This guide sets out essential information for British citizens moving to or living in Belgium. Read about how our consulate in Brussels can help.
This information is provided as a guide only. You should get definitive information from the Belgian authorities. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is not liable for any inaccuracies in this information.
Read general guidance on moving or retiring abroad.
To stay up to date:
If you were living in Belgium before 1 January 2021
Some parts of this guide only apply if you have been living in Belgium since before 1 January 2021. You should read these in addition to the rest of the guidance in each section.
You should also read our Living in Europe page for detailed guidance about citizens’ rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.
Visas and residency
You must tell the UK government offices that deal with your benefits, pension and tax if you are moving or retiring abroad.
Check the entry requirements for Belgium and read the Belgian government’s guidance on residency documents.
You must inform your local municipality (commune/gemeente) if your circumstances change. For example, tell them if you move home or change your marital status, so your registration is kept up-to-date. This applies to everyone in your household.
Visas and residency if you were living in Belgium before 1 January 2021
If you applied for the ‘M’ card by 31 December 2021, your rights are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement pending a decision on your application. Read the Belgian government’s guidance on residency rights. You should continue the process to get your ‘M’ card if you do not yet have it.
You should keep hold of your certificate of application ‘annexe/bijlage 56’ as evidence of your rights. Seek written confirmation from your commune/gemeente if you have started the application process but not yet received your certificate of application.
If you have not had a response to your ‘M’ card application, ask your commune/gemeente for an update. If they cannot update you, you can email the Office for Foreigners (infodesk@ibz.fgov.be) or call +3224 88 80 00.
If your application is successful, you will receive your ‘M’ card, valid for 5 years. If you already have permanent residency, your ‘M’ card will show this and will be valid for 10 years.
You must renew your ‘M’ card when it expires. Contact your commune/gemeente for more information.
To be exempt from registering with the EU’s Entry Exit Scheme (due to start in Autumn 2024) British residents in the EU will be required to show a uniform-format biometric card which is listed as a residency document under the Withdrawal Agreement. For residents of Belgium protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, that card is the M-Card.
Appeal process
If your application is refused, your refusal letter, known as ‘annexe/bijlage 59’, will tell you how to appeal.
If you have a ‘P’ or ‘S’ card
If you were resident in Belgium with a ‘P’ or ‘S’ card (a special residence permit) before 1 January 2021, you have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. You can choose to register with your commune/gemeente and obtain the new ‘M’ residency card.
Read the Belgian government’s guidance on special residence permit holders.
Late applications
The deadline for applying for the ‘M’ card was 31 December 2021. You can still apply if you have reasonable grounds for missing it, and should do so as soon as possible. Contact your commune/gemeente to ask about the process. Applications will be considered on an individual basis.
Family members
Your close family members continue to be able to join you and settle in Belgium at any time in the future. Find more information on who this applies to in the Living in Europe guidance. They must travel to Belgium and then submit an ‘M’ card application as your family member. Read the Belgian government’s guidance for family members.
Nationals of certain non-EU countries may need a visa before travel. The Belgian authorities should issue family reunion visas free of charge. Read the Belgian government guidance for 1 January 2022 onwards which we expect to be updated shortly.
Passports and travel
You can apply for or renew your British passport from Belgium.
Check the Belgium travel advice for passport validity requirements.
Always carry your passport when travelling within the Schengen area. If you have citizenship of an EU or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country, in addition to your British citizenship, you should enter and leave Belgium using your EU or EFTA passport.
If you stay in Belgium with a Belgian residence permit or long stay visa, this time does not count towards your 90-day visa-free limit for the Schengen area.
If you visit other Schengen area countries outside Belgium, make sure you do not exceed the visa-free 90 days in any 180-day period. You are responsible for counting how long you stay under the Schengen visa waiver, and you must comply with its conditions.
Different rules apply if you are travelling to other EU and Schengen countries as a resident of Belgium. Check each country’s travel advice page for information on entry requirements.
The EU Entry/Exit System (EES)
In Autumn 2024, the EU will introduce a new digital Entry/Exit System (EES). Non-EU nationals, including UK nationals, visiting the EU will need to create a digital record when entering the EU’s Schengen Zone. This includes providing biometric data (fingerprints and facial image) at the border.
If you are a UK national with residency rights in the EU Schengen Zone you will be exempt from EES registration, if you have the correct documentation. View the EU’s frequently asked questions about the EES.
In Belgium, documents that allow exemption include all forms of residence cards as agreed under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement (M Cards) or the Schengen Border Code. You can find the list of documents for Belgium in Annex 22 of the Schengen Border Code. Any other valid residency permit issued by any other EU member state will also mean that you are exempt. If you have one of these documents, you will not need to register for the EES when travelling.
