Work migration to Belgium on the decline

Labour migration to Belgium is slowing, with fewer foreign workers being sent to the country from other EU states, De Tijd reported on Thursday, citing figures from federal migration centre Myria.

In 2024, 205,000 people worked in Belgium under EU “posting” rules, nearly a quarter fewer than at the 2017 peak of 267,000. Under the system, for example, a Portuguese construction worker can temporarily work on a Belgian site while remaining under Portugal’s social security.

More recently, “double postings” have increased, with non-EU workers first employed in an EU country and then sent on to Belgium. Almost 50,000 people (mainly from Ukraine, Brazil, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and India) worked in Belgium this way in 2024, up 10 per cent in two years.

Other indicators also point to a slowdown. The number of long-stay work visas fell 9 per cent last year to just over 8,000, while new work residence permits plateaued at around 39,000.

^{Illustration picture shows a construction worker in Brussels © BELGA PHOTO BERNAL REVERT}