Foreign talent: why and how to start with it

Although overall labour migration from EU and non-EU countries has stabilised in recent years, the proportion of foreign workers employed in Belgium remains high. Some 15.6% of foreign workers were employed in Flanders in 2024. The proportion is particularly significant among blue-collar workers: 24% compared with11% among white-collar workers.

Within this group, the rise of Ukrainians stands out: their share in the non-EU population increased 242% over five years. Ukrainian workers now represent 3.9% of the non-European workforce in our country — more than tripling over this period. In fact, Ukraine today ranks third among the countries supplying the most non-European workers to Belgium, after Morocco (16.3%) and Turkey (9.1%).

This is mainly due to the temporaryprotection status, which has allowed them to work in all sectors without traditional work permits since the war. This status has been extended until at least March 2027.

Foreign workers: a response to labour shortages

Why do so many companies deploy foreign workers? In our annual Mirror Survey, employers cited three main reasons:

1. To fill hard-to-fill vacancies (48.3%)
2. To attracting specific skills (34.8%)
3. To strengthen diversity and innovation (32.3%)

Larger organisations in particular make use of international labour: for companies with more than 1,000 employees, 67.2% use foreign workers, compared to 22.2% for small companies with five to nine employees.

International employment: how to get started?

If you recruit foreign talents, you will have to navigate complex regulations, various administrations and significant paperwork. Some points of interest at a glance:

1. Permits and documents

For local employment in Belgium, Belgian regulations apply, including for foreign workers.

If you employ non-EU profiles in Belgium, you generally need a single permit — a combined work and residence permit. For temporary assignments under 90 days, a labour card and work permit apply. There are exceptions, such as the protection status for Ukrainians.

If you bring employees to Belgium from abroad (EU or non-EU), check whether the Belgian expat status (BBIB/BBIO) applies. This can offer tax advantages for both employee and employer.

2. Social security, taxation and labour law

When employing workers temporarily or permanently, wholly or partly abroad, other factors must also be considered, including:

• Social security contributions: Who pays them, and in which country? In the case of purely foreign employment, foreign social security applies. Under secondment, the employee often remains connected to the home country. For work across multiple countries, applicable social security depends on several factors.
• Taxes: In which country (or countries) should the employee pay tax?
• Labour law: When working in countries other than Belgium, certain labour law provisions of those countries must also be taken into account.

Do not overlook administrative obligations, including Limosa returns, A1 documents and tax returns.