Belgium vs Switzerland

The common company is a BV/SRL (private limited); formation requires a notarial deed and registration in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (KBO/BCE), which issues a company number. VAT registration follows if applicable.

Companies register in the cantonal Commercial Register (indexed nationally on Zefix). A GmbH needs CHF 20,000 capital and an AG needs CHF 100,000 (partly paid in); both require a notarised deed.

Belgian banking is EU-integrated and digital, using the Bancontact payment system. Opening an account usually needs ID, proof of address and often a national register number; the National Bank of Belgium oversees the system.

Switzerland is a global banking centre; accounts are straightforward for residents and available to non-residents with due diligence. FINMA supervises banks, and a residence permit plus proof of address ease account opening.

Belgium welcomes foreign investment through regional agencies (Flanders Investment & Trade, AWEX, hub.brussels), with EU free movement of capital and no exchange controls. A federal screening mechanism reviews investments in sensitive sectors; incentives are largely regional (grants, R&D and payroll-tax reliefs).

Switzerland is highly open to foreign investment, promoted by Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE), with no exchange controls and a liberal regime. A new investment-screening law is being introduced for certain acquisitions by state-linked investors in critical sectors; incentives are mainly cantonal (tax and location support).

Belgium taxes personal income progressively (with communal surcharges), corporate profits and VAT, run by the FPS Finance. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, and rates are relatively high.

Switzerland taxes at federal, cantonal and communal levels; the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) oversees federal tax and a low VAT. Rates vary sharply by canton, so where you live matters a lot.

Non-EU nationals need a single permit (combined work and residence), usually employer-sponsored; EU citizens work freely. Belgium's regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels) handle the work-authorisation part.

Non-EU/EFTA nationals need a work permit subject to national quotas; EU/EFTA citizens have facilitated access. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and cantonal authorities administer permits (L, B, C), usually employer-initiated.

Non-EU students admitted to recognised Belgian higher education generally need authorisation to stay for more than 90 days, usually via a D visa application made abroad, with the Immigration Office deciding the residence conditions. The first gate is whether your institution counts as recognised higher education — private or non-recognised training is treated differently. Plan admission, funds, health insurance and municipal registration together.

Non-EU/EFTA students need a residence permit to study in Switzerland, applied for through the cantonal migration office — not a single federal authority — after admission to a recognised institution, with the State Secretariat for Migration involved. You must show admission, sufficient funds and health insurance, and register with your commune within 14 days of arrival. EU/EFTA students have simpler arrangements.

Belgium applies Schengen short-stay rules: tourist and other short visits are generally limited to 90 days in any 180-day period, with the visa requirement depending on nationality and the main-destination rules. Visa-free nationals must still meet the Schengen entry conditions, and a tourist stay is not a general route to work authorisation.

Switzerland is in the Schengen Area, so short tourist or business visits follow Schengen rules: up to 90 days within any 180-day period across the whole area. Visa-exempt nationals need no visa; everyone else applies for a short-stay (type C) Schengen visa via the Swiss representation. Note Switzerland is in Schengen but not the EU customs union, so customs allowances still apply at the border.

Belgium grants unlimited (permanent) residence after generally 5 years of continuous legal residence, via a national permit or the EU long-term residence permit. You show stable income, health insurance and integration; permanent residence then leads toward Belgian citizenship (usually after 5 years).

Switzerland grants the C settlement permit (Niederlassungsbewilligung / permis d'établissement) after generally 10 years of residence — or 5 years for some nationalities and well-integrated permit-B holders. It gives near-unrestricted residence and work; Swiss citizenship needs around 10 years and cantonal/communal approval.

In Belgium the main route is nationality by declaration after 5 years of legal residence (or 10 years on a longer track), showing language knowledge (one of Dutch, French or German), social and economic integration (usually work). Belgium permits dual nationality.

Ordinary naturalization in Switzerland requires 10 years of residence (years spent between ages 8 and 18 count double), holding a C settlement permit, plus successful integration and language skills (spoken about B1, written about A2). It is a three-level process — federal (SEM), cantonal and communal. Switzerland permits dual nationality.

Belgian employment is well-protected: a guaranteed average minimum income (with sector collective agreements often higher), 20 days' statutory holiday plus holiday pay, and notice periods that grow with seniority. Joint committees set sector rules, social security is compulsory, and disputes go to the labour tribunal (tribunal du travail).

Swiss employment is comparatively liberal under the Code of Obligations: there is no national minimum wage (a few cantons set one), dismissal is allowed with notice, and the statutory minimum holiday is four weeks. Collective agreements (GAV/CCT) apply in some sectors; social insurance (AHV/AVS) is compulsory and disputes go to the labour courts.

Belgian trade with non-EU countries clears through the Customs and Excise Administration with an EU EORI number, often via the major port of Antwerp. You classify goods in TARIC, and import VAT (21%) can be deferred to your VAT return with an ET 14000 licence. Declarations are electronic; intra-EU trade needs Intrastat and dual-use exports need a licence.

