Sex Work – Belgium -

1. Work Permit
2. Working as a Sex Worker
3. Payment
4. Workplace
5. Taxes

1. Work Permit

Most migrant sex workers cannot simply start working in Belgium. They need an adequate work and/or residence permit. Here is a brief reminder of the permits required to work legally as a sex worker in Belgium. For more details please see our sections Entering Belgium and Staying in Belgium.

Who needs a work permit?

EU nationals do not need a work permit or a residence permit.

Please note:
For citizens of the “new” EU countries who acceded the EU in May 2004 (excluding Cyprus and Malta) the right to enter Belgium for work purposes is restricted during a transition phase. Therefore, up to May 2006 citizens of those countries who want to take up dependent salaried employment can obtain a residence permit only under the same restricted conditions as citizens of non-EU countries. After May 2006 the transition phase may be extended for another three years.

Non-EU nationals who want to work in Belgium always need a residence permit. In addition – as a rule – they need either a work permit (“arbeidskaart“) if they are employed or a professional card (“beroepskaart“) if they are self-employed.

In practice:
However, in practice there is no such thing as a work permit for prostitutes. Other sex workers (dancers, waitresses etc.) may be employed and therefore need a work permit to work legally in Belgium unless they are exempted from holding one. As to self-employed sex workers, no professional cards are distributed for any kind of sex work. Therefore self-employed sex workers may only work legally if they are exempted from holding a professional card. For more details on employed sex workers and self-employed sex workers see below.

Please note:
Working self-employed as a prostitute is only legal for women who are exempted from holding professional cards. These are generally only citizens of the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) (these are: all EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

A non-EU national who wants to work in Belgium always needs a residence permit (“verblijfsvergunning“).

Employed Sex Worker

There is no such thing as a work permit for employed prostitutes, because although working as a prostitute is not illegal in itself, employing a prostitute is a crime and can be considered trafficking in human beings if the prostitute is not a Belgian citizen.

Other sex workers (dancers, waitresses etc.) may be employed and therefore need a work permit to work legally in Belgium unless they are exempted from holding a work permit.

The categories exempted from holding a work permit can be summarised as follows (for detailed information and definitions of terms used, please see Staying in Belgium):

Migrants who hold an indefinite residence permit
Holders of a “white card” (e.g. holders of a BIVR of 1 year, restricted duration but indefinite residence document) such as recognised refugees, recognised victims of human trafficking
Holders of a “yellow card“, e.g. immigrants who have a right to establish in Belgium
Holders of an “orange card“, e.g. migrants who have applied for a family reunion or family creation with a Belgian or an EEA national (these are: all EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein)
Holders of a “purple card“, this document is a proof that an EEA national (these are: all EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) is registered in the register for migrants of the municipality
Holders of a “blue card“; this document is given to EU nationals
Holders of a special residence document (“Bijzonder Verblijfsdocument – Bijlage 35“); for those whose application for family reunion with a Belgian or an EEA national (these are: all EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) is reviewed by the courts

All other categories do need a work permit to work legally as employees. The different kinds of work permits may be summarised as follows:

Work permits A (“arbeidskaart A“) are valid for an indefinite period of time and for all categories of work and all employers.The migrant applies for the work permit A at the local VDAB administration (“VDAB, Vlaamse Dienst voor ArbeidsBemiddeling“).

Work permits B (“arbeidskaart B“) are issued for a maximum of 12 months for a specific employer with the possibility of renewal.

Please note:
It is the employer who applies for an employment licence (“arbeidsvergunning“), which automatically comes with the work permit B for the employee. The employer has to apply for this before the migrant employee enters the country.

Generally, the employment license is only issued if it is not possible to find a Belgian or EEA national on the labour market within a reasonable period of time who is able to do the job in a satisfactory manner. Exemptions for this labour market condition apply to highly skilled workers as well as au pairs and cabaret artists, working for at least three months and with a minimum annual income of €25,921. No work permits for cabaret artists have been issued since1992, however. Other exemptions apply to the wife/husband/children of employed foreign nationals. Please, check with the VDAB administration.

Work permit C (“arbeidskaart C“): This work permit has been created for temporary residents in Belgium such as asylum seekers whose application has been declared admissible, victims of trafficking who received a declaration of arrival (“aankomstverklaring“) or BIVR (inscription in the register of foreigners), immigrants with a temporary BIVR and others.The migrant may apply for the work permit C at the municipal administration while being in the country. It is issued for a maximum of 12 months and extendable. It does not correspond to a specific employer.

