War in Ukraine: employment of Ukrainian residents in Belgium

Temporary protection

Upon arrival in Belgium, Ukrainian residents can apply for a ‘temporary protection certificate’.

To qualify for this, they will have to apply in person, with their Ukrainian identity documents, to a specially set-up registration centre in Brussels (Hall 8, Heysel). If the conditions are met, a temporary protection certificate will be issued. Once they have obtained this certificate, they can apply to the municipal administration of their residence.

After registering, they will normally receive an annex 15 while awaiting an address check by a local police officer and their electronic card A. Beneficiaries of temporary protection are exempt from applying for a work permit. In this context, the annex 15 and the card A will be marked ‘labour market: unlimited’, which gives immediate access to the Belgian labour market.

This card is valid for one year and is renewable (twice) every six months.

Scope of application

This status applies to the following two categories of persons:

• Ukrainian nationals and their family members who had their principal place of residence in Ukraine before 24 February 2022.
• Stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine, who benefited from international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022, and their family members who had their principal place of residence in Ukraine before 24 February 2022.

We are glad to help you

If you wish to hire a Ukrainian resident, we advise you to check whether this person is in possession of an electronic card A or annex 15 mentioning ‘labour market: unlimited’. You can legally employ a Ukrainian resident only on the basis of one of these two documents. In case of employment, you should check the expiry date of the residence permit in the context of obtaining an extension with access to the labour market. Also keep in mind that your employees, who are beneficiaries of temporary protection, will be subject to the same rights and obligations as your Belgian employees.