Belgium is a realistic move from Canada if you match a residence route to your situation early. The short version: a one-bedroom rents for about €950 a month in the bigger cities, typical net salaries run around €2,300, personal taxes sit at 25-50%, and permanent residence usually takes about 5 years of legal stay. Here is how the move actually works for Canadian citizens.
Getting in: your route options
As Canadian citizens you can enter visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180, which makes scouting trips easy. Living in Belgium is a separate matter: you need a residence permit tied to a reason.
- Remote work: Belgium has no dedicated digital nomad visa. No nomad visa; self-employed professional card is the main route.
- Work: a job offer plus a work permit; for higher-paid qualified roles ask employers about the EU Blue Card, which speeds up residence across most of the bloc.
- Study: university admission converts into a student permit, usually with part-time work rights and a post-graduation job-seeker option.
- Family and ancestry: joining an EU spouse or partner, or claiming citizenship by descent if you have an EU-citizen parent or grandparent.
What life in Belgium costs
Budget roughly €950 for a one-bed plus about €980 for essentials and transport, per person. English friendliness scores 70/100 here.
Healthcare here rates 82/100 in this model and everyday safety 72/100, while public transport comes in at 80/100.
Paperwork is the hard part: Belgium scores 72/100 for bureaucratic friction, so budget real time for registrations and appointments.
The rental market has real competition (62/100) but is manageable with planning.
The local language (NL, FR) takes steady effort, rated 45/100 for approachability.
Belgium has a large and visible international community, which shortens the lonely first months considerably.
What you would pay in tax
If you keep earning from abroad and register as self-employed, Belgium charges same progressive brackets on profit, plus 20.5% of net income up to €75,025, then 14.16% up to €110,562, nothing above (2026), paid quarterly.
No flat-tax regime; without receipts a lump-sum cost deduction applies (2026: up to €5,340 for liberal professions, €6,070 for traders), and real costs above that are the main lever.
Belgium is workable but not built around remote earners, rated 70/100. The full picture, including the company route and the special regimes, is on the taxes in Belgium page. To weigh it against the rest of the bloc, our taxes in Europe overview sets out the rates in all 27 countries by how you earn, and the take-home index ranks them on what actually reaches your account.
The long game
Permanent residence in Belgium takes about 5 years of legal residence, and citizenship about 5 years from arrival, subject to language and integration requirements. If an EU passport is part of your plan, weigh this timeline against neighbouring countries before you commit.