Self-Employed Sex Worker

Migrant sex workers who work as prostitutes usually work self-employed since there is no work permit for employed prostitutes. Self-employed foreign workers generally need a professional card (“beroepskaart“). But no professional cards are distributed to work in any area of the sex industry.

Please note:
No professional cards are distributed to work in any kind of the sex industry. Therefore a sex worker who wants to work on a self-employed basis may only work legally in Belgium if she is exempted from holding a professional card. This only generally applies to citizens of the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) (these are: all EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

For further exceptions, please check with the municipal administration.

Consequences of working without a permit

Staying in Belgium without a residence permit is illegal and can lead to prosecution.

If a woman does so nevertheless,

she may lose whatever other permits she holds
she can be expelled and, subsequently, be deported
she can be forbidden from re-entering the country
she can encounter difficulties when applying for any kind of new visa/permit.

Working without an adequate work permit/professional card or working for an employer other than the one the permit is issued for (work permit B) is illegal and can lead to prosecution.

If a woman does so nevertheless,

she may lose whatever other permits she holds
she can be expelled and, subsequently, be deported
she can be forbidden from re-entering the country
she can encounter difficulties when applying for any kind of new visa/permit
she may be fined for not having declared her income to the tax administration
she can be prosecuted.

2. Working as a Sex Worker

Is sex work legal in Belgium?

Sex work itself is not illegal but everything connected with it is. It is, for example, illegal to promote sex work through advertisements in newspapers, to rent houses to sex workers, to have pornographic movies in the video store etc. Therefore sex work is a “grey industry” and not well regulated. Here is a quick overview:

Sex work, including prostitution, in itself is not illegal in Belgium, unless

minors are involved in any way, including debauchery addressed specifically to minors or assisting debauchery of minors or if the prostitute is a minor (all penalised with long imprisonment depending inter alia on the age of the minor)
the woman publicises her activities by means of any modus of telecommunication (or others e.g. newspapers, internet)
the woman attracts attention as a prostitute in public places, e.g. streets, lounge of a hotel (“incitement to debauchery”). If she works within a tolerated zone where the town council (“gemeenteraad“) has created areas where publicly visible sex work-related activities are generally tolerated, she is still committing a crime, but is generally not prosecuted.

Prostitution is considered to contravene public morality and several restrictions on working as a prostitute apply.

Health and Registration

Prostitutes are not obliged to undergo regular health checks. The women are not registered, even though specialised police teams keep registers of sex workers who have been in contact with the police/judicial authorities. Generally, prostitutes cannot be forced to undergo health checks, but if a client of a prostitute is found to have caught a fatal disease (HIV/AIDS) or because of a request by the prosecution office (royal prosecutor), the magistrate may issue an order to have the prostitute or sex worker examined by a physician. A forced control can only be realised by a judge of instruction.

Working as a sex worker may be penalised as crime, if:

Working as a prostitute is generally not illegal. It is illegal and can be penalised as a crime if

minors are involved,
the woman publicises her activities or she attracts attention as a prostitute in public places
she is working without the correct work permit or residence permit.

If the woman commits these crimes she may be penalised by paying fees or be imprisoned by a criminal court. If she is a non-EU national she may receive an order to leave the country.

For information on a woman’s rights in criminal proceedings see Prosecution.

Working as a prostitute is an offence/infringement of administrative law, if:

The woman does not pay taxes (the majority of women does not pay taxes; there is no labour statute for prostitutes).

3. Payment

If the client does not pay

An example:
A woman who works in the streets does not take the money in advance. Afterwards, the client refuses to pay. What possibilities does the woman have to obtain her money?

A contract between a prostitute and a client is considered to contravene public morality and is, therefore, null and void, that is, legally invalid. The woman will not be able to enforce any claims upon this contract.

If the person the woman works for does not give her enough money

An example:
A woman works in a brothel, sex club etc. where the client gives the money to a third person, e.g. to the person who runs the club. Before the third person gives any money to the women, he deducts a percentage for himself or deducts the rent of the room, money for food etc. What if he does not pay her at all or if he deducts too much?

The contract between a prostitute and the person she works for is null and void. It is legally invalid and the woman will not be able to enforce any claims upon this contract. Based on criminal law, however, the woman may report to the police that she was exploited or abused and because of that suffered monetary damages. However, a woman who has been wronged and seeks police assistance should be aware that her possibly illegal status would become known. For further information on such cases see section Victims of Crime.

