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Flanders: unpaid single-permit applications filed before 6 November must be resubmitted
Employers in Flanders who hire workers from outside the EEA and Switzerland have paid a €180 regional fee per single-permit application since 1 September 2026. Since 6 November 2026, applications submitted before that date can no longer be paid online and must be submitted again.
What changed on 6 November 2026
Since 6 November 2026, the Flemish government has used new security for online payments in the Uniek Loket, the online portal for work authorisation applications. According to the official Flemish information page, an application submitted before 6 November can no longer be paid online. The employer must submit the application again and can then pay the fee. The old application does not need to be cancelled, but it will not be processed further. For help, the page refers employers to the Uniek Loket contact centre.
The €180 Flemish fee
Since 1 September 2026, employers in the Flemish Region who want to hire a worker from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland pay a Flemish fee of €180 per application. It applies to first applications and to renewals of a single (combined) permit, but not to work card applications. It comes on top of the federal fee for the residence part of the application, and the amount is indexed every 1 January. The fee must be paid through the Uniek Loket within 15 days of submitting the application; otherwise the file is closed automatically. It is not refunded, even if the application is refused, withdrawn, closed or cancelled by the employer.
Work cards are now handled online
Since 1 May 2026, work card applications in Flanders have been handled digitally through the Uniek Loket. A transition period, during which employers could still apply by email, ended on 1 September 2026. Applications for au pairs remain possible by email. Workers no longer receive a physical work card from the municipality; instead, the employer receives a digital work authorisation (PDF) through the Uniek Loket.
Stricter rules since 1 January 2026
These changes follow stricter Flemish rules on economic migration that have applied since 1 January 2026. In the highly skilled category, only highly qualified jobs are now eligible. Low-skilled jobs (VKS levels 1–2) are no longer eligible for economic migration, and vacancies must be published with the Flemish employment service VDAB for at least nine weeks. Applications submitted up to and including 31 December 2025 are handled under the rules that applied at that time.
What this means for workers
The fee and the application are part of the employer's procedure. Workers pay no recruitment fees through WorkMarket.eu. Whether a specific person can be hired and start work legally in Flanders depends on their nationality, residence status, the job and the employer's application. Every cross-border move or new legal work start requires individual review by a person. This article does not mean that any worker is automatically eligible.
What is still unclear
The official pages we checked do not name the legal act that sets the €180 fee, and they do not yet show the indexed amount from 1 January 2027. These rules apply only in the Flemish Region; the Brussels-Capital Region and Wallonia have their own rules. Employers should confirm the details with the Flemish government's Economic Migration Service (Dienst Economische Migratie) before acting.