Single permit: One year later and, after some practical changes, finally “on track”
27 Feb 2020
Introduced in January 2019, the new immigration system called “single permit” had a difficult beginning. We noticed a considerable delay in the processing of application and renewal files. As the competent authorities received feedback from all parties involved throughout this first year of application, the impact of the process did not remain unnoticed. Here is a summary of several initiatives taken that aim to speed up the processing time.
Regional initiative to mitigate the (long) processing time
In order to help avoid situations where assignees would end up without a valid authorization to work during a renewal procedure, in Flanders, the employment authorities had already taken the initiative in the summer of 2019 to grant assignees temporary work authorizations until the expiry date of their residence permits.
Brussels had concluded an agreement with the national (i.e. federal) authorities pursuant to which employees would be authorized to work, provided they obtained a work authorization and were still in the possession of a valid residence permit. This would avoid interruption of employment until the final residence approval by the Federal Immigration Office.
The regional employment ministries were also able to reduce their processing time from 4-8 weeks to 2-4 weeks.
More recently, the Federal Immigration Office has also taken action
Early February 2020, the Federal Immigration Office took another measure to reduce the processing time. Instead of sharing their final combined residence approvals (Annex 46) with the employees, they would share these approvals directly with the employers or their authorized agents. This simplifies the process for the Immigration Office and allows them to work more efficiently. Following this new measure, the total lead time for the residence approval has been reduced from 8-10 weeks to 3-4 weeks.
This means that the total processing time for a single permit procedure can be reduced to 8 weeks, instead of 12-16 weeks.
Document for temporary stay (Annex 49) to avoid any work interruption
Despite the above measures, employers were still facing a lot of issues for their employees whose single permit extensions could not be renewed on time and who therefore had to cease their professional activities. In order to help solve the situation for these employees, the Federal Immigration Office decided to allow these assignees to continue to work, as from the time they obtained their work authorization – even if their residence permit expired in the meantime. Municipalities were also instructed to grant a so-called Annex 49 in this respect.
Therefore, on 19 February 2020, the Federal Immigration Office confirmed that they had instructed the regional employment ministries to grant approval letters with a special mention allowing assignees to continue to work while their single permit procedure is being completed. This measure is also applicable for work authorizations that were approved before 19 February 2020. On 20 February 2020, this new set of measures was also shared in the Belgian national press.
Next steps?
These measures recently taken by the authorities are highly appreciated by all stakeholders.
Are such initiatives enough to make Belgium still an attractive country for foreign top talents? For a long time, PwC Legal has been callings for a drastic simplification of the economic immigration procedure and a harmonized interpretation of the conditions. Rules & procedures must become “user friendly” and more predictable. Can digitalization be the solution? As a provider with a strong focus on clients’ best interests, PwC Legal also look forward to the further digitalization of the single permit procedure by the authorities.
If you would like more information about the single permit procedure and how it may affect foreign employees in your business, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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