TEFL jobs in Belgium

Overview

Belgium is the least closed of Europe’s hard markets, but state school teaching is still shut to a TEFL certificate alone: Flanders and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation each require formal recognition of a teaching qualification. The real market is Brussels business English, international schools and private language institutes, and your Irish passport opens all of it.

What Irish teachers should know first

As an Irish citizen you need no visa and no work permit for Belgium, which puts you well ahead of the American and British readers most Belgium guides are aimed at. What you do have is a hard registration deadline with a penalty attached. The Belgian Immigration Office states that if you wish to stay in Belgium for more than three months you must register with the municipality of the place where you are staying within three months of arriving, and that failure to apply for the registration certificate within that period can lead to an administrative fine of 200 euros. For a stay of under three months the rule is tighter still: you must report to the municipality within ten days of arriving and you are issued an Annex 3ter.

The registration process itself is worth understanding because it runs in stages. Once the commune confirms your EU citizenship it issues an Annex 19, a pending application for a registration certificate, and places you on the waiting list register for EU citizens. You then have three months from the date of that Annex 19 to submit the documents proving you meet the requirements for a long stay — for an employee, that is your employment contract or proof of work. A residence check follows at your actual address, after which you are entered in the foreign nationals register and issued the registration certificate itself, in paper form as an Annex 8 or as an electronic E card. That registration is what gives you your national register number, the rijksregisternummer or numéro de registre national, which every employer, bank and health insurer will ask for.

Pay in Belgium works differently from the Nordic countries, and it is a real advantage. Belgium’s federal information service explains that in the Belgian private sector minimum wages are not determined by law but are laid down in sectoral collective labour agreements agreed in joint committees, which are usually declared generally binding by Royal Decree and then apply to everyone working in that sector. Underneath those sits an absolute floor: the guaranteed average minimum monthly income (RMMMG/GGMMI), set by collective agreement number 43 of the National Labour Council. FPS Employment notes that a sectoral minimum can never fall below that national base amount. The figure is indexed and changes, and we are not publishing a euro amount here because we could not confirm the current indexed value against an official page on the date of this review; FPS Employment maintains the authoritative minimum wage database by joint committee, and that is where to check the number that applies to your own contract.

On teaching itself, Belgium’s education systems are run by the language communities rather than the federal state, so there are two answers. For Flemish education, the Flemish government states that a professional qualification obtained in the EEA or Switzerland must be recognised by AGODI, the Agency for Educational Services, before you can teach, and that Dutch language proficiency is required alongside it. For the French-speaking system, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation routes applications through the Commission des titres pour l’accès aux fonctions enseignantes, which examines whether your qualification can be transposed into its own system of titles and functions for teaching. In both cases the process assumes you already hold a full teaching qualification. A TEFL certificate is not a teaching diploma in either community’s terms, so the state school route is not the one to build a plan around.

What that leaves is genuinely substantial by the standards of this group of countries. Brussels hosts the EU institutions, NATO and a large concentration of international companies and law firms, and that produces steady demand for business English, exam preparation and one-to-one professional coaching, alongside a real cluster of international schools. It is adult and corporate work rather than young learner classroom work, and it rewards a professional profile: business English specialism, exam preparation credentials, or prior classroom experience.

What is Belgium like to live in?

Because of its location at the crossroads of Western Europe, Belgium is noted for its multicultural environment, with influences from Dutch, French, and German cultures. The country boasts a rich cultural and gastronomic past, including world-renowned chocolates, beers, and waffles. Belgians are generally sociable, multilingual, and proud of their heritage. Numerous festivals, historic places, and museums may be found throughout the country.

For the wider view of where the jobs actually are, read our guide to TEFL jobs worldwide. If Belgium appeals but you want a comparable French-speaking market, look at France, and if you want a first year with far more entry-level classroom hours inside the EU, compare Spain. If you do not yet hold a qualification, start with our TEFL courses in Ireland.

Talk to a real person

No obligation and no sales pitch. Tell us what you want out of the year and we will tell you honestly whether Belgium fits.

Types of teaching jobs

Language Schools

English language lessons are available to a wide spectrum of pupils at language schools and institutes around Belgium. These schools frequently engage TEFL teachers to teach general English, business English, exam preparation (such as the TOEFL or IELTS), and other services.

International Schools

Belgium offers a number of international schools that teach English to both expatriate and native pupils. TEFL teachers may be employed to teach a variety of courses in English or to instruct English language classes.

University Language Centres

Many Belgian colleges feature language centres where international and local students can take English classes. These professions may necessitate a higher level of education, such as a master’s degree or higher, as well as expertise teaching English to adults.

Private Tutoring

Individual or small group private English tutoring can be a flexible alternative. Many students and professionals want to improve their English skills for academic or professional reasons.

Online Teaching

Through online platforms and video conferencing capabilities, chances to teach English to students in Belgium or around the world have grown as online education has grown.

It is critical to investigate the precise credentials and requirements for each post, as well as the terms of employment, compensation, and perks. Understanding any visa or work permit procedures for non-European Union residents is also critical if you want to work lawfully in Belgium.