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 Human Resources. The team will assist you to get started. A staff card and access tag will also be created during this meeting.

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.

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 HR 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.

Find out how cross-border work impacts taxes

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 in Belgium

Overview

As a paid employee or researcher at Ghent University, you are required by law to be covered by Belgian social security.
Social security provides protection in areas such as:

Health insurance
Pensions (retirement, rest and survivor pensions)
Unemployment benefits
Occupational accident and occupational health insurance
Family benefits
Annual leave

If you are working under a fellowship (scholarship), your level of social security coverage depends on your nationality and on whether Belgium has a bilateral social security agreement with your country.

Full or partial social security coverage

Full social security coverage

You are fully covered under the Belgian social security system if you have a contract or tenure position at Ghent University; or if you have a Ghent University scholarship and are:

A national of an EU or EEA country, or Switzerland;
A stateless person or recognized refugee residing within the EEA or Switzerland; or
A national of a country with a bilateral social security agreement with Belgium (see list of treaties: https://www.comingtobelgium.be/en/coming_to_belgium/FODSZ_Convention).

Ghent University scholarships are provided to doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers.

You must register with a Belgian health insurance fund (mutualité/ziekenfonds) during your stay to be covered for health care and sickness.

With full coverage, you are entitled to:

Health insurance, medical care and sickness benefits
Family allowances
Unemployment benefits
Pension rights

In this case, full social security contributions (13.07%) are deducted from your fellowship or salary.

Partial social security coverage

If you have a UGent scholarship and Belgium has no bilateral social security agreement with your country, you are partially subject to Belgian social security.
This means you are covered for:

Health insurance, medical care and sickness benefits
Family allowances

However, you are not covered for unemployment or pension benefits, and these rights cannot be transferred abroad. In this case, reduced social security contributions (4.07%) are deducted from your fellowship.

Ghent University scholarships are provided to doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers.

Even if your contributions are reduced, you must register with a Belgian health insurance fund (mutualité/ziekenfonds) during your stay to be covered for health care and sickness..

Family or childcare allowance

If your child moves with you to Belgium, you may be entitled to a monthly allowance (around €170 per child) from the Belgian government until age 18. Apply via one of the child benefit funds or contact the UGent Welcome Team. More information: www.groeipakket.be/en

Pension

If you are fully subject to Belgian social security, pension contributions are automatically paid and can be viewed at www.mypension.be. These rights can be transferred to EEA countries upon retirement. (Not applicable when you only pay partial social security contributions.)

Unemployment benefits

You may qualify for unemployment benefits if you have sufficient working history and a permanent right to stay in Belgium. Applications are processed by a labour union or the HVW. (Not applicable for non-EEA nationals with a temporary right to stay or for those paying partial social security contributions.)

Working in Belgium and abroad

If you work for Ghent University and another employer abroad, or if you work for UGent while residing outside Belgium, your social security affiliation must be determined according to EU Regulation (EC) 883/2004 (for the EEA and Switzerland) or a bilateral agreement (for non-EEA countries).
Only one country’s social security system can apply at a time.

More information

Cost of Living

Learn about housing costs, utilities, food, transport, and daily expenses in Ghent. Practical budgeting tips and examples for international PhD students and researchers moving to Belgium.