If you were living in Belgium before 1 January 2021
When you travel, carry your residence card (‘M’ card) or frontier worker permit (‘N’ card) issued under the Withdrawal Agreement, in addition to your valid passport.
You must proactively show your residence document, or other evidence of residence status, if you are asked to show your passport at border control. If you have applied for, but not yet received, your residence card, show your certificate of application (annexe/bijlage 56 for the residence card or annexe/bijlage 57 for a frontier worker permit).
To be exempt from registering with the EU’s Entry Exit Scheme (due to start in Autumn 2024) British residents in the EU will be required to show a uniform-format biometric card which is listed as a residency document under the Withdrawal Agreement. For residents of Belgium protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, that card is the M-Card.
If you cannot prove that you are a resident in Belgium, you may be asked additional questions at the border to enter the EU. Your passport may be stamped on entry and exit. This will not affect your rights in the country or countries where you live or work. If a passport is stamped, the stamp is considered null and void when you can show evidence of lawful residence.
If you have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, you can enter and exit Belgium with a valid passport. You do not need any additional validity on the passport beyond the dates on which you are travelling.
You are advised to carry your valid passport (or other form of recognised ID, such as an EU ID card) and your residence document with you at all times. M cards are not considered ID documents. Make sure you hold your original documents and not just a copy. You may be fined if you do not have these documents when asked by the authorities.
Healthcare
Read our guidance on healthcare in Belgium and make sure you are correctly registered for your circumstances.
Travel insurance is not intended to cover healthcare costs if you live overseas.
You must register with a health insurance fund (mutuelle/ziekenfonds) to access the healthcare system if you are resident in Belgium. If you are working, both you and your employer will make contributions to your social security and healthcare system through the mutuelle/ziekenfonds. The amount you have to pay is set by the Belgian government.
When you visit a doctor or pharmacist, you need to pay and then send the receipt to your mutuelle/ziekenfonds.
The amount you’ll be refunded depends on the health services covered by your insurance.
Read the Belgian government guidance on health and social security entitlements.
You should also read guidance on:
Working in Belgium
If you are planning to move to Belgium and work, you may need a visa. Read the Belgian government’s guidance on working in Belgium as a foreign national and how to get a visa.
To apply for a job you may need to provide a:
- UK police certificate
- Belgian criminal records certificate (extrait de casier judiciaire/uittreksel uit het strafregister), which you can request at your local municipality (commune/gemeente)
Read:
If you work in Belgium, even if you work for a UK-based company, this may affect where you pay National Insurance-type contributions. Read the National insurance and social security contributions section for more information.
If you were living in Belgium before 1 January 2021
You have the right to work under the Withdrawal Agreement if you have an ‘M’ or ‘N’ card or have applied for one.
If you live in Belgium and were regularly commuting to work in another EU or EFTA country before 1 January 2021, read our guidance for frontier workers.
Professional qualifications
You may need to get your professional qualification recognised if you want to work in a profession that is regulated in Belgium.
Read guidance on:
If you were living in Belgium before 1 January 2021
If the relevant regulator in Belgium officially recognised your professional qualification before 1 January 2021, or you started the recognition process by this date, make sure you understand the terms of your decision. You should get advice from the relevant regulator.
Studying in Belgium
If you plan to study in Belgium, you must meet all visa requirements before you travel.
Contact the relevant higher education provider in Belgium to check what fees you may have to pay.
Read guidance on:
If you were living in Belgium before 1 January 2021
You have the same right to access education in Belgium as Belgian citizens as long as you were lawfully resident before 1 January 2021.
The studying in the European Union guidance includes information if you were already living in Belgium before 1 January 2021.
Tax
The UK has a double taxation agreement with Belgium so that you do not pay tax on the same income in both countries. Ask the relevant tax authority your questions about double taxation relief.
You should get professional advice on paying tax in Belgium.
Read guidance on:
Declaring your assets
All residents must declare assets outside Belgium, including bank accounts, securities, insurance, annuities and property. The declaration is separate to the annual tax return, and there are severe penalties and criminal charges if you do not comply.
All non-residents have a legal obligation to file an annual Belgian tax return if they receive income, including a pension, from Belgium.
National insurance and social security contributions
National Insurance-type contributions (NIC) are called ‘social security contributions’ (SSC) in Belgium. Find out if you need to pay National Insurance in the UK or social security contributions in Belgium.
If you plan to move to Belgium and work, even if you continue working for a UK-based company, you and your employer may need to pay social security contributions in Belgium. These social security contributions would entitle you to certain benefits, such as healthcare, in Belgium.