4. Workplace

A. In the Streets

1. Work Conditions

Basically, prostitution in the streets is illegal. In some streets prostitution is more or less tolerated by the police, but there is no legal basis for this.

Prostitutes without the correct work permits run the risk of their (illegal) status becoming known to the police. The woman may be expelled/deported, be forbidden from re-entering the country and may encounter difficulties when applying for any kind of new visa/permit.

2. Time Restrictions

Prostitution in the streets is illegal at any time.

B. In a Brothel / Club / Window Prostitution

1. Work Conditions

Prostitution in a brothel may be restricted to certain areas. As a rule these restrictions are strictly enforced in the entire country, but may vary from municipality to municipality.

Women who work outside these restricted areas are committing a crime. This may be a reason to be expelled/deported.

Also, women who work outside the restricted areas may be fined. They run the risk of their possibly illegal status becoming known to the police. The woman may be expelled/deported, be forbidden from re-entering the country and may encounter difficulties when applying for any kind of new visa/permit. EU citizens or EEA citizens (these are: all EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) are less likely to be expelled for violating notions of public morality since they may not be discriminated against, compared to Belgian citizens. But a woman from these countries can still receive an order to leave the country depending on the offence she committed.

2. Time Restrictions

There are no restrictions as to when prostitutes may work in a brothel, club or in window prostitution.

C. In an Apartment

It is legal to work as a prostitute in an apartment. But it is illegal and can be penalised as a crime to rent an apartment to a prostitute.

Please note:
There are harsh restrictions placed on advertising prostitution or other kind of publicly offering sexual services. Any kind of publicity is prohibited, such as placing advertisements in newspapers, numbers on telephone boxes, on television. Advertising prostitution is a crime and can be penalised.The restrictions are not enforced on a regular basis but advertising prostitution is a crime and may lead to several detriments as mentioned above.

D. As a Waitress

Working as a waitress is legal if the woman has an adequate work permit or her residence status allows her to work without a work permit.

In reality, many women are employed as waitresses and barmaids but work as prostitutes.

Please note:
A woman is only allowed to work as a prostitute if she is exempted from holding a professional card. These are usually only citizens of the EU, the EEA and the 10 EU accession states, see above.

E. As a Dancer

Working as a dancer is legal if the woman has an adequate work permit or her residence status allows her to work without a work permit. In theory, a woman may obtain a work permit as a cabaret artist, but since 1992 this work permit has not been issued.

In reality, many women are employed as dancers but work as prostitutes.

Please note:
A woman may only work as a prostitute if she is exempted from holding a professional card. These are usually only citizens of the EU, the EEA and the 10 EU accession states, see above.

F. As telephone sex worker

Telephone sex is always illegal, since it is “offered by means of any modus of telecommunication”. It might be tolerated but judicially it remains a crime.

G. As an Employee

Employing sex workers

Migrant sex workers in Belgium rarely work alone. Usually there is a person who runs the club, rents her a room/apartment, takes money from the clients etc.

But can women obtain a work contract, which entitles her to wages and workers´ rights just as in any other profession?

It is never legal to employ prostitutes. If an employer employs a prostitute he or she may be subject to imprisonment and high fees, deprivation of the right to deploy certain commercial and other activities, seizure of all goods, profits and bank accounts related to these criminal activities.
It is a severe crime to employ minors.
Sex workers do not enjoy any form of social security or labour law protection, because there is no legal labour statute for sex workers. However, they are protected if they simply work as waitresses et.al.

5. Taxes

Sex work is a “grey industry” wherein most sex workers do not pay taxes. Nevertheless sex workers are legally obliged to do so.

A. Working Self-Employed

Self-employed prostitutes and other sex workers have to pay income taxes on profits of free professions or of other lucrative occupations (“inkomstenbelastingen – belasting op baten von vrije beroepen of andere winstgevende bezigheden“).
The competent authority is the local tax administration (“Ontvanger van Directe Belastingen“).

No self-employed sex workers, or just a small minority of them, do pay taxes, because sex workers have to pay a lot of taxes and cannot reduce them because professional costs are not recognised.

B. Working as an Employee

Employees usually pay income taxes on their salaries (“inkomstenbelastingen – belasting on lonen“). Employers have to pay tax and other payments for the employee, such as unemployment contributions, accident insurance and full social security contributions. The competent authority is the local tax administration (“Ontvanger van Directe Belastingen“).

In practise, employed sex workers do not pay taxes.