Deze ad hoc vraag onderzoekt of EMN-leden personen met een Schengenvisum en personen die visumvrij mogen reizen, toestaan om tijdens hun kort verblijf op het grondgebied een gecombineerde vergunning aan te vragen. Daarnaast peilt de ad hoc vraag naar verschillende aspecten van dergelijke procedures, evenals naar de mogelijkheden voor derdelanders om een visum te verkrijgen met het oog op het zoeken naar werk.

Dit rapport biedt een diagnose van de sterke en zwakke punten van het Vlaamse kader voor het beheer van economische migratie en aanbevelingen voor mogelijke hervormingsgebieden. Het rapport presenteert ook enkele van de eerste empirische analyses en inzichten met betrekking tot het behoud en aantrekken van economische migranten in Vlaanderen.

Deze ad hoc vraag bekijkt de mogelijkheid voor derdelanders om reeds te starten met werken, in afwachting van de afgifte van hun gecombineerde vergunning (single permit).

FAIRWORK Belgium's 2022 annual report analyses inter alia the complex system of single permits. Given current practices, this system "benefits dishonest employers" according to the organisation.

The Belgian Council of Ministers has approved a draft bill aimed at strengthening rules on labour migration and improving the framework for highly qualified non-EU workers. The proposal includes measures aimed at strengthening the fight against fraud linked to labour migration, while also seeking to make the European Blue Card more attractive for highly qualified workers from outside the European Union. The draft bill also provides for additional protection for workers who are victims of certain social law infringements committed by employers. The text will now be submitted to the Council of State for advice.

Flanders granted around 21.460 work permits to non-EU nationals in 2025, the highest level in recent years. Seasonal work and medium- to high-skilled positions accounted for a large share of the permits. New rules introduced in January 2026 give priority to domestic and EU labour before non-EU recruitment. Stakeholders, including employer organisations and political parties, have expressed differing perspectives on these developments.

The Walloon administration announces that new regulations come into force on 1 September 2024 regarding salaried economic migration for foreign workers in Wallonia. The system remains largely unchanged in its principles, still falling within the broader framework of the Single Permit for work and residence authorization for foreign workers. However, a new decree of the Walloon Government organizes new features and modifications.

Through its campaign “So what, we continue the exploitation?”, the CIRÉ underlines that undocumented workers who informally fill the labour needs, are at risk of being exploited. It pleads to give them access to legal work, particularly through the single permit procedure.

De Minister-President van Wallonië, Elio Di Rupo, heeft een brief geschreven aan Premier Alexander De Croo om te pleiten voor de regularisatie van immigranten zonder geldige verblijfsstatus die geschikt zijn om te werken in sectoren waar een tekort aan arbeidskrachten heerst, zoals gemeld door L'Echo.  

Myria has published the fourth thematic section of its 2023 annual report. This section entitled "Economic migration, free movement en students" reports that 8.098 long-stay visas were granted for professional reasons to third-country nationals in 2022 (46% more than in 2021) and 19.721 single permits were issued to third-country nationals in 2022 (75% more than in 2021).

In the House of Representatives today, Nicole de Moor responded to numerous questions regarding possible fraudulent cases of applications for single permits. All involved actors, including the Flemish Region, the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs and the Immigration Office, are now part of a working group to foster information exchange and avoid future abuses.