Antwerpculture & etiquette

Belgium's single permit is decided by the region where the job sits, so an Antwerp job is judged by Flanders and not by the federal state or by Brussels. Flanders states its 2026 salary floors annually — €48,912 gross for a highly skilled worker, reduced to €39,129.60 for workers under thirty on a local contract, €63,586 for an EU Blue Card — where Brussels states monthly figures. From 1 January 2026 Flanders also tightened the rest: level-2 low-skilled roles are no longer eligible at all, the mid-level shortage list lost fourteen functions, level 3–4 roles need a VDAB/EURES vacancy published for nine weeks beforehand, and the authorities can demand proof that your diploma is authentic. Advice written for Brussels is wrong here in both directions.

Third-country nationals on a long-stay visa must report to the city's foreigners' desk within eight working days of arriving. You receive a Bijlage 15, then a neighbourhood officer calls at the address to confirm you live there. Until that report is positive there is no national register number, and without the number there is no eID, no bank account, no ziekenfonds and no phone contract. Put your name on the letterbox and the doorbell the day you get the keys — a failed check restarts the whole sequence.

Non-EU newcomers aged eighteen or over with a residence permit of more than three months, registered in a Flemish municipality, are obliged to follow the inburgering path: social orientation in a language you understand, Dutch tuition to at least A2, and career or education guidance, with an attendance requirement of 80%. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals and their family members are exempt, as are several other categories. Antwerp does not use the regional agency — the city runs its own service, Atlas, which is where you will be referred. This is a real obligation with real consequences, not a welcome pack.

The special regime for foreign executives ended on 1 January 2022, replaced by the inbound taxpayer regime (BBIB) and its researcher variant (BBIO). Most of what is still online describes the abolished version. For remuneration from 1 January 2025 the tax-free expense allowance rose from 30% to 35% of gross, the €90,000 annual cap on it was abolished, and the minimum gross salary condition fell from €75,000 to €70,000, with no salary minimum for researchers. Belgian social security did not follow — for contributions the 30% and €90,000 limits still apply. The employer applies for it within a short window after you start, and there is no second chance.

Belgium's additional communal tax is a percentage added to the income tax you already owe, voted by each municipality and published by FPS Finance. For assessment year 2026 Antwerp charges 7.0%. The City of Brussels charges 4.9% and Schaerbeek 5.0%, while nationally the range runs from 0% in Knokke-Heist to 9.0% in Mesen. It is worth knowing the number rather than assuming the whole country is the same, and it is your registered address on 1 January that fixes which rate you pay.

Antwerp is thoroughly at ease in English and you can live a professional life without Dutch. Administration is a different matter: Flemish language legislation makes Dutch the language of the municipality, so official correspondence, forms, school communications and the inburgering path itself run in Dutch. Add that A2 Dutch is a condition of the integration obligation and that Dutch materially widens the local job market beyond the international employers, and the case for learning it is stronger here than the everyday experience of the city suggests.