Belgium has kicked off the 2026 compliance season with fresh minimum-salary requirements for most long-stay work authorisations. A Fragomen immigration alert published on 21 January confirms that—effective immediately—Wallonia has indexed every major permit category, while Brussels has applied a mid-year uplift and Flanders is expected to follow shortly.
For employers sending talent to Wallonia, the headline figures are steep. Executives sponsored under the Highly-Skilled Permit must now earn at least €88,790 gross per year (up from €86,110). The standard Highly-Skilled tier rises to €53,220, while EU Blue Card holders face a new floor of €68,815. Intra-Company Transferees are also caught: managers now need €68,815, specialists €55,053 and trainees €34,408. Brussels, which sets its thresholds in monthly amounts, now requires €4,748 for Blue Cards and €3,703.44 for highly-skilled assignees. Flanders has not yet published its 2026 grid but officials told advisers they expect similar indexation before 1 February.
The changes apply to all new, renewal and even most pending applications, meaning HR teams must move quickly to amend labour contracts, payroll instructions and budget approvals. Applications that fall short, even by a few euros, risk automatic rejection. Companies with large populations of permit holders should also audit ongoing salary payments because immigration inspectors can demand evidence that the statutory minimums were met retroactively.
![Belgium releases 2026 minimum-salary thresholds for work permits and EU Blue Cards]()
To help companies navigate these threshold hikes and avoid costly refusals, VisaHQ offers end-to-end support for Belgian work permits, including automated document checks, appointment booking and real-time alerts on regional salary updates. Their dedicated portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) lets HR teams and assignees track progress in one place, streamlining compliance at a critical moment.
Belgium operates a three-region system for economic migration, so thresholds vary by worker type and location. The new rules come on top of September 2024 reforms that allow part-time work—for example four-day weeks—but still require the full-time salary floor to be met pro-rata. Benefits and allowances remain largely excluded from the calculation unless they are guaranteed, fixed, taxable and itemised on payslips.
Practically, the higher floors will be felt most by global mobility programmes that use Belgium as a hub for European headquarters or R&D centres, where salary packages for junior profiles often hover around the old limits. Experts recommend budgeting at least 4–6 % headroom above the statutory minimums to absorb future indexation or collective-bargaining increases during multi-year assignments.
For employers sending talent to Wallonia, the headline figures are steep. Executives sponsored under the Highly-Skilled Permit must now earn at least €88,790 gross per year (up from €86,110). The standard Highly-Skilled tier rises to €53,220, while EU Blue Card holders face a new floor of €68,815. Intra-Company Transferees are also caught: managers now need €68,815, specialists €55,053 and trainees €34,408. Brussels, which sets its thresholds in monthly amounts, now requires €4,748 for Blue Cards and €3,703.44 for highly-skilled assignees. Flanders has not yet published its 2026 grid but officials told advisers they expect similar indexation before 1 February.
The changes apply to all new, renewal and even most pending applications, meaning HR teams must move quickly to amend labour contracts, payroll instructions and budget approvals. Applications that fall short, even by a few euros, risk automatic rejection. Companies with large populations of permit holders should also audit ongoing salary payments because immigration inspectors can demand evidence that the statutory minimums were met retroactively.
To help companies navigate these threshold hikes and avoid costly refusals, VisaHQ offers end-to-end support for Belgian work permits, including automated document checks, appointment booking and real-time alerts on regional salary updates. Their dedicated portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) lets HR teams and assignees track progress in one place, streamlining compliance at a critical moment.
Belgium operates a three-region system for economic migration, so thresholds vary by worker type and location. The new rules come on top of September 2024 reforms that allow part-time work—for example four-day weeks—but still require the full-time salary floor to be met pro-rata. Benefits and allowances remain largely excluded from the calculation unless they are guaranteed, fixed, taxable and itemised on payslips.
Practically, the higher floors will be felt most by global mobility programmes that use Belgium as a hub for European headquarters or R&D centres, where salary packages for junior profiles often hover around the old limits. Experts recommend budgeting at least 4–6 % headroom above the statutory minimums to absorb future indexation or collective-bargaining increases during multi-year assignments.
