Data report · Belgium
What it actually costs a Belgian to leave
Our full index ranks 61 skilled-worker visas across 15 countries. Hold a Belgian passport and only 37 of them apply to you, across 7 countries. Filtering out the rest more than doubles the median fee, from $500 to $1,170, because the cheapest routes in the world are in countries Belgians can already move to for nothing. Government fees, verified against official sources, last updated 2026-07-19.
Key findings
Why the median jumps
8 of the 15 countries cost a Belgian nothing
A Belgian passport carries EU treaty rights, so 22 of the 61 ranked routes are not a cost at all, they are paperwork a Belgian never files. That includes Switzerland, which is not an EU member but is covered by the EU-Swiss Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. What is left is the anglophone world plus the Gulf and Singapore, and those are the expensive end of the index.
Closed at any price
3 routes a Belgian cannot buy their way into
These United States routes are reserved by treaty for other nationalities. They are also among the cheapest and fastest ways into the US, which is why their absence matters more than their number. The cheapest United States route still open to a Belgian is the J-1 Research Scholar at $255.
| Visa | Country | Application fee | Reserved for |
|---|---|---|---|
| TN Visa (CUSMA/NAFTA)TN | United States | $185 | Other citizenships only |
| E-3 VisaE-3 | United States | $315 | Other citizenships only |
| H-1B1 Specialty OccupationH-1B1 | United States | $460 | Other citizenships only |
The cost that is not a fee
A Belgian sits the English test everywhere
7 of the 37 routes open to a Belgian waive the English language test for some nationalities. A Belgian passport qualifies for none of them. The waiver tracks the passport, not the applicant: the United Kingdom and Australia exempt nationals of majority-English-speaking countries and no one else, so a Belgian engineer who has worked in English for a decade still books and pays for the test, while someone who has never left home does not. That cost never appears in an application fee, which is precisely why the fee tables above understate the gap.
The 37 routes open to a Belgian, cheapest first
From $158 (S Pass) to $4,640 (Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491)), a 29.4x spread. 33 of 37 lead to permanent residence. Tap any visa for the full guide and eligibility.
| # | Visa | Country | Application fee | Processing | Path to PR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S PassS Pass | Singapore | $158 | 0–1 months | Yes · ~2 yrs |
| 2 | Employment PassEP | Singapore | $254 | 0–1 months | Yes · ~2 yrs |
| 3 | Personalised Employment PassPEP | Singapore | $254 | 1–2 months | Yes · ~2 yrs |
| 4 | Overseas Networks & Expertise PassONE Pass | Singapore | $254 | 1–2 months | Yes · ~2 yrs |
| 5 | J-1 Research ScholarJ-1 | United States | $255 | 1–4 months | No |
| 6 | Standard Work Visa (Employer-Sponsored)Work Residence Visa | United Arab Emirates | $300 | 1–2 months | No |
| 7 | Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee ProgramSINP | Canada (Saskatchewan) | $350 | 4–8 months | Yes · ~2 yrs |
| 8 | Health and Care Worker VisaHealth and Care Worker | United Kingdom | $350 | 1–3 months | Yes · ~5 yrs |
| 9 | Alberta Advantage Immigration ProgramAAIP | Canada (Alberta) | $500 | 6–12 months | Yes · ~2 yrs |
| 10 | Green Visa (Skilled Worker)Green Residence | United Arab Emirates | $700 | 1–2 months | Yes |
| 11 | Global Talent VisaGlobal Talent | United Kingdom | $760 | 2–8 months | Yes · ~3 yrs |
| 12 | High Potential Individual VisaHPI | United Kingdom | $820 | 1–3 months | No |
| 13 | Québec Skilled Worker ProgramQSWP | Canada (Québec) | $822 | 12–24 months | Yes · ~3 yrs |
| 14 | Accredited Employer Work VisaAEWV | New Zealand | $900 | 2–4 months | Yes · ~3 yrs |
| 15 | Golden VisaGolden Residence | United Arab Emirates | $1,000 | 1–3 months | Yes |
