Warmly welcoming new staff!
You’ve obtained all of your administrative documents, discovered the beautiful city of Ghent, found a new home and new colleagues, and have settled in comfortably. It’s an ideal time to familiarise yourself with important administrative and financial topics that will impact your stay.
Welcome meeting
After your arrival in Belgium you will be invited to a meeting with the Welcome Team from the HR Department. The team will assist you to get started. A staff card and access tag will also be created during this meeting.
Residence procedures
Declaring your presence
All staff – even from within the EEA – need to register at the city hall of their place of residence in Belgium. There are strict deadlines that need to be met.
Read more about the general procedure.
Read more about staying and registering within Ghent.
Overview of the passports and ID cards.
Administrative to-do list on arrival
Open a bank account
Shortly after arriving in Ghent, we recommend opening a bank account at a Belgian bank of your choice – a simple process that requires basic identification and a bank form.
Keep our information current
Ensure that the DPO Team has the most up-to-date information possible regarding your family situation, employment, personal information, bank account information and dependents.
Exchange your driver’s license
Non-EU nationals will need to exchange their current license for a Belgian driver’s license immediately upon arrival. Find out more about this process.
Insurances are mandatory or recommended
Mandatory health insurance
Legally, you and all members of your family must have health insurance during your stay in Belgium.
When staying more than 90 days, a registration with a mutual healthcare fund is also mandatory. Membership at the Public health insurance is free. Private health insurances charge a small premium for additional coverage and reimbursements.
Recommended hospitalisation coverage
Hospitalisation costs are covered by a hospitalisation insurance policy, which you can register for via your private insurance fund or Ghent University.
All members of staff belonging to the category of Administrative and Technical Staff (ATP) are subscribed automatically to the policy. Other members of personnel can subscribe optionally to the policy.
Other insurances
Other recommended insurances is an insurance for private liability. When you rent an apartment or house on the private market, a fire insurance is mandatory. If you own a car in Belgium, a car insurance is also mandatory.
Taxation
Taxation in Belgium
Completing a annual tax document as resident or non-resident is mandatory in Belgium for everybody who lived and/or worked in Belgium. A Belgian resident is taxed on all of their Belgian and foreign income.
Double taxation and treaties
In some circumstances, people employed internationally may be taxed on the same income in different countries, depending on tax sovereignty status and arrangements between countries.
A resident of another country is generally taxed in that country on their worldwide income, while income from Belgian sources is also subject to tax in Belgium (non-residents’ tax). Belgium often has treaties with other countries to avoid international employees being taxed on the same income twice.
Keep your personal file up to date
Always ensure that Ghent University has complete information about your family situation, changes in employment outside of Ghent University and personal data to verify tax implications.
Social security and insurance
As a paid employee or researcher of Ghent University, you are required by law to be covered under Belgian social security. Social security provides health insurance, retirement rest and survivor pension, unemployment benefits, occupational accident insurance, occupational health insurance, family benefits and annual leave.
If you are working in a fellowship status and come from a country that doesn’t have a bilateral agreement with Belgium, you are only partially subject to social security, without rights to pension and unemployment benefits.
You may also work simultaneously for Ghent University and another foreign entity, or solely for the university while residing abroad.
Within the EEA
An employee can only be subject to social security in one EEA member state or Switzerland. The regulation that applies is (EC) 883/2004.
Outside the EEA
Your social security status and rights depend on bilateral treaties that Belgium has concluded with other countries.