Read guidance on National Insurance for workers from the UK working in the EEA or Switzerland
You can check your UK National Insurance record
Benefits
UK benefits
Read guidance on entitlement to UK benefits and pensions while you are living in Belgium.
Check which UK benefits you can claim while abroad and how to claim them.
Many income-related benefits such as pension credit and housing benefit cannot be paid to you if you’re abroad for more than 4 weeks.
Belgian benefits
You may be eligible for Belgian benefits. Find out if you are entitled to Belgian benefits and how to claim them:
Pensions
Read guidance on entitlement to UK benefits and pensions while you are living in Belgium.
Read State Pension guidance if you have lived in Australia, Canada or New Zealand and you are claiming or waiting to claim your UK State Pension.
If you retire in Belgium, you can claim:
Read the Money and Pension Service’s MoneyHelper guidance on pension and retirement for more information on cross-border pensions.
Life certificates for UK State Pensions
If you get a ‘life certificate’ from the UK Pension Service, you must respond as soon as possible. Your payments may be suspended if you do not.
Money and banking
Whether UK banks can provide services to customers living in the EEA depends on local laws and regulation.
Read the Money and Pension Service guidance on banking, insurance and financial services for more information on cross-border banking.
Accommodation and buying property
Read guidance on how to buy a property in Belgium.
Driving in Belgium
You cannot renew or replace your UK, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man licence if you live in Belgium. Read the guidance on what you must do to drive legally in Belgium:
Exchanging your UK, Gibraltar or Isle of Man licence
If you live in Belgium, you must exchange your valid licence for a Belgian one with the driving licence department of the municipality in which you are registered. As per Belgian regulations, you must fulfil specific requirements before being able to exchange your driving licence. You can continue to drive with your licence during the first 185 days of residency. In most cases, you do not need to take a driving test to exchange your licence.
You cannot use an International Driving Permit (IDP) instead of exchanging your licence.
Exchanging your Jersey or Guernsey licence
If you have a licence from Jersey or Guernsey you may need to take a test.
Disabled drivers
If you have a UK Blue Badge and live in Belgium, you must return it to the original UK issuing authority. You can apply for a new Belgian disabled parking card(in French, in Dutch and in German).
Read the EU guidance on the EU parking card for people with disabilities.
Bringing a UK-registered vehicle to Belgium
Read our guidance on taking a vehicle out of the UK.
If you are resident in Belgium, you must register your vehicle with the Belgian authorities (in French and Dutch).
Driving outside Belgium with a Belgian licence
You can use your Belgian licence when visiting the UK. Keep up-to-date with the UK Highway Code.
If you go to live in the UK, you can exchange your Belgian licence for a UK one without taking a test.
To drive in another country, in addition to your Belgian licence you may need to apply for an IDP(in French and Dutch).
Read the EU guidance on:
Voting
If you have been resident in Belgium for more than 5 years, you can vote in local elections if you:
- register on the municipal register where you live
- formally declare your intention to vote and register on the local electoral roll
- confirm your status every 2 to 5 years to remain registered and be able to vote
You cannot vote in federal or regional elections in Belgium or European Parliament elections.
You may be able to vote in some UK elections. You can:
Births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships
If your child is born in Belgium, you can register the birth with the UK authorities in addition to registering locally. If your child has British nationality, you do not need to register the birth with the UK authorities to apply for a British passport.
If someone dies in Belgium, read our guidance on:
Find out how you can get married or get a civil partnership abroad.
Find out about notarial and documentary services for UK nationals in Belgium.
You may also need:
Pets
If you’re moving to Belgium with your pet, read the guidance and ensure you comply with the regulations:
To visit other countries with your pet, check the rules for the country you’re travelling to. Contact your vet to get the travel documents your pet needs.
Read guidance on:
Emergencies
Dial the European emergency number 112 in Belgium for the police, ambulance or fire brigade, or dial:
- 100 for medical emergency and fire brigade
- 101 for police
- 116 000 for missing children
Dial the EU 116 000 hotline to report a missing child in the EU country where you live or in another EU country.
If you need guidance on child abduction, read the guidance on international parental child abduction; the EU guidance on child abduction and EU guidance on child abduction to another EU country.
If you’re the victim of a crime, have been arrested, or are affected by a crisis, contact the British Embassy Brussels.
Returning to the UK
Tell the Belgian and UK authorities if you are returning to the UK permanently.
To move your pension to the UK, contact the International Pension Centre.
Read the guidance on returning to the UK permanently which includes information on, amongst other things, bringing family members, tax and access to services.
Useful information
Contact us through our web form if you have a specific question on living in Belgium.
Support for British nationals abroad: a guide sets out how to stay safe abroad, and explains how the FCDO can support you if you get into difficulty.
