Work in Belgium as a foreign doctor, nurse or AHP (2026)

• FPS HealthFPS Public Health (visa to practise)

  Visa to practise for doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, midwives and other health professions

  Read the registration guide

1. 1

   1. Choose your language Community

   Decide whether you will build your career in Dutch, French or German, because that decides where you apply for equivalence and which language certificate you need. Look at where the jobs you want are before you choose.
2. 2

   2. Learn the language to the required level

   Before the FPS issues your visa you need a language certificate less than four years old: C1 for doctors, dentists and pharmacists (B2 accepted for written expression), B2 for nurses responsible for general care and midwives. The test must be an exam, not course attendance, must cover reading, listening, writing and speaking, and every part must be passed at the level. Start this first; it is usually the longest step.
3. 3

   3. Apply for equivalence of your diploma

   Apply to NARIC-Vlaanderen online or to the Service des équivalences of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. Apply for the diploma that gives you the right to practise, for example your basic medical degree, and add any specialisation as a supplementary diploma. NARIC-Vlaanderen asks for a specific equivalence (€243 in 2026) rather than a level equivalence (€122), and gives you 6 months to supply missing documents before closing the file.
4. 4

   4. Collect your certificates of good professional conduct

   The FPS asks for a certificate of good professional conduct from the competent authority of every country, other than Belgium, where you have practised. It must show that you are authorised to practise and have never been suspended or disciplined; it may be called a certificate of current professional status (CCPS) or a letter of good standing. You also need a certificate of good conduct from the countries where you have lived.
5. 5

   5. Get Community recognition first if your profession needs it

   For some professions the Community recognises the professional title before the FPS visa. In Flanders this applies to physiotherapists, paramedical professions and care assistants, who apply to the Departement Zorg straight after their NARIC equivalence. Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, clinical psychologists and clinical orthopedagogues go straight to the FPS with their equivalence certificate.
6. 6

   6. Apply to the FPS Public Health for your visa

   Complete the FPS application form for authorisation to practise, attach the required documents, your language proof and your certificate of good professional conduct, and send everything to [email protected]. The procedure is free. The FPS issues the visa only once every document has been received.
7. 7

   7. Recognition of specialist and particular titles

   With your visa for the basic profession, apply to the Community for any specialist title. In Flanders the Departement Zorg has separate forms for general practitioners and medical specialists, specialist dentists, hospital pharmacists, specialist nurses and nurses' special titles. It communicates through your eBox, which you activate through Mijn Burgerprofiel.
8. 8

   8. Register with the Order of Physicians if you are a doctor

   Doctors apply for registration with the Order of Physicians (Ordre des médecins, Orde der artsen), which takes registration requests online.
9. 9

   9. Your employer applies for the single permit

   Unless you are exempt, your employer applies for the work authorisation part of a single permit in the region where you will work. In Flanders, applications go through the Uniek Loket and, from 1 September 2026, carry a €180 fee per application. The salary must meet the threshold for your category.
10. 10

    10. Complete the residence formalities

    Follow the instructions that come with the approved permit for the residence part of the procedure. Keep your FPS visa decision, your Community equivalence and recognition decisions and your permit together, because your employer will need copies of each.

• Belgium does not accept English for the right to practise. The FPS Public Health requires sufficient knowledge of Dutch, French or German before it issues a visa.
• Levels set by the FPS: C1 (with written expression at B2) for doctors, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, clinical psychologists and clinical orthopedagogues; B2 for nurses responsible for general care, midwives and most paramedical professions; B1 for nurses trained below bachelor level and certain paramedical professions; A2 for nursing assistants and ambulance staff for non-urgent patient transport.
• Accepted proof is a secondary, higher or university diploma from a Dutch, French or German-speaking institution, or an official language certificate less than four years old at the right level.
• There is no official list of accepted tests. The FPS gives examples: certificates from Travaillerpour.be or Werkenvoor.be (FPS BOSA), DELF, DALF, TCF and TEF for French; CVO, CBE, ITNA (KU Leuven, Universiteit Antwerpen, Universiteit Gent, VUB) and CNaVT for Dutch; and the Goethe-Institut for German.
• Certificates of course attendance, tests that do not cover all four skills and unsupervised online tests are not accepted.

• Single permit as a highly qualified worker (Flanders)

  Flanders states that a highly qualified worker must earn at least the average gross annual salary in Belgium, €48,912 for 2025, a figure it still applied to 2026 applications in August 2026. For a Belgian contract with double holiday pay and a thirteenth month this is €3,513.79 a month. The employer applies through the Uniek Loket.

• Lower threshold for nurses

  Highly qualified nurses, and highly qualified workers under 30, need at least 80% of the average salary in Flanders: €39,129.60 a year for 2025, or €2,811.03 a month on a Belgian contract. The 80% rule does not apply to posted workers on a foreign contract.

• EU Blue Card

  In Flanders the employer can apply for a Blue Card when the gross annual salary is at least 130% of the Belgian average, €63,586 for 2025. The card is issued as an H card; after one year of work it is valid for any employer that meets the Blue Card conditions, although a new work authorisation application is still needed.

• Fees and waiting times

  From 1 September 2026 the Flemish Government charges employers €180 per single permit application. It gives indicative waits of around 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the category, before the examination of a file starts. Brussels and Wallonia run their own procedures; check the regional authority for the region of your workplace.

• Training placements for doctors

  A doctor with a non-European diploma can obtain a temporary training authorisation, valid for up to two years, under article 146. It does not allow normal practice, only specific procedures within the training, and applications are usually coordinated by the university linked to the host hospital.

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  You do not need a work permit. With an EEA or Swiss diploma you request recognition from the Community, after which the FPS processes your visa automatically and asks for good conduct certificates and language proof. This procedure is free.

We could not find an official national pay scale for hospital doctors or nurses in Belgium that we could confirm from a government page, so we do not quote one. Hospital pay is set by employers and sector agreements and varies by region and status. What the Flemish Government does publish are the minimum salaries a foreign worker must be paid for a work permit, which give a floor. All figures are gross.

• Highly qualified worker (Flanders)

  €48,912 a year (€3,513.79 a month)

  Average Belgian gross salary for 2025, still applied to 2026 applications in August 2026.

• Highly qualified nurse (Flanders)

  €39,129.60 a year (€2,811.03 a month)

  80% of the average salary, for nurses on a Belgian contract.

• EU Blue Card (Flanders)

  €63,586 a year

  130% of the average salary, 2025 figure.

• Guaranteed average minimum monthly income (GGMMI)

  €2,233.60 a month

  From 1 July 2026, as listed by the Flemish Government; no permit salary may be lower.