4

  • I am a Turkish citizen living and working in Germany. I don't have a Blue Card.
  • My wife is also a Turkish citizen living and working in Germany. She will get her Blue Card in 2 months.

Recently I got an offer from a Belgian company. I want to know if it's possible for me to get a work permit from Belgium and continue living in Germany with my wife. I'll visit the company twice in a week, and other 3 days I will work from home. Since I'm not a EU citizen, I couldn't find an answer anywhere. So basically is it possible to be a "cross-border commuter" for a non-EU citizen?

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/work-abroad/cross-border-commuters/index_en.htm

Mark Johnson
  • 5,264
  • 1
  • 8
  • 21
nerobianco
  • 53
  • 5
  • 1
    Yes, there is a special work permit B for 3rd country citizens living in another EU country (Grenzgänger). This must be applied for by the employer. See Abweichungen B): Arbeits- und Beschäftigungserlaubnis B | Info Integration. See also advise for Grenzgänger about taxes etc. Wohnen in Deutschland, arbeiten in Belgien - GrenzInfoPunkte – Mark Johnson Sep 07 '20 at 14:43
  • @MarkJohnson The page you linked to says nothing about cross-border workers/Grenzgänger. Do you know where more details are available? Are you sure it applies? – Relaxed Sep 07 '20 at 16:52
  • 1
    @Relaxed The page uses the phrase In einem anderen EU Land niedergelassene Nicht-EU Bürger (Non-EU citizens resident in another EU country). Ostbelgien Live - Arbeits- und Beschäftigungserlaubnis B uses the term Grenzgänger directly. Other that all found sites state that the work permit process, in general, should be started by the employer - I found nothing more specific. – Mark Johnson Sep 07 '20 at 22:17
  • 1
    @MarkJohnson Yes, I noticed that sentence, it means that people living elsewhere in the EU, potentially far away from the border, are exempted from some of the requirements. The page goes on to explain that once a work permit has been obtained, foreigners can apply for a visa in their country of origin (i.e. it is about moving to Belgium). On the other hand, it does not explicitly say that moving to Belgium is necessary so it might very well apply. – Relaxed Sep 07 '20 at 23:27
  • @Relaxed That is why I chosed that site since it was clearer. Since 2019 there is a combinded permit (Residence and work), work permit B and C. Just as in Germany there are also special conditions for Turkish citizens. – Mark Johnson Sep 08 '20 at 00:51
  • @Relaxed Luxemburg has similar regulations for the same situation: Als im Ausland niedergelassener Drittstaatsangehöriger (Grenzgänger) in Luxemburg arbeiten — Bürger — Guichet.lu - Verwaltungsleitfaden // Luxemburg – Mark Johnson Sep 08 '20 at 02:06
  • @MarkJohnson Thank you very much for the answers. Do you know if I can reside in Germany with the special work permit B of the Belgium? – nerobianco Sep 11 '20 at 07:27
  • The main pre-condition for a residence permit is proof that you can sustain yourself. The Belgium work contract and permit B should be shown to the Ausländerbehörde. Your present residence permit will probably just continue since you have only changed your employer. – Mark Johnson Sep 11 '20 at 07:51
  • @MarkJohnson I don't have any residence permit yet. I have a D-Type Visa with the current employer name which is valid until 17-02-2021. Last week I went to Ausländerbehörde to apply for the residence permit, but they give me Termin for January 20201. By the way, can I also apply for "family reunification" since my wife just received her "Blue Card"? Because at Ausländerbehörde they didn't allow me to apply for the Blue Card. – nerobianco Sep 11 '20 at 08:15
  • That is information that should have been contained in the question. It, however, doesn't change the situation. Inform the Ausländerbehörde also that you will be partially working from home (in Germany) 3 days a week in case further permission is needed from the Arbeitsagentur. Applying for a dependent resident permit is also possible, but in this case not really needed. – Mark Johnson Sep 11 '20 at 08:39
  • One issue may be that, when you work 3 days a week from your home in Germany you are actually still working in Germany, not in Belgium. I am not sure you would be considered a cross border commuter. – Krist van Besien Sep 15 '20 at 06:11
  • @KristvanBesien This is also very new to me. So I found this "If you work in one EU country but live in another and return there daily, or at least once a week, you count as a cross-border commuter under EU law (sometimes called cross-border or frontier worker)." (https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/work-abroad/cross-border-commuters/index_en.htm) – nerobianco Sep 16 '20 at 07:10
  • @neross: But where are you working? I work for a US company. I live in Switzerland. Most of my work involves either travelling to customers (mostly in Germany) or working for those customers remotely. I actually work very little in Switzerland itself. But legally, my place of work is home, my employer is the Swiss Subsidiary of the US company, and I pay Swiss Taxes, social security etc... – Krist van Besien Sep 16 '20 at 08:02
  • @KristvanBesien currently I'm working in Germany. I live with my wife. I want to work for a Belgium company and continue living in Germany. I will visit the office in Belgium twice in a week and other 3 days I will work for customers remotely. The customers are all around the world. – nerobianco Sep 16 '20 at 11:18

0 Answers0