War in Ukraine and Businesses: A summary of information and support measures

Upon arrival, Ukrainian nationals receive a declaration of arrival. The federal level organizes the first crisis assistance.

Medium-term accommodation is delegated to the municipalities. When Ukrainian refugees are registered as "temporarily relocated" with the Foreigners' Office and if they declare that they need accommodation, FEDASIL searches for accommodation via a web platform "Housing Tool", which centralizes the places that have been communicated by the local community. This tool provides very short-term accommodation through private initiatives or host families. There is then a dispatching of Ukrainian nationals in the various Brussels municipalities that have accommodation to offer.

Then, the Brussels Region, within the framework of its competences, must be able to provide a temporary housing solution for approximately 20,000 Ukrainian refugees. This phase is carried out in cooperation with the local and federal authorities.

After obtaining temporary protection status at the registration center (Heysel), the municipality where the person has accommodation will issue a residency permit (card A).

This A-card gives access to assistance from the CPAS (social welfare service) of the municipality, to the registration with the compulsory health insurance, as well as to the possibility to work as an employee or self-employed or to follow a professional training, an adult education, etc. 

This status is currently valid for one year, but Europe can extend it to a maximum of 3 years.

The A card allows unlimited access to the labor market. The same access to the labor market is provided for certain family members of the beneficiary of temporary protection who are not themselves beneficiaries of this status but whose stay is linked to the beneficiary concerned.

To become an employee

Unlike other non-EU nationals, Ukrainian nationals do not need to receive a work authorization (work permit). Therefore, their employers do not need to apply for a "unique permit" (from Brussels Economy and Employment).

Ukrainians who are already in Belgium for seasonal work will have their work permit renewed, even beyond the 90-day limit. Check the sites for Brussels and Flanders on this subject.

Ukrainians who already had access to work prior to the temporary protection status can continue to rely on these permits. 

Key websites:

• for Brussels
• for Flanders
• for Wallonia

TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS

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If you have an activity that generates income in Belgium, this income must be declared to the State. There are several ways in which you can your own business, with different statutes and therefore different formalities.

SETTING UP AS SELF-EMPLOYED

Ukrainian nationals who want to set up as self-employed no longer need to apply for a professional card

Those residing in the Brussels-Capital Region or in Wallonia and starting up as an individual, or those creating a company with its head office in these two regions, must prove their entrepreneurial abilities, namely basic management knowledge and professional skills if applicable. Practical experience or a diploma acquired in Ukraine can be used as proof, according to the same rules as any non-EU national.

Contact an enterprise counter before taking any other steps, to check whether your diplomas and experience are valid and find out what documents you will need to provide.

Some diplomas are automatically accepted and can be found in the Diplo database. Some flexibility will be allowed if certain evidentiary documents cannot be provided due to the ongoing conflict. For example, a lost diploma can be replaced by a certificate from the organisation that issued it.
For other diplomas, an equivalent document may be requested. Please note that this request for equivalence is not free and can take a long time for a result that is (often) negative.

In terms of experience, double proof of practice is required. For example, an extract from the commercial register and a social document attesting to self-employment (from the equivalent of a social insurance fund). For access to management, it is necessary to prove three years of experience as a lead director during the last 15 years.

In the absence of a recognised diploma or valuable experience, it will be possible to take an examination at the Central Jury. These theoretical exams are held in French, Dutch or German. Training courses are available to prepare for these exams (here or here).

Lastly, when it is not possible for the business owner to do so, one of the following people can prove the basic management knowledge:

• the spouse
• the legal cohabitant
• the partner with whom they have been living for at least six months
• an employee with a permanent contract (minimum 4 hours/week)
• a self-employed helper who is a first, second or third degree relative of the entrepreneur and who submits a declaration from a social insurance fund for self-employed persons showing that they are a self-employed helper of the entrepreneur concerned

CREATING YOUR ACTIVITY IN THE FORM OF A NON-PROFIT ASSOCIATION (ASBL)

When the goal of the company is not personal enrichment but rather a selfless goal of improving society, it is possible to carry out its activity in the form of an ASBL. There are many ASBLs in the social, cultural and leisure, etc. sectors.

