This year will be a record year for the number of 'single permits' (combined residence and work permits) applied for in Flanders. Figures show that there were already 12,221 applications up to 25 October, compared to 9,020 in the whole of 2021.
But according to Flemish Member of Parliament Maaike De Vreese, who requested the figures, a decision today will take three months, which she says is too long.
"Attracting strong foreign labour profiles to Flanders should be a priority for minister Jo Brouns. International competition is sky-high. I, therefore, call for an urgent consultation with minister Nicole de Moor to go to a maximum duration of one month," De Vreese argued. This is not the first time the Flemish MP has denounced the long processing times.
Long processing times for the combined permit have occurred several times in recent years. The total processing times ran as high as 3.5 months in early 2020 and by the end of 2021, the processing times were up to 3 months.
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In 2020, then-minister in charge Hilde Crevits made it clear that she wanted to reduce processing times. "After repeated insistence, the minister set herself the goal of reducing the Flemish part of the procedure to a maximum of one month," De Vreese states.
However, that ambition is not being met.
"Currently, the Economic Migration Department of the Flemish government alone takes seven weeks to complete its part of the procedure. On the federal side, simple security checks run up to 5 weeks," De Vreese said. The N-VA politician calls for the backlog to be eliminated and the procedures to be faster.
