What is a single permit?
The single permit is the authorisation a non-EU national needs to both work and reside in Belgium when the stay exceeds ninety days. Before it existed, the work authorisation and the residence permit were two separate procedures with two separate timelines. Now they are one.
The employer files the application, not the worker. That is the first thing to know, and it is the opposite of what most candidates assume.
Who decides on a single permit in Belgium?
Two levels of government, in one procedure. The competent Region, meaning Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels depending on where the work will be performed, decides on the employment component. The federal immigration authority decides on the residence component.
The consequence is practical: which Region your workplace sits in changes the criteria applied to your file, because each Region sets its own conditions for the employment side.
How does a single permit differ from a short-stay work authorisation?
By duration, and therefore by procedure. The single permit covers employment beyond ninety days and combines work and residence. Shorter assignments run through a separate, lighter authorisation route that does not deliver a residence permit, because none is needed.
Nationality matters too. Nationals of the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland do not need a single permit at all, and several other categories are exempt.
What does a single permit mean for a consulting assignment?
Two things. The permit is linked to an employer and to a specified job, so changing either is a procedural event rather than an administrative afterthought. And the lead time is real, which means the start date of an assignment has to be planned backwards from the application rather than forwards from the offer.
If you are being placed by a consultancy, the consultancy is normally the employer filing the application, and your permanent contract (CDI) with it is the basis for the file. Sparagus employs consultants across technology, engineering and business, and you can see the roles currently open.
