Search Q&A
Work permit + Co-habitation
Hi.
I have been living in Brussels for the past year doing a traineeship at an NGO, my contract and the validity of my residence permit are just about to end at the end of March. The organisation is willing to hire me and we have taken all the relevant procedures but it looks like they will reject my application based on the salary as I am a highly qualified employee.
On the other hand, my girlfriend (EU-citizen) recently moved to my place but hasn't changed her address, if she registers with me, am I eligible to apply for legal co-habitation even though we would just started living together? And by doing this, how fast can I expect to get a work permit?
Thanks for the help.
if you officially register as cohabitant and she is EU you would not need a work permit to work here. But it does not apply for all EU nationalities, you need to check on that (there is an office in the same building of gare du nord in brussels that grants work permits and can help you with reliable information)
however a cohabitation is a legally binding procedure so ensure you fully understand the consequences of signing it. notaire.be is a good source to get these information.
you need quite some documents and proof to register as cohabitant and your commune that give you a detailed list of them, if not in any of the national languages they need to be officially translated
Don't really know about your work permit, but I would just give a word of caution about legal co-habitation.
It is legally effectively the same as getting married, so I would advise you to look into it carefully. Once you're cohabiting, you become liable for each others debts, they are entitled to part of your inheritance, your income tax situation will change, etc. etc. It is not something to be entered into lightly just to get around a temporary work permit problem.
And, if you "break up" with your partner, you have to formally put an end to the contract co-habitation, otherwise it stays in force. e.g. your partner ups and leaves the country, you're still liable for them.