A minimum of two people is required to found an ASBL. These two people agree on the statutes, which are published in the Belgian Official Gazette. It is not possible to be an employee as a director of an ASBL, but this is allowed for specific tasks other than the day-to-day management of the association (e.g. giving courses or running the art gallery). In this case, as you do not have self-employed status, it is not necessary to have a professional card or access to the management and profession.

CARRYING OUT ACTIVITY VIA A SHARED ENTERPRISE OR A COOPERATIVE OF ACTIVITIES

Another option is to work through a company that will act as an intermediary between the project owner and their clients. The project owner will thus become an employee of this intermediary who will transform the income of their clients into successive fixed-term contracts. This system avoids the pitfalls of the professional card and access to the management and so makes it possible to start a business much faster and more easily.

Some activities, which are either "protected" (such as doctors, architects and accountants) or that require a long-term commitment (such as signing a commercial lease) are not possible in a shared enterprise. Several intermediaries exist, of which Smart offers the widest range of activities. The others include Tentoo and Amplo.be.

A business cooperative allows you to test your activity for 18 months while maintaining your status as a job seeker, and therefore without the need for a professional card and access to management. Coaching is offered to set up the business. In Brussels, this possibility is offered by JobYourself.

WORKING IN BELGIUM WITH YOUR FOREIGN COMPANY

1. BY CREATING A SUBSIDIARY

The subsidiary is a company under national law (a company that will adopt a legal form under Belgian law), founded and controlled by one or more Belgian or foreign companies. The subsidiary has its own shares and its own board of directors.

The subsidiary has a separate legal personality from the parent company, unlike a branch office.

The administrator must have a professional card (and access to management if the head office is in Brussels or Wallonia).

2. BY CREATING A BRANCH OFFICE

The branch office is an extension of the foreign company in Belgium. It is created when the latter decides to regularly carry out acts falling within the framework of its commercial activity on our territory.

The branch has no legal personality. It therefore has no shares, no general assembly, no management body, etc., other than those of the foreign company of which it is part. However, the branch has separate management with some autonomy.

A legal representative of the foreign company must be appointed to its management. The deed of appointment must define the extent to which they are authorised to bind the foreign company in the context of the branch's activities. When a branch office enters into a contract, it is in fact the parent company that is committed.

3. BY CREATING A SIMPLE ESTABLISHMENT UNIT

Unlike with the branch, there is no separate management. In Belgium, no one has the power to bind this company, so there is no legal representative. Management is retained in its entirety within the foreign company.

As with a Belgian company, the Establishment Unit is defined as a place of business, geographically identifiable by an address, where or from which at least one activity of the company is carried out (store, office, warehouse).

The company will therefore have to meet the same conditions as all Belgian companies in terms of registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, entrepreneurial capacities and other authorisations.

4. WORKING (WITHOUT SETTLING) IN BELGIUM

If a foreign company carries out activities in Belgium without being established there (e.g. consultancy activities), it will have to submit an application for authorisation through the Enterprise Counter. Access to management (if the chosen counter is in Wallonia or Brussels) and a professional card are therefore necessary.

WHAT ABOUT TAXATION?

SOCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Part of your income is deducted to ensure your social protection in terms of health coverage, family allowances, pension, etc.

• For an employee, the contributions generally amount to more than 30% of the salary, but they are deducted at source and paid directly by the employer to the State.
• For a self-employed person, social security contributions are 20.5% of their income. In this case, these contributions are not deducted at source but they will have to pay them themselves each quarter. Please note that especially in the first year of activity, there is a minimum to pay, even if you have no customers!

PERSONAL INCOME TAX

Whether you have income as a self-employed person (individual or company director) or as an employee, it will be taxed with IPP (Personal Income Tax). This tax works by brackets (net income before tax is considered). For a self-employed person, this means that we take the turnover, from which we deduct the deductible expenses).

