The inflow of economic immigrants to Belgium is decreasing, according to data from the national migration service, cited by local media. Over the past year, the country has reported a 12 percent drop in the number of temporary permits for short-term stay and work issued, BTA reported.
These permits are issued at the request of a local employer who wishes to hire a worker from a non-EU country. There has been a 9 percent decrease in applications from foreigners who have requested to move to Belgium to work.
Although EU citizens have automatic access to the Belgian labor market, the number of Europeans who have settled in the country to work is also decreasing. There are a total of 205,000 employees posted to Belgium from another EU country, and it is specified that their number has been steadily decreasing since 2017.
According to the analysis of the authorities, the reasons for these phenomena are related to the economic situation. It is added that the recently adopted legislative changes to limit the conditions for entry and stay of those coming from non-EU countries also have an impact.