| 16 | Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485)485 | Australia | $1,140 | 3–9 months | Yes · ~2 yrs |
| 17 | BC PNP Tech PilotBC PNP Tech | Canada (British Columbia) | $1,150 | 2–5 months | Yes · ~2 yrs |
| 18 | Graduate Visa (Post-Study Work)Graduate | United Kingdom | $1,170 | 1–2 months | No |
| 19 | Atlantic Immigration ProgramAIP | Canada | $1,170 | 6–12 months | Yes |
| 20 | O-1A Extraordinary AbilityO-1A | United States | $1,385 | 2–6 months | Yes · ~3 yrs |
| 21 | L-1A Intracompany Transferee (Manager)L-1A | United States | $1,385 | 1–3 months | Yes · ~2 yrs |
| 22 | L-1B Intracompany Transferee (Specialized Knowledge)L-1B | United States | $1,385 | 1–6 months | Yes · ~5 yrs |
| 23 | Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program: Tech DrawOINP Tech | Canada (Ontario) | $1,500 | 3–6 months | Yes · ~2 yrs |
| 24 | Express Entry: Federal Skilled WorkerFSWP | Canada | $1,570 | 6–12 months | Yes |
| 25 | Express Entry: Canadian Experience ClassCEC | Canada | $1,570 | 3–6 months | Yes |
| 26 | Express Entry: Federal Skilled TradesFST | Canada | $1,570 | 6–12 months | Yes |
| 27 | H-1B Specialty OccupationH-1B | United States | $2,460 | 3–6 months | Yes · ~5 yrs |
| 28 | Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482)TSS 482 | Australia | $2,770 | 2–5 months | Yes · ~3 yrs |
| 29 | EB-3 Skilled Worker (Green Card)EB-3 | United States | $2,805 | 18–60 months | Yes |
| 30 | Skilled Independent (subclass 189)SC 189 | Australia | $3,035 | 6–18 months | Yes |
| 31 | Skilled Nominated (subclass 190)SC 190 | Australia | $3,035 | 9–18 months | Yes |
| 32 | EB-2 National Interest WaiverEB-2 NIW | United States | $3,225 | 12–36 months | Yes |
| 33 | Skilled Worker VisaSkilled Worker | United Kingdom | $3,290 | 1–3 months | Yes · ~5 yrs |
| 34 | EB-1A Extraordinary Ability (Green Card)EB-1A | United States | $3,835 | 8–24 months | Yes |
| 35 | Skilled Migrant CategorySMC | New Zealand | $3,900 | 1–18 months | Yes |
| 36 | Straight to ResidenceSTR | New Zealand | $4,300 | 1–3 months | Yes |
| 37 | Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491)491 | Australia | $4,640 | 6–18 months | Yes · ~3 yrs |
Methodology
Scope. This is the Skilled-Visa Cost & Speed Index filtered to one passport. It starts from the same 61 skilled-worker pathways and removes two groups: destinations a Belgian can enter under EU/EEA freedom of movement, and routes whose own rules reserve them for other citizenships.
Freedom of movement. 8 destinations are excluded because a Belgian needs no visa or permit for them. Switzerland is included in that group: it is not an EU member state, but EU nationals have free movement there under the EU-Swiss Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons.
Citizenship restrictions. 3 routes are excluded because the visa itself is limited to nationals of other countries. These are listed above rather than silently dropped, because their absence is the finding.
Application fee. The official government fee for a single primary applicant, in USD at the rate on the verification date. It excludes legal fees, translation, skills assessment, proof-of-funds and relocation, so a real move costs more than any figure here. The English test a Belgian cannot be exempted from is one of those excluded costs.
Sources. Every figure comes from the official government page for that visa, and every row links to a per-visa guide citing it. Records carry a verification date; the newest across this set is 2026-07-19.
Cite this data
Free to quote or republish under a CC BY 4.0 license, with attribution. Journalists: we will pull a custom cut (another nationality, a single destination, a sector) on request.
Source: Transita Skilled-Visa Cost & Speed Index (Belgian passport), https://transita.app/data/visa-cost-index/belgiumFind your best visa pathway.
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