IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? A bill has been introduced in the Belgian Parliament that would allow municipal governments to charge foreign nationals an administrative fee when renewing, extending or replacing their work and resident permits. The fees would be in addition to existing processing fees for renewal, extension or replacement applications.

What does the change mean? If adopted, the additional governmental administrative fees will likely raise the costs for companies sponsoring non-EEA employees and their family members when renewing their permits.

Background: In March 2015, the Belgian federal government introduced a mandatory fee on foreigners who apply for first-time resident permits in order to cover administrative costs. The pending legislative bill would allow municipal governments to charge their own fees to cover their administrative costs of processing renewals, extensions or replacement applications of some resident permits.

BAL Analysis: Businesses should anticipate that the proposed changes represent an increase in the administrative costs for non-EEA/Swiss nationals and their family members. BAL will report additional details on the legislation as they become available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Belgium. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

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