Shortage jobs in Belgium

Normally your potential company can apply for either the EU card or the work permit B. For permit B, for 2016, min salary is around 40K. Generally work permit Bs are approved as long as they fulfill the min basic requirements, atleast from the feedback I get from friends, so I guess you should be good to go.

Thank you for your feedback, it's useful. But for EU Blue Card, they've a higher salary requirement than work permit: for Belgium it's 51466€, link: https://www.apply.eu/BlueCard/Belgium/.

You know a salary,  we can still find better elsewhere ... you are of Indian origin and you want to work in Belgium. I am Belgian, and I work in India ...

First of all, even if you're already have a promise of work contract of a Belgian company, you need to validate your credentials with the services of the Belgian Ministry of Education. http://www.enic-naric.net/belgium.aspx

Then, obtaining a work permit is subject to the fact that the employer must be able to prove that it is impossible to find on the Belgian market a potential candidate. There is also the fact that some jobs have nationality and/or special licences requirements.

phipiemar wrote:

You know a salary,  we can still find better elsewhere ... you are of Indian origin and you want to work in Belgium. I am Belgian, and I work in India ...

It's interesting to hear from someone who's Belgian and work in India. Thanks a lot! However, I'm not sure I understand what you meant by "... a salary,  we can still find better elsewhere ...? " It's not just about the salary, it's also very much about how I believe I'd integrate into the culture. I lived in Paris for the past two and a half years, and I'd not hesitate to call that the best part of my life so far, even considering the declining French economy! So, yes, going back to Paris or a French-speaking international city like Brussels would be great! And I'm not returning to India to live and work there even if they pay me a billion Euros per month.


First of all, even if you're already have a promise of work contract of a Belgian company, you need to validate your credentials with the services of the Belgian Ministry of Education. http://www.enic-naric.net/belgium.aspx

Okay thanks for the link! But can I validate credentials even before getting a job, say now? I'm applying for EU Blue Card online: https://www.apply.eu/, and I'm already verifying my diplomas, some are already verified. Won't that be enough?

Then, obtaining a work permit is subject to the fact that the employer must be able to prove that it is impossible to find on the Belgian market a potential candidate. There is also the fact that some jobs have nationality and/or special licences requirements.

Yes I'm aware of that. But I'm not doing average jobs, I'm very highly skilled and qualified in what I do, and also have a doctorate. I won't be an associate, I'll directly go to a senior or a skilled researcher position. Not bragging here, stating the truth to see explore the loopholes on the paper. In essence, my main question is: are there any "shortage jobs" in Belgium like Germany or Luxembourg (see links: http://www.bluecard-eu.de/eu-blue-card-germany/, and https://www.apply.eu/BlueCard/Luxembourg/) for which they make exceptions to give permits, and may also set a lower minimum on income to give access to the Blue Card?

Thanks again!

My thinking on salary covered the exchange value of salary between you and the other participant of this topic.

If you really want to integrate you in Belgium, it is imperative to break the English environment. And speaking of French and Flemish.

Of course there are areas in shortage of work. Mainly in the area of medical research. Have a look here (http://be.gsk.com/en/)(http://www.ucb.com/worldwide/belgium-luxembourg) but it is far to be the only one.

Concerning the validation of your diplomas, you already know the answer given by the website for obtaining the EU Blue Card. Three key conditions are to be met in order to request the EU Blue Card.
-Non-EU citizenship
- Educated or skilled
- Work contract or binding job offer

Concerning income tax, take a look on https://home.kpmg.com/be/en/home.html

Just a final note, consider oneself as very qualified/skilled is not the universal panacea, it's just flatter his own ego. This is the opinion of others on his own work which is important...

What exactly is your worry?

Is it that a potential company will want to hire you but not file a work permit or do you think that you wont get atleast a 40K salary?

solexhonda wrote:

What exactly is your worry?

Is it that a potential company will want to hire you but not file a work permit or do you think that you wont get atleast a 40K salary?

My worry isn't about 40K, it's about 52K in Belgium and similar in other countries.

Another worry is: as soon as the employers hear that I don't have work permit, they almost drop the phone, or seem utterly uninterested in progressing the conversation, they don't care to ask about my credentials or skills anymore. I can't explain how utterly frustrating that is! So, the question I continuously wonder about is: is there a set of companies specific to a country that'd not do that that're totally okay with giving sponsorship?

Also sometimes, they ask in the application: "Are you authorised to work in country X?" What're they going to do, throw away my CV if I'm not authorised (=I don't have sponsorship or permit)? Or are they asking this because they'd not have any problem filing a work permit application, and hence they'd proceed with the application? I'm utterly confused about this, and my internet search doesn't yield any answer.

Thanks!

phipiemar wrote:

My thinking on salary covered the exchange value of salary between you and the other participant of this topic.

OK.

If you really want to integrate you in Belgium, it is imperative to break the English environment. And speaking of French and Flemish.

Yes In know that. But as I said, I did great even with my level A French, and I'm more than happy to learn more.

Of course there are areas in shortage of work. Mainly in the area of medical research. Have a look here (http://be.gsk.com/en/)(http://www.ucb.com/worldwide/belgium-luxembourg) but it is far to be the only one.

Thanks for mentioning that. I'll take a careful look into these companies.

Concerning the validation of your diplomas, you already know the answer given by the website for obtaining the EU Blue Card. Three key conditions are to be met in order to request the EU Blue Card.
-Non-EU citizenship
- Educated or skilled
- Work contract or binding job offer

Yes, all these PLUS a minimum salary requirement, which is one and half times the annual salary. This is where it seems to create a problem. In Belgium, it's 52000€, and in France it's 55000€ per year.

Concerning income tax, take a look on https://home.kpmg.com/be/en/home.html

Thanks again!

Just a final note, consider oneself as very qualified/skilled is not the universal panacea, it's just flatter his own ego. This is the opinion of others on his own work which is important...

Absolutely no thanks for that, I'm not in need of an advice what kind of person I'd like to be. If someone doesn't believe in herself or himself, nothing is ever possible.