Applying for your first professional card

For every first application for a professional card, the following documents are required:

• copy of your foreign identity card or international passport
• copy of your valid Belgian residence permit if you are in Belgium. This should be 1 of the following documents:
  • a certificate of registration in the foreigners register (= electronic residence card type A)
  • a European blue card (= electronic residence permit type H)
  • the declaration of arrival (= annex 3).
  • special identity card for diplomatic personnel. We recommend that before applying for a professional card, you check with the Protocol (federal service Foreign Affairs) whether your diplomatic identity card will be withdrawn in the event of the professional card being granted.
  (The so-called ‘orange card’ or ‘attest van immatriculatie’ can no longer be considered a valid residence permit for Belgium.)
• extract from the criminal records (no older than 6 months) issued by the competent authority of the country where you are authorised to reside
• copy of the diploma of at least qualification level 4 (VKS 4 = level of secondary education)
• proof that you will have stable, sufficient and regular means of subsistence to support yourself or your family (frame of reference is 120% of the living wage) and this as of the granting of the professional card.
• a complete business plan (including financial plan). Businesses with a sporting, artistic or cultural added value may limit themselves to a financial plan or liquidity forecast.

In addition, you require a number of documents, depending on your situation. Check to which category your self-employed professional activity belongs and which documents are required.

All documents in your file must be drawn up in Dutch, French, German or English.

Points to remember for the translation (if necessary) of documents:

• Attach the translation and a copy of the document in the original language to your file.
• All documents provided by official institutions (authorities, banks, educational bodies, etc.) must be translated by a sworn translator. Is the translation handled by a translator sworn abroad? Then the translation must also be legalised or bear an apostille stamp of the competent authority in the issuing country.

Where to apply depends on your situation:

• you have a valid residency in Belgium
• you reside outside of Belgium or do not have a valid residency in Belgium.

You have a valid residency in Belgium

In this context, it means one of the following:

• a certificate of registration in the foreigners register (= electronic residence card type A)
• a European blue card (= electronic residence permit type H)
• declaration of arrival in Belgium (= annex 3)
• special identity card for diplomatic personnel. We recommend that before applying for a professional card, you check with the Protocol (federal service Foreign Affairs) whether your diplomatic identity card will be withdrawn in the event of the professional card being granted.

(The so-called ‘orange card’ or ‘attest van immatriculatie’ can no longer be considered a valid residence permit for Belgium.)

In this case you can only apply for a professional card online via the WSE- counter(opens in new window), the e-portal of the Department of Work and Social Economy (DWSE). Submitting an application via the WSE counter is only possible from a desktop, not with a smartphone or tablet.

With a annex 3 (in Dutch)(opens in new window) or as a holder of a special identity card for diplomatic staff, you will first have to go to a registration office to obtain a token/digital key with which you can log in at the WSE counter (more info about online identification without eID(opens in new window)).

A fee of 140 euro applies for every application for a professional card. Please follow the payment instructions you receive after successfully submitting the application.

Since 16/05/2023, as a mandatary (lawyer, enterprise counter, ...) you can submit a first application via the WSE counter, for this you need to have a Flemish SSM (Self Service Mandates Management). (in Dutch)(PDF file opens in new window) The condition is that the person you are applying for has legal residence in Belgium.
Please note: from 01/12/2023 it is compulsory to submit these applications via the WSE counter, applications submitted by mail will no longer be processed.

Upon receipt of your application and payment, you will receive confirmation by e-mail.

You reside outside of Belgium or do not have a valid residency in Belgium

• Then submit your application file via the Belgian diplomatic mission or consular post(opens in new window) in the country where you have a legal residence. The staff there will provide you with the practical details for paying the application fee of 140 euro.

If you apply from abroad, the embassy or consulate will send your file to the Economic Migration Service of the region where you want to settle as a self-employed person within five days after payment.

After receiving your payment, we will check whether your application can be admitted (were the necessary documents added and are they complete?).

If information is missing and your application cannot be admitted, we will ask you by e-mail to provide us with the missing information. You have 30 days from the day following this notification to do so by e-mail.

You will receive the decision about your professional card within 120 days after your application has been declared admissible. This term can be extended in the case of a complex file.

The Regional Economic Migration Service decides on your application file. There are 2 possibilities:

1. Your application for a professional card is approved.

   • If you or a mandatary submitted the application online through the WSE-loket: then when your application is approved, you will receive an email with instructions on how to arrange payment for the professional card dues. Once the payment is in order and processed, you will receive another email with instructions on how to download your approved professional card in the WSE-loket.(opens in new window)

   • If you applied with the help of the Belgian diplomatic post abroad: you then apply for a type D visa. When you receive your type D visa, you can travel to Flanders and collect your professional card from the business counter(opens in new window) of your choice, where you pay 90 euro per year that the card is valid. Example: for a professional card valid for 2 years, you pay 180 euro.

2. Your application is refused: you can appeal the decision.