Key government agencies
Consular posts abroad are part of the Federal Public Service (FPS) Foreign Affairs and are responsible for visa applications outside Belgium.
The FPS Foreign Affairs — Department of Federal Immigration is the competent authority that issues residence authorizations through single permit applications and Belgian residence permits through type B work permit applications.
The federal state of Belgium consists of three regions: the Brussels-Capital Region, the Flemish Region in the north and the Walloon Region in the south. Single permit and type B work permit applications must be submitted directly to the regional immigration ministries in all three regions. They are the relevant government offices that issue work authorizations through single permit applications as well as Belgian work permits. The competent region for single permit and type B work permit applications varies and can be, among others (depending on the circumstances): the region where the employee will (mainly) perform the work, the region where the employer has its registered seat or the region where the employee is officially domiciled.