STEP 01You
Watch the windowPut your card’s expiry date in your calendar, with a reminder four months before. The renewal must be filed between four and two months before it expires.
GUIDES · RESIDENCE & PERMITS
Renewing my Blue Card in Belgium: what happened, and how it works now
My first Blue Card was valid for 13 months, which comes around faster than you’d think. Here’s how my first renewal went, including a surprise at the town hall, followed by how renewal works today.
Last checked: October 2026Rules shown: FlandersMy renewal: 2019–2020
This is my experience plus a summary of the official rules, not legal advice. Rules and fees change and differ by region and commune. Check the official sources at the bottom before you or your employer apply.
The short version
- When: the renewal is filed at least 2 and at most 4 months before your card expires.
- How: in Flanders, through the same online one-stop shop as the first application. Your employer files it for you; if you’ve changed jobs, that’s your new employer.
- What gets checked: that you still meet the Blue Card conditions, including the salary threshold.
- Good to know: after 12 months you can change employer without approval, as long as the new job meets the same Blue Card conditions, but your new employer still has to submit the application for you. After 24 months the renewal gives you a 3-year card.
How it went for me (2019–2020)
My first Blue Card, the one I picked up at the town hall after registering, was valid for 13 months. That’s also what most of the information online tells you, in English, Dutch or on the government websites. What it doesn’t tell you is what the renewal actually feels like.
NOVEMBER 2019Three months before the deadline
My card was going to expire in February 2020, and I really didn’t want to find out what happens when a residence card runs out. I was still with the same company, which meant the renewal had to start on their side again: my employer applied for the same kind of permit as the first time, so the authorities could check that my salary and the other conditions still met the Blue Card requirements.
WINTER 2019Two anxious months
This was the part that got to me. My employer had filed everything in November, and then it was just waiting. It took a little over two months before the new permit was approved.
Waiting on a permit you need to stay in the country is a very specific kind of nervous.
END OF JANUARY 2020Back at the town hall, and a €110 surprise
With the new permit approved, I went back to the town hall to swap my card. At the counter, they told me it would be €110, because only the accelerated procedure applied in my case, and I’d have the new card within two days.
I was surprised. The first time, I’d paid €26, gone through the normal procedure and waited two weeks. Paying felt a bit random in the moment. Then I remembered that companies can usually cover costs like these, so I expensed it. Two days later, I had my new card.
Paid more, waited less, and my employer paid. Looking back, not bad at all.
AFTERWARDSTwo different renewals, it turns out
Looking back, this is when it clicked that a renewal is really two things. My company’s legal team filed the update for my Blue Card, the part that says I’m allowed to work. Renewing the residence card itself, at the town hall, was up to me.
It’s still the same split today: your employer files the permit, and you renew the card at your commune. If you change jobs, it’s your new employer who files.
My takeaway: if you stay with the same employer and your salary keeps meeting the threshold, the first renewal is one of the easier steps in this whole story. The hard part is the waiting.
How renewal works now (Flanders, 2026)
Today, renewal goes through the same combined single permit procedure as the first application.
STEP 02Employer
The renewal is filed in the one-stop shopYour employer submits it via the online Working in Belgium one-stop shop, with the documents listed below. You can’t file this part yourself; renewing the card at the commune (step 4) is your part. Copies are fine; they don’t need to be originals.
STEP 03Authorities
The region and the Immigration Office review itAs with the first application, the region checks the work conditions, including the salary threshold, and the Immigration Office handles the residence part.
STEP 04Commune
Your commune issues the new cardOnce it’s approved, you renew the card at your town hall. Fees and procedures differ per commune, so ask what applies, and whether a faster option exists.
STEP 05You
After 12 and 24 monthsAfter 12 months, you can change employer without approval, as long as the new job meets the same Blue Card conditions; the new employer still submits the application for you. After 24 months, the renewal gives you a 3-year card.
Documents for the renewal
From the official Flemish list for renewing a single permit. Copies are enough.
- Your international passport
- Your Belgian residence card
- Proof that you have health insurance
- Your employment contract
- Payslips for the period of the expiring permit, or your individual account if you worked a full calendar year
- If you’re changing employer while your permit is still valid: the letter of notice with your notice period
What changed since my renewal
| 2019–2020 (me) | Now (Flanders) | |
|---|---|---|
| How it’s filed | My employer applied for a new permit, as the system was moving to the single permit | A single permit renewal in the online one-stop shop |
| When | About three months before expiry | At least 2 and at most 4 months before expiry |
| Card length | First card: 13 months | After 24 months, a 3-year card |
| Changing employer | A new employer would have to file | After 12 months, no approval needed if the new job meets the same conditions; the new employer still submits the application for you |
| Town hall fee | €26 normal (2 weeks), €110 accelerated (2 days) | Check your commune; fees change |
What I’d tell my 2019 self
- Set the reminder the day you get your first card. Thirteen months goes fast.
- Ask HR to file as soon as the four-month window opens. The waiting is the stressful part, so give it room.
- Ask whether your employer reimburses permit and card fees. Mine did, which made the faster option an easy choice.
- Keep your payslips in one folder. The renewal asks for them.
Official sources
- Flanders: European Blue Card, including renewal — timing, documents, 3-year card
- Working in Belgium one-stop shop — where renewals are filed
- Immigration Office (DVZ) — residence part and fees
- Brussels: work authorisations — Brussels rules
- Wallonia: work permits — Walloon rules