Single Permit for a Cook in Belgium: Region, Pay, Cost

Belgium has one residence system but three regional work-permit tests, and which one applies depends on where the cook will actually work. In Brussels, "Chef de cuisine" is a shortage occupation that skips the labour market test; a cook below that level does not. In Flanders, "Kok" and "Chef de partie" are shortage occupations too, but only after a 9-week job posting. In Wallonia, "Chef de partie" is on the current shortage list; ordinary cooks are not confirmed. Pay must clear the sector minimum for hospitality (Horeca), currently about €2,630 a month for a qualified cook in the Brussels-Wallonia joint committee scale. There is no working holiday route with Japan.

1. Which region decides, and does your role clear the list

For a stay of more than 90 days, a non-EU worker needs a single permit (permis unique / gecombineerde vergunning), covering both residence and work. The work part is decided by the region where the cook will actually work; the residence part is federal. A regional work approval does not by itself produce a single permit, since federal residence conditions still apply. The employer applies in the region of the establishment employing the worker, or, if that cannot be determined, the region of the registered office. Applications go through the federal single window (Guichet unique / Uniek Loket, "Working in Belgium"); Brussels has taken PDF and email applications out of use since 4 May 2026.

2. Brussels: head chef is a shortage occupation, cook is not

In the Brussels-Capital Region, applications go to Brussels Economy and Employment (Direction de la Migration économique). Under the Brussels ordinance of 1 February 2024 on economic migration, two routes matter to a restaurant.

Actiris, the Brussels employment service, published its latest list of critical and shortage functions on 1 July 2026. Under HORECA, the shortage list has one entry: Chef de cuisine (head chef), and Brussels does not describe this route as needing a separate labour market analysis. Cooks below head chef level fall under the general "other case" category, granted only if Actiris's labour market analysis finds no suitable worker in Brussels.

3. Flanders: cooks qualify, after a 9 week posting

Flanders keeps two separate lists, and it matters which one a job is on. The migration list of medium-skilled functions (ministerial decree of 1 December 2025, 25 functions) skips the labour market test entirely, but cooks are not on it; it covers trades such as electricians, mechanics and care workers. The VDAB shortage occupation list (knelpuntberoepen), 2026 edition, does include Kok (cook) and Chef de partie under kitchen staff.

A job on the VDAB list but not the migration list goes through the "Overige" (Other) category. The conditions:

• The job title must appear on the VDAB list, word for word, in the vacancy, the contract and the application.
• The role must require a level 3 or 4 (medium-skilled) qualification.
• The employer must publish the vacancy on VDAB and EURES for an uninterrupted 9 weeks within the four months before applying, and cooperate with VDAB's placement efforts. The application cannot be filed before the 9 weeks pass.
• If VDAB's local tension indicator for the role is below 12 in one of the four months before applying, a shortage is presumed; otherwise the employer adds evidence that recruitment failed.
• The worker must normally be outside Belgium during the application, and only a Belgium-established employer can apply.
• The contract must be at least 80% of full time.

Since 1 September 2026, Flanders also charges a regional fee of €180 per application for a single permit, on top of the federal residence fee. It covers first applications and renewals, must be paid within 15 days of submission through Uniek Loket, and is not refunded if the application is refused or withdrawn.

4. Wallonia: chef de partie is listed, plain cook is not confirmed

In Wallonia, work permits are handled by the Service Public de Wallonie (SPW), Département de l'Emploi et des Permis de travail, in Jambes. The Walloon shortage occupation list published for 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 includes Chef de partie among hospitality and tourism functions. We could not confirm whether that listing lets an employer skip or shorten the labour market test the way Brussels and Flanders do, or whether a plain "cuisinier" without the chef de partie title is covered at all. Ask the SPW directly which document, if any, the listing produces for a single permit file, and get the answer in writing before you plan a filing date around it. The German-speaking Community handles its own territory's work permits through its ministry in Eupen.

5. Pay: the number that actually binds a cook

Whichever region decides, pay must respect the rate set by the joint committee (paritair comité / commission paritaire) for Horeca, PC 302, and can never fall below the guaranteed average minimum monthly income, which the Flemish government states as €2,233.60 gross a month from 1 July 2026 (€2,154.11 from 1 January, €2,189.81 from 1 April 2026). For the medium-skilled and "Other" categories in Flanders, the worker must be paid at least the joint committee rate for a trained or skilled worker, never the unskilled rate.

The number that actually applies to a working cook is PC 302's own scale, not the highly qualified thresholds below, which require a higher education diploma and rarely fit a cook. A qualified cook (cuisinier qualifié, category 4) starts at €15.97 an hour, about €2,629.69 a month, from 1 January 2026. Use this figure, not the highly qualified table, to write the contract.

6. No working holiday with Japan

Belgium does not appear among the 32 countries and regions Japan's foreign ministry lists as working holiday partners. Unlike France, Germany or the Netherlands, there is no working holiday shortcut for a young Japanese cook here. Every route into a Belgian kitchen from Japan runs through one of the regional permit tests above; see our overview of working holiday options in Europe for the countries where that route does exist.

7. Cost and schedule for one hire

A backward schedule, using published steps rather than an official combined total (Belgium does not publish one figure covering both the regional and federal stages):

8. Copy-paste offer summary for your candidate

English gloss: restaurant name and region/city, role title matching the shortage list wording exactly (Chef de cuisine, Chef de partie, or Kok), permit route (single permit, region decides work, federal government decides residence), gross salary at or above the PC 302 scale, contract length and probation, target start date flagged as dependent on the permit timeline, and who pays for housing and travel.

9. A Belgian hiring plan

1. Confirm the region: where is the establishment the cook will actually work from?
2. Brussels: if the role is genuinely head chef, use the shortage occupation route; otherwise plan for an Actiris labour market analysis.
3. Flanders: use the exact title "Kok" or "Chef de partie," publish on VDAB and EURES for 9 weeks, then apply and pay the €180 fee.
4. Wallonia: contact the SPW's work permit department before advertising, and ask specifically how the Chef de partie shortage listing affects your file.
5. Set pay at or above PC 302's qualified cook scale (€2,629.69 a month from 1 January 2026), never at the highly qualified thresholds, which do not apply to a working cook.
6. Send the candidate the offer summary above, then file through the federal single window and complete the residence steps.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Regional lists and thresholds change; confirm with Brussels Economy and Employment, the Flemish Department of Work, the SPW or a qualified adviser before acting.