Belgium’s three regional authorities rang in the new year with a steep hike in the minimum pay that foreign employees must earn to secure or renew a Work Permit B, Single Permit or EU Blue Card. On 18 January Brussels officially indexed its thresholds to €3,703.44 gross per month for “highly-qualified” profiles (≈ €44,441 p.a.), €6,647.20 for executive functions and €4,748 for Blue Card holders, while Wallonia set annual salary floors of €53,220 for highly-skilled workers, €42,576 for juniors under 30 and €88,790 for executives. Flanders is expected to publish comparable numbers within days, typically following the same inflation-indexation formula. (visahq.com)
The automatic indexation is part of Belgium’s effort to keep wages in line with living-cost rises and to discourage low-wage immigration. HR teams that still reference 2025 salaries in employment contracts risk outright rejection: regional ministries have already started flagging files that quote outdated figures. Existing permit holders are grandfathered for the remainder of their current authorisation, but any renewal lodged after 1 January 2026 must meet the new bar.
For companies and individual assignees looking for end-to-end assistance with Belgian work permits, VisaHQ can streamline the process. From verifying that employment contracts satisfy the 2026 salary floors to submitting complete files through the correct regional portals, their Belgium team provides quick eligibility checks, document preparation and real-time status tracking. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/belgium/.
![Belgium lifts 2026 salary bar for Work Permit B and EU Blue Card]()
For global-mobility managers the implications are immediate. Budgets for 2026 assignees—especially junior transferees—will have to rise by roughly 6–7 %, and shadow-payroll models need updating to reflect higher gross-to-net conversions. Because the Single-Permit process still takes three to four months, companies with Q2 start dates should file now, attaching a signed salary addendum that meets the 2026 floor.
Employers unable to reach the new thresholds may explore alternative routes such as the EU ICT permit or Belgium’s Professional Card for self-employed assignments. Mobility advisers also warn that some regional portals have not yet updated their online forms; until they do, applicants should upload a cover letter that explicitly cites the 2026 salary amounts to avoid “additional information” requests.
In the medium term the indexation will make Belgium marginally more expensive than neighbouring France and the Netherlands for mid-level talent, but still cheaper than Luxembourg and parts of Germany for senior executives. Companies planning high-volume recruitment drives are urged to revisit location-strategy models before committing to head-count forecasts.
The automatic indexation is part of Belgium’s effort to keep wages in line with living-cost rises and to discourage low-wage immigration. HR teams that still reference 2025 salaries in employment contracts risk outright rejection: regional ministries have already started flagging files that quote outdated figures. Existing permit holders are grandfathered for the remainder of their current authorisation, but any renewal lodged after 1 January 2026 must meet the new bar.
For companies and individual assignees looking for end-to-end assistance with Belgian work permits, VisaHQ can streamline the process. From verifying that employment contracts satisfy the 2026 salary floors to submitting complete files through the correct regional portals, their Belgium team provides quick eligibility checks, document preparation and real-time status tracking. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/belgium/.
For global-mobility managers the implications are immediate. Budgets for 2026 assignees—especially junior transferees—will have to rise by roughly 6–7 %, and shadow-payroll models need updating to reflect higher gross-to-net conversions. Because the Single-Permit process still takes three to four months, companies with Q2 start dates should file now, attaching a signed salary addendum that meets the 2026 floor.
Employers unable to reach the new thresholds may explore alternative routes such as the EU ICT permit or Belgium’s Professional Card for self-employed assignments. Mobility advisers also warn that some regional portals have not yet updated their online forms; until they do, applicants should upload a cover letter that explicitly cites the 2026 salary amounts to avoid “additional information” requests.
In the medium term the indexation will make Belgium marginally more expensive than neighbouring France and the Netherlands for mid-level talent, but still cheaper than Luxembourg and parts of Germany for senior executives. Companies planning high-volume recruitment drives are urged to revisit location-strategy models before committing to head-count forecasts.
