How to immigrate an IT specialist to Belgium

Belgium is a kingdom with a high standard of living and a good economy. This country attracts immigrants with its polite population and fabulous, Western European architecture. It is not surprising that many people want to move here to work and live.

Belgium is an excellent choice for an IT specialist

Like other IT-developed countries, Belgium has a number of attractive career opportunities for talented professionals. The country is called the center of the European telecom industry, which is a positive factor when looking for a job. A Schengen visa is sufficient for entry. It is also possible to arrange a student or work one.

Belgium has three regions: Flemish, Brussels and Walloon. The country is multilingual. There are three official languages: Dutch, French and German. English is also well understood, but in order to get comfortable and find a decent job, you need to master the language of the region where you plan to settle. Multilingual foreign workers or those using at least one of the official languages are significantly more likely to find work.

The most sought-after professions

In Belgium, highly specialized professionals with a high level of qualifications are valued, as well as people employed in complex specific fields. The highest paid professions according to the analysis of the employment market:

• IT specialists;
• top and middle-level physicians;
• employees of financial and economic structures;
• construction workers;
• crisis managers;
• design engineers;
• truck drivers.

Most immigrants tend to go to Brussels, as it is the location of large companies that provide employment opportunities for foreigners. But for IT people, geolocation is less important, since they can work, in fact, from anywhere in the world where there is access to the Internet.

With the development of information technology, the tasks that are set for IT specialists are becoming more and more complicated. Today there is a great need for specialists in narrow fields. Whole teams work on the creation of sites, because these are very complex, multi-level programs. Each specialist has his own part in the overall project. If you are looking for a job as a front-end developer, back-end developer, UX designer, then finding a job will not be difficult. Specialists of this profile are most in demand.

How to get a job in Belgium

We do not get tired of repeating that the best option for finding a job abroad is to apply to a specialized agency for the recruitment of IT staff. A recruiter will help with the competent resume, which will take into account all the nuances. The main thing is that the resume should be written in the right language, Dutch, French or German, depending on where you have decided to work. A limited number of companies accept applications in English. This is more of an exception that should definitely be checked.

When looking for a job, do not ignore the websites of local companies or even Russian-language forums. The kingdom has a sufficient number of sites for remote job search, where vacancies for IT specialists are posted. Many of them are typed on vacancies of certain types of activity:

• career.be;
• jobscareer.be;
• jobat.be;
• belgium.hotjobs.net;
• monster.be.

Also, there are many recruitment agencies in the employment market, cooperation with which will greatly simplify the job search for non-residents of the country. The main thing when choosing a recruiter is to pay attention to the reviews about him.

Size and formation of wages

The minimum wage in Belgium is set by law at 1,593.81 euros. The average wage is not regulated by the state and tends to grow. At the moment the level of the average wage in Belgium is the highest among European countries.

A newcomer may be surprised by a very unconventional approach to wage formation. The salary itself is relatively small. But at the same time, companies provide employees with benefits:

• company-paid health insurance;
• provide a company car and gasoline for it;
• provide the thirteenth salary;
• provide food stamps, purchase of equipment, etc.

Such measures are explained by the income tax system. Deductions account for almost a third of earnings.

It is not supposed to calculate the value of all bonuses, so the average salary of a programmer in Belgium in cash payments is 3,500 euros. But the main trick is that the earnings of graduated and qualified personnel can constantly change. For example, if a normal English-speaking web – designer receives 2.5 thousand, but has a desire to earn more – can learn Dutch or French, and this is guaranteed to raise the salary of this specialist.  The level of income depends directly on the skills, knowledge of the employee, as well as the number of hours he worked.

Recruitment agencies help to organize the relocation of programmers to Belgium. In every region of the country there is also a state employment office, where it is possible to get advice on work issues, as well as find vacancies, internships and training.

To summarize, the first thing to do for those who are planning to immigrate to Europe, in particular to Belgium, is to learn one of the official languages. If you are a confident specialist with knowledge of French or Dutch, you have the desire to work, then employment is assured.