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Belgium, and Flanders in particular, has difficulty filling technical vacancies. Electricians, maintenance technicians, welders and refrigeration technicians are roles for which employers often search for a long time. For employers who want to fill these roles with skilled workers from the Philippines, the combined permit is the main route.
This article explains how that permit works, what shortage occupations mean and which steps you go through.
What is the combined permit?
The combined permit, also called the single permit, combines admission to work and residence in one procedure. It is intended for employees from outside the European Union who come to work in Belgium for longer than ninety days.
Responsibility is divided in Belgium. The employment part is assessed by the region where the employee will work, so in Flanders by the Flemish government. The residence part is assessed by the federal Immigration Office (Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken). The employer submits the application. Only when both parts have been assessed positively can the employee apply for a visa and come to Belgium.
Which categories are there?
In Flanders, the combined permit has several categories, each with its own conditions. Two categories matter most for technical roles:
- Highly skilled. For employees with a higher education degree and pay above a set threshold. A labour market investigation is then generally not required.
- Intermediate-skilled in a shortage occupation. For employees with a qualification or experience at intermediate level, in a role on the list of shortage occupations. Conditions on pay and profile also apply here.
If a role fits none of the categories, the authorities assess whether the vacancy cannot be filled by a jobseeker on the European labour market. That labour market investigation makes the application heavier and less predictable.
What are shortage occupations?
The Flemish employment service VDAB periodically draws up a list of occupations for which vacancies are hard to fill. For the combined permit, there is also a specific list of shortage occupations for intermediate-skilled roles. If a role is on that list, a permit without a labour market investigation is possible, provided the other conditions are met.
Technical roles such as electrician, maintenance technician, welder and refrigeration technician have regularly appeared on these lists in recent years. The lists are revised periodically. Always check the current version before preparing an application. Also pay attention to the exact job description: the application is assessed on the content of the role, not just the title.
Which steps do you go through?
- Determine the role and category. Based on the role, the candidate’s qualification and experience and the pay, you determine which category applies.
- Select the candidate. The candidate’s profile must match the category, for example in terms of education and experience.
- Gather documents. These include the employment contract, diplomas, proof of experience, a medical certificate and a criminal record extract. Some documents must be legalised or translated.
- Submit the application. The employer submits the application to the Flemish government.
- Assessment. The Flemish government assesses the employment part. The Immigration Office then assesses residence.
- Visa and departure. After a positive decision, the employee applies for a visa. At the same time, the Philippine departure procedure with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) must be completed.
Tips for a strong application
Most delays arise from incomplete or unclear files. These points prevent many questions:
- Describe the role concretely. State the tasks, the installations or machines and the required level. A general title such as “technician” says too little to link the role to a shortage occupation.
- Support education and experience. Make sure diplomas, certificates and employer statements together give a complete picture of the candidate’s profile.
- Start early with documents. Legalising and translating Philippine documents takes time. Start as soon as the candidate is known.
- Keep the details the same. The job title, pay and terms of employment must match in the Belgian application and in the Philippine DMW file.
- Think about the start. Plan housing, registration with the municipality and a first working week with support. A good start reduces the chance of early departure.
Do not forget the Philippine side
The Belgian permit governs residence and work in Belgium, but not departure from the Philippines. For that, a Filipino employee needs DMW approval. That procedure preferably runs parallel to the Belgian application, so that the employee can leave as soon as the visa has been issued.
SkillShift is itself registered with DMW as a Foreign Recruitment Agency and aligns the Philippine procedure with the Belgian application. You can read more on our page about DMW and Philippine deployment.
Who will be the employer?
Belgium has strict rules on making employees available to another organisation. What is called secondment in the Netherlands is not always allowed in Belgium. Determine in advance who the employer is. If you employ the worker yourself, you submit the application as the employer. If you choose a model in which another party is the employer, that structure must be legally sound.
Do you operate in both the Netherlands and Belgium? Bear in mind that a permit for one country does not automatically apply to work in the other. A technician with a Belgian combined permit cannot simply be deployed on a Dutch project, or the other way round. Discuss project planning in advance, so that the permit matches the place where the work is carried out.
Not sure which structure suits your organisation? We assess that in the feasibility check, before recruitment starts.
How SkillShift helps you
SkillShift.be B.V. in Antwerp supports employers in Flanders with the combined permit: from choosing the category to the application and the link with DMW. Our team in Manila selects and tests the candidates. Read more on our page about Filipino staff for Belgium or request a feasibility check.