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If you want to run your own business or work as a freelancer in Belgium rather than be hired by an employer, this is your route. Like work authorisation generally in Belgium, it's regionalised, so you apply to Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels depending on where your activity is based, and each region weighs your business plan and its usefulness to the local economy. You'll usually pair it with a type-D long-stay visa.
Non-EU nationals who want to be self-employed in Belgium, including freelancers, company directors and entrepreneurs.
Our licensed advisors assess your eligibility, build a strategy to strengthen your application, and manage the process end to end, so you submit a complete, competitive application with confidence.
A professional card is granted for a maximum of five years, often with a shorter first card, and must be renewed well before it expires.
The Professional Card is Belgium's route for self-employed people and freelancers, rather than employees. It's regionalised — you apply to Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels — and each region weighs your business plan and its usefulness to the local economy.
A frequent mistake is failing to clearly demonstrate the economic usefulness of the activity and renewing the card too late.
Non-EU/EEA and non-Swiss nationals generally need a professional card to carry on a self-employed activity in Belgium.
Authorities assess the project's economic value – such as job creation, investment, meeting an unmet need, or rare and innovative activities – in deciding whether to grant the card.
No – the professional card authorises the self-employed activity, but you also need the right of residence to actually live in Belgium.
Depending on the activity, you typically need to register your business, register for VAT where applicable, and affiliate with a social-insurance fund for the self-employed.
