Is there a digital nomad visa for Belgium, and how long can you stay?

You work from a laptop and want to spend a few weeks or months in Antwerp. Blogs disagree about a Belgian nomad visa, and you would rather know what the official sources say. Here is what they said when we checked them on 14 October 2026.

Belgium digital nomad visa: what exists today?

The Belgium digital nomad visa does not exist as a separate category in the official sources. The Immigration Office’s work page lists routes such as the single permit, the professional card, au pairs, researchers and the working holiday programme. None of them is for remote workers or digital nomads.

That leaves two situations. Either you come for a short stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, or you qualify for a long-stay route. Work authorisation is a regional matter in Belgium, so the region where you work decides on it. Antwerp is in the Flemish Region.

Some websites describe a Belgian nomad visa or a renewable remote-work stay. We found no such route on the Immigration Office’s pages. Treat those claims with care and check them with the Belgian embassy for your country. For the wider picture of moving here, see our guide to living in Antwerp.

How long can you stay in Belgium on a short stay?

A short stay in Belgium lasts at most 90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen Area. The Immigration Office states this rule on its short stay page. Frequent travellers should count the days spent in the Schengen Area in the 180 days before each new trip.

The European Commission’s short-stay calculator helps you check a past or planned stay. It counts back 180 days from each day of your stay. The calculator has two modes: one checks a stay already made, the other plans a future one.

Two exceptions matter. If you hold a short-stay visa, the period on your visa sticker counts; if it is under 90 days, do not use the calculator. Stays on an EU residence permit or a long-stay visa are not covered by the 90-day rule at all.

Short stay or long stay in Belgium: the main differences

Can you work remotely from Belgium on a short stay?

Remote work from Belgium on a short stay is a question the official pages we checked do not answer. The Immigration Office’s short stay page mentions professional reasons as a purpose of travel. It does not say whether you may work for a foreign employer or your own foreign business while you are here.

That gap matters, because answers online disagree. Before you plan months of client work from Antwerp, ask the Belgian embassy, the Flemish work authorisation service or an immigration adviser. Keep their answer in writing.

If you are self-employed and want to settle, the Flemish government says non-Belgians need a professional card for self-employed work in Flanders, with some exemptions. Its professional card page has a simulator to check whether you need one.

What must you do when you arrive in Belgium?

On arrival in Belgium for a short stay, you declare your address unless you stay in a hotel. The Immigration Office gives non-EU nationals three working days and EU nationals ten. You can do this online with the IBZ form My Address in Belgium, or at the municipality.

The online form is not proof of legal residence, identity or nationality, IBZ says. If you need proof, ask your municipality for a declaration of arrival (non-EU) or a declaration of presence (EU).

This declaration is a different step from registering as a resident. Registration in the population register is for the place where you actually live most of the year. Our guide to Antwerp city hall registration explains when that applies and when it does not.

Staying longer than 90 days in Belgium: which routes exist?

Staying longer than 90 days in Belgium means a long-stay route, applied for before you travel. FPS Foreign Affairs says long-stay visa applications go to the Belgian embassy or consulate for your country of residence. Workers on a single permit then register with their municipality within 8 working days of entering Belgium.

EU citizens follow different rules. For up to three months, they only declare their presence. To stay longer, they apply for a registration certificate at the municipality where they live, at the latest when those three months end.

Both routes end in the same place: an address where you live and can register. A furnished stay without registration works for the first weeks, not for the whole long stay.

Accommodation for a stay of up to 90 days

Accommodation for a stay of up to 90 days should let you work from day one. Every Hoost apartment has a dedicated workspace with Wi-Fi and an Ethernet connection, on a Telenet fibre line. There is a full kitchen, bed linen and towels, and a shared washing machine and dryer in the building.

The four apartments are in one building in Antwerp South, near Middelheim Park. Trams 2 and 6 stop near the building. Antwerpen-Centraal is about 4.3 km away in a straight line. You check in yourself with a lockbox, from 15:00.

You can book from 2 nights to 6 months. Electricity, heating and water are included, and Hoost can invoice a company if your client or employer pays. Send your dates and ask for an apartment with a workspace in Antwerp.

When Hoost is not the right choice

Hoost works for a short stay while you work remotely. It is not the right choice when:

• Your permit needs a registered address. Hoost does not allow address registration, so long-stay holders who must register need a lease.
• You want a daily cleaning service. Cleaning is per booking, not daily.
• You need parking on site. There is none; P+R Olympiade is about 0.2 km away.
• You want to be in the historic centre. The building is in Antwerp South, a tram ride from the centre.

For the next steps, return to our guide on moving to Antwerp for a few months. Or compare Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels for a month of remote work.