Your first weeks working abroad – registration, tax, insurance

1. Report your arrival: you are advised to report your presence to the municipality (gemeente / commune) where you live within 10 working days of arriving.
2. Register as an EU worker at the municipality within 3 months of arrival, with your ID and your employment contract or an employer’s declaration (Annex 19bis). You first get a provisional certificate (Annex 8ter); after a police check of your address you are entered in the foreigners’ register and receive an EU residence card. If you do not register in time, you risk a €200 fine. Under federal rules registration is free, but municipalities charge administrative fees – in the City of Brussels €25 for the registration request and €30 for the card.
3. National register number (rijksregisternummer / numéro de registre national): you get it when you are registered. You need it, for example, for your bank account, the employment services and health insurance.
4. Health insurance: join a Belgian health insurance fund (ziekenfonds / mutualité).
5. Tax: if you work in Belgium, you also pay income tax in Belgium.
6. Bank account: to open one you need an ID document issued in Belgium (for example your residence card) and your national register number.

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