Employability
Since January 1st 2019 students do not require a work permit to be able to work in Belgium, their Residence Card now serves that purpose. A student in Brussels can work a total of 475 untaxed hours per year. During the academic period, a student is allowed to work a maximum of 20 hours per week, on the contrary, during holiday period anyone can work full-time. To further elaborate, the 475 is not a limit per year, but if you finish those hours, the next ones are taxed, which greatly demotivates companies to keep students at work after that limit is passed. The minimum wage for a student is exactly 10 Euros per hour, which is lower than the normal minimum wage. If you receive a work opportunity which would pay less than that, DO NOT accept it, because you would be working illegally!
Eligibility to Work
Since January 1st 2019 students do not require a work permit to be able to work in Belgium, their Residence Card now serves that purpose. A student in Brussels can work a total of 475 untaxed hours per year. During the academic period, a student is allowed to work a maximum of 20 hours per week, on the contrary, during holiday period anyone can work full-time.
To further elaborate, the 475 is not a limit per year, but if you finish those hours, the next ones are taxed, which greatly demotivates companies to keep students at work after that limit is passed. The minimum wage for a student is exactly 10 Euros per hour, which is lower than the normal minimum wage. If you receive a work opportunity which would pay less than that, DO NOT accept it, because you would be working illegally!
Documents needed
When you get employed by a company, there are documents that they require before signing a contract with you. Usually it is the normal, confidentiality and an information form, but there vary on the company you are working with and provided by them. What you always have to provide is a copy of your eligible residence card and an attestation of working hours which can be found at: www.mysocialsecurity.be/student. Most of the time you will have to provide information about your transport subscription since most companies that provide jobs and internships will refund you for your transport costs.
Finding a job
Brussels is the heart of Europe, thus the demand for jobs is high, but the floor of skills required is also relatively high. For international students there exists a language barrier, and speaking Dutch and/or French is all but required. For students who do not speak either of those languages there are opportunities, but these opportunities are scarce and limited.
Another aspect of finding a job is having a good CV, and I case you have not had job or internship experience it is greatly recommended to build up your hard and soft skills by participating in extracurricular activities provided on campus.
Where to look?
The best reference and supporting body on campus to find a student job and/or internship would be Career Corner. You can sign up to their page with your student info at https://feb.careercorner.be/student/. They provide a range of services, from seminars on internships, jobs, and improving your CV, to helping you fid a job, and most importantly organizing job and internship fairs in campus. These fairs are a key part in finding a job since companies are scouting for young and bright mind on the same campus you are studying. Joining these fairs with an open mind and a good CV will help increase the chances of you getting a career-worthy student job, even as an international stuent.
Documents needed
When you get employed by a company, there are documents that they require before signing a contract with you. Usually it is the normal, confidentiality and an information form, but there vary on the company you are working with and provided by them. What you always have to provide is a copy of your eligible residence card and an attestation of working hours which can be found at: www.mysocialsecurity.be/student. Most of the time you will have to provide information about your transport subscription since most companies that provide jobs and internships will refund you for your transport costs.
Finding a job
Brussels is the heart of Europe, thus the demand for jobs is high, but the floor of skills required is also relatively high. For international students there exists a language barrier, and speaking Dutch and/or French is all but required. For students who do not speak either of those languages there are opportunities, but these opportunities are scarce and limited. Another aspect of finding a job is having a good CV, and I case you have not had job or internship experience it is greatly recommended to build up your hard and soft skills by participating in extracurricular activities provided on campus. The best reference and supporting body on campus to find a student job and/or internship would be Career Corner. You can sign up to their page with your student info at https://feb.careercorner.be/student/. They provide a range of services, from seminars on internships, jobs, and improving your CV, to helping you fid a job, and most importantly organizing job and internship fairs in campus. These fairs are a key part in finding a job since companies are scouting for young and bright mind on the same campus you are studying. Joining these fairs with an open mind and a good CV will help increase the chances of you getting a career-worthy student job, even as an international stuent.