Every taxpayer is entitled to a tax-free amount: this is a basic amount on which you do not pay tax. This untaxed sum amounts to €9,270 in 2022 (for 2021 income). It is to be counted in the first bracket and may increase depending on your personal situation (for example, if you have dependent children).

With the same net income, the tax is therefore the same for an employee and for a self-employed person. The big difference is that, in the case of the employee, this amount will again be deducted at source and paid directly by the employer to the State. However, for the self-employed person, all their remuneration will be paid into their bank account and they will have to take the money out.

CORPORATION TAX

Your executive remuneration will therefore be taxed as personal income tax. However, the rest of the company's income will be taxed as ISOC (corporation tax).

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For further questions or advice on self-employed status in Brussels, please contact 1819.

The European Ministers of the Interior have already decided to grant Ukrainian refugees a right of residence valid for one year and renewable twice. During three years, these people fleeing from their war-torn country will be able to access the Belgian job market. Actiris is the Brussels Regional Employment Office. As a public service, it is the main actor and solution provider for employment in the Brussels-Capital Region.

Brussels, like other capitals, has been observing migratory flows for years. Actiris has evolved its services to meet the needs of this new demographic. Since 2018, Actiris has been using social interpreters to help job seekers who speak neither French nor Dutch. Brochures and videos explaining the steps to take when looking for a job are available in 22 languages. A 23rd version in Ukrainian is currently being produced to make registration at Actiris easier and more fluid. A welcome and information brochure will also be produced in Ukrainian and distributed to the municipalities of Brussels. The aim will be to invite Ukrainian refugees to participate in information sessions on the services offered by Actiris in order to organize the transition to employment as well as possible.

Actiris also has collaboration agreements with leading actors in the guidance and integration of newcomers:

• Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (FEDASIL)

Actiris' employees are also trained to assit this public. The Actiris teams are therefore ready to support refugees from Ukraine who are looking for a job. For more information, please visit https://www.actiris.brussels/en/citizens

The Local Missions for socio-professional integration provide help on the employment market to people who need it.

a) Several structures can provide free support to candidate entrepreneurs to set up their business project:

• the Local Economy Office provides free support to any person wanting to create or develop their own activity in Brussels by helping them with their entrepreneurial process. 
• Iles
• Microstart
• Credal
• Job Yourself

b) For those wanting to create an ASBL, the following structures can help:

• www.ideji.be 
• www.boutiquedegestion.be 
• www.associatiffinancier.be 

c) Lastly, some organisations have set up reception, support and mentoring programmes for newcomers. 

• The non-profit organisation VIA, a reception office for newcomers, which has two locations (Schaerbeek and Molenbeek), offers several types of support, such as individual support, socio-professional orientation, citizenship training and French courses, to newcomers. It has also set up the PEPA support programme, which aims to facilitate the employment self-creation process for newcomers, by providing group information sessions and individual support. 
• The ASBL CONVIVIAL aims to promote the integration of refugees and newcomers into Belgium with an approach involving listening and reciprocal commitment.  
• Duo for a job is a non-profit organisation that brings together young job seekers from immigrant backgrounds with experienced volunteers over 50 years old from the same professional sector, so that the latter can support them in their job search or entrepreneurial project. 
• Team4job offers a six-month mentoring programme that puts job-seekers (mentees) in touch with professionally active people (mentors) to boost their job search or project development. Together, they form a pair and meet at least twice a month at the mentor's place of work. 
• Ciré's general reception service is a free service that informs and guides people regarding Ciré's services and actions, as well as regarding residence and asylum procedures, the rights of foreigners and appropriate social and legal support. The service also aims to contribute to the integration of foreigners into the Belgian labour market, in respect of their rights and their socio-professional project. To do this, it informs and supports people in their efforts to obtain the equivalence of diplomas and in the validation of more informal knowledge. 
• bon (Inburgering Brussel) organises integration courses in 20 different languages, and also gives advice and support and organises a lot of activities.