Settling-in services in Belgium: what is included

What do you need to do when moving to Belgium?

Most of it runs through your commune, the local municipality. The Brussels Region says registering with it is vital for your residence permit and for access to the job market, social security and private services (Brussels-Capital Region, read 7 Oct 2026).

• Commune registration. The rule: EU citizens apply within 3 months, non-EU citizens register within 8 working days (Commissioner Brussels). An agency can book the appointment and check your file.
• Police residence check. The rule: it follows the first appointment, at your address. An agency can do nothing here: it happens where you live.
• Residence card. The rule: non-EU citizens get an A card after about a month, EU citizens an electronic card after about three months. An agency can help you collect it.
• Health insurance. The rule: enrol with a mutuality (Brussels Region). An agency can guide you through the enrolment.
• Single permit (employees from outside the EU). The rule: your employer applies, and it can take up to 4 months (Commissioner Brussels). An agency can support the employer’s file, but the employer leads.
• School place. The rule: compulsory from age 5 in the French Community (Eurydice). An agency can shortlist schools and enrol children.

The Flemish government’s newcomer checklist adds a Belgian bank account, basic health insurance and exchanging your driving licence (Flemish government, read 7 Oct 2026). We did not find the rules behind the bank and the driving licence at a source we could open, so this guide gives none.

How does the commune registration work?

Deadlines. The Brussels commissioner says EU citizens present themselves to the commune within three months of arriving, to apply for a registration certificate, and non-EU citizens register within eight working days of arrival (Commissioner Brussels, read 7 Oct 2026). The Flemish government’s page tells newcomers to register with the municipality within three working days of entering Belgium. We cannot reconcile the figures. Book the appointment as soon as you have an address, and ask the commune what applies to you.

The file. For EU citizens the documents include a valid passport or ID, the lease, health insurance, passport photos, papers for your status (a work contract, proof of means, an enrolment) and a small administrative fee. The file must be complete, or the application cannot proceed. Since 1 September 2025 this applies at the first appointment (Commissioner Brussels, read 7 Oct 2026). The documents differ by status and nationality, and each of Brussels’ 19 communes works differently, so ask yours first.

The police check. After the first appointment the commune asks the police, in the form of a local officer, to investigate whether you live at the address you gave. If the check is positive, the registration is finalised. You receive a provisional national register number of 11 digits, which starts with your birth date reversed (Commissioner Brussels, read 7 Oct 2026).

Cards. Non-EU citizens get an A card, issued after about a month, valid for a limited time, typically a year, and renewable. A B card, for unlimited stay, follows after five years of continuous legal residence. EU citizens receive an electronic EU card after about three months.

Which steps can an agency do, and which need you?

An agency can prepare, book, accompany and translate. It cannot attend for you or replace the employer’s role in a single permit.

Needs you. The commune appointment, the documents that prove your status, and the passport photos. The police check is on the address where you live.

An agency can do. KBC Brussels says the agencies on its list can accompany you in most settling procedures: registration with the municipality, the rental contract, telecom and energy subscriptions and registering your children at school (KBC Brussels, read 7 Oct 2026). Be Welcome lists pre-arrival orientation, a bank account, health insurance and child benefit, schooling, town-hall registration, driving licence and transport help, and departure services (Be Welcome, read 7 Oct 2026). Relocation Belgium lists home finding, settling-in services and school search with integration support (Relocation Belgium, read 7 Oct 2026).

What it costs. We found no Belgian agency price. See what a relocation agency costs in Belgium.

How long does each step take?

The rules give deadlines more often than processing times.

• Commune registration: within 8 working days (non-EU) or 3 months (EU, to apply).
• A card: issued after about a month. EU card: after about three months.
• Single permit: the procedure can take up to four months.
• Lease registration, a step for your landlord: within two months of signing.
• School: compulsory from 5 to 18 in the French Community, with full-time attendance until 15.
• Health insurance: we found no waiting time.

Is there free help instead of an agency?

For the basics, yes. The Expat Welcome Desk of the Brussels commissioner calls itself a free, independent public service. It advises on registering at the municipality, residence, visa and work permits, rental contracts, family reunification, social security, education and childcare, mobility and taxes, in English, French, Dutch and Spanish, by phone, e-mail, in person or on video, by appointment (Commissioner Brussels, read 7 Oct 2026). The Brussels Region’s ten-step guide for newcomers also points to Actiris for job-seeking support.

Do you need a settling-in service?

Some people do not. The steps are few, the Region offers free advice, and your employer may provide help. A service helps when you have little time, a family to register, an employer who does not help, or no French or Dutch. Ask first what it will do and what you must do yourself. Choose with the checklist in how to choose a relocation agency in Belgium. The home that every other step needs is in how to find an apartment in Brussels, and the whole picture is in moving to Belgium: what to know before you go.

What we could not source

We did not find sourced rules for opening a bank account, exchanging a foreign driving licence, filing taxes, the contributions and refunds of the mutualities, or registering at school in Flanders. We found no processing times for the commune, the cards or health insurance. We could not read the Immigration Office’s pages, which were behind a security check on 7 October 2026. We found no Belgian agency price. For any of these, ask your commune, your employer or an agency in your city.

Want someone to take the admin off your plate? Tell us what you need and we pass your request to one agency that fits.