nationals, citizens from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are exempt from the need to have a professional card. You may also be exempt for other reasons, if you are married to an EU national, for example, or you are starting as a co-working partner.
You can apply for a professional card at the Belgian diplomatic post or consulate in the country in which you permanently reside. If you are already legally resident in Belgium, then you can apply through the Liantis one-stop shop if you open a business unit in the Brussels-Capital or Walloon Region. If you open a business unit in Flanders, you can submit your application through the one-stop shop of the Department of Work and Social Economy.
How much does it cost?
There are a number of costs associated with starting a business in Belgium, such as opening a current account. But incorporating your company is perhaps the biggest cost.
