Expats feel welcome in Brussels but struggle with cleanliness and administration

More than 70 per cent of expats in Brussels feel welcome in the municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, according to a survey by Voka Metropolitan with The Brussels Times. However, contact with the municipal administration is far from smooth and many are concerned about cleanliness.

Overall, 71 per cent of Brussels expats feel welcome in the municipality where they live. They particularly recommend Uccle, Etterbeek and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre as municipalities where expats are welcome. Evere, in the north of Brussels, comes off worst, with only 39 per cent of expats recommending it as a place to live.

Administrative issues

After arriving in a Brussels municipality, it is important to quickly get the administrative process started, for example by applying for the obligatory residence document.

"Without this document, many practical things are not possible, such as opening a bank account or joining a health insurance fund," says Voka Metropolitan. "Fast and smooth services are very important."

But the survey shows that two out of three expats in Brussels experience problems with municipal administration, with an average level of satisfaction of 59 per cent. Here, Evere is again the worst (52 per cent), with long waiting times, language problems, unfriendly staff and a lack of digital services cited as the most common problems. Schaerbeek comes out on top with 86 per cent.

Expats also have high expectations of local government to clean up their municipalities. In particular, the central municipalities score very poorly, with expats in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Forest, Ixelles, the City of Brussels, Saint-Gilles and Schaerbeek all rating their area poorly in terms of cleanliness.

 

© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK


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