Swiss trade clears through the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG). Switzerland is outside the EU, so customs apply to all cross-border goods; duty is largely levied by gross weight, and import VAT is 8.1%. Declarations are electronic (Passar); EFTA/free-trade origin can reduce duty and rulings give certainty.

There is no national Belgian trademark: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg share the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP). You file one Benelux application under Nice classes; after examination on absolute grounds it publishes with a two-month opposition period. A Benelux trademark lasts 10 years and is renewable; an EU-wide alternative is the EU trademark via EUIPO.

Swiss trademarks are registered with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI). You search the register, file under Nice classes, and — as Switzerland examines only absolute grounds — the mark registers, after which third parties have three months to oppose. A Swiss trademark lasts 10 years and is renewable; Switzerland is outside the EU, so a separate filing is needed there.

Belgium has no single national employment service for job placement — the public services are regionalised, with VDAB covering Flanders, Le Forem covering Wallonia and Actiris covering Brussels. The practical consequence is that the door you use is decided by region rather than by nationality or profession, and a search that looks only at one of the three sees only part of the country. Immigration work rights are a separate track from job-search support: non-EU workers generally need the correct single-permit or other residence basis before starting, and regulated professions may require recognition or language evidence.

Switzerland's public employment service works through the regional employment centres, the RAV, alongside the official platform arbeit.swiss. EU and EFTA citizens have free movement, but for everyone else the constraint is unusually hard: non-EU/EFTA permits are subject to annual quotas as well as a labour-market and qualification test. That means an application can fail for reasons that have nothing to do with you or the employer — the quota for the year can simply be exhausted.

Belgium is the subtle case among its neighbours: there is no statutory minimum wage fixed directly by law, but there IS a national floor — the guaranteed average minimum monthly income (RMMMG/GGMMI) established under a national collective agreement, CCT/CAO 43. So unlike Denmark or Finland there is a national figure, it just does not come from statute. Sector collective agreements can set higher minimum pay above it, and net pay also depends on social-security contributions, withholding tax, family facts and local taxes.

Switzerland has no national statutory minimum wage at all — pay is set by individual contract and by sector collective agreements, and only a few cantons have introduced their own cantonal minimums, among them Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura, Ticino and Basel-Stadt. So whether any legal floor applies to you depends on your canton and your sector rather than on national law. Swiss wages are among the highest in the world, and the Federal Statistical Office is authoritative for wage data.

In Belgium, funding differs by community: Flanders offers the Master Mind Scholarships (via Study in Flanders) for excellent master's students, while the French-speaking community funds development scholarships through ARES; VLIR-UOS also funds students from partner countries. Many universities add their own awards. Explore the community and university sites and apply by each deadline.

Switzerland's flagship award is the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship (run by the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students), for postgraduate researchers and artists, alongside ETH/EPFL excellence scholarships and university awards. Applications usually go through the Swiss embassy in your country. Explore options and apply by the (early) deadline.

To study in Belgium you apply to the university (in the Flemish or French-speaking community), then, once admitted, apply for a student visa (type D / authorisation to stay for study) at the Belgian consulate and register at your commune after arrival. Explore the community and university sites and apply by the deadline.

To study in Switzerland you apply to the university, then, once admitted, apply for a student visa (a national D visa) through the cantonal migration office and the Swiss consulate; after arrival you obtain a residence permit for study. Explore the university sites and apply by the (often early) deadline.

Belgium places no restriction on foreigners buying property. Renting is governed by regional tenancy law (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels each have their own), with a deposit of up to two to three months placed in a blocked account and a registered lease. Buying goes through a notary (notaris/notaire), is registered, and carries registration duties that differ sharply by region: Flanders charges 2% on a sole own home you will live in (conditions apply) and 12% otherwise, while Brussels and Wallonia charge 12.5% with reductions for a main residence.

Switzerland restricts foreign purchase of residential property under the 'Lex Koller' law: non-resident foreigners generally need an authorization and face cantonal quotas, especially for holiday homes. Renting is the norm and tightly regulated: deposits are capped at three months' rent and held in a blocked bank account. Buying (mostly for residents/permit holders) uses a notary, the land register (Grundbuch) and cantonal transfer taxes.

Belgium uses compulsory health insurance delivered through mutualities (mutualités / ziekenfondsen) and regulated by INAMI/RIZIV — a mutuality-based insurance model, not the Nordic tax-funded one. Residents normally affiliate with a mutuality, or with the public auxiliary fund, in order to receive reimbursements. Private travel or hospital insurance can supplement that cover but does not replace the requirement to register for compulsory insurance.

Health insurance is mandatory for everyone resident in Switzerland, and the deadline is concrete: you must take out basic compulsory insurance under the KVG/LAMal with a private insurer within three months of arrival. Insurers must accept you for the basic package. The budgeting difference that surprises people is that premiums are paid by the individual rather than deducted as a payroll tax, with subsidies for lower-income residents.

Belgian insurance combines compulsory social protection, compulsory health affiliation through a mutuality, motor liability cover and optional private products. Two structural points matter: health reimbursement depends on your mutuality affiliation or on the public auxiliary fund, and employer and employee social-security contributions run through separate systems via ONSS/RSZ. Before buying specialised private cover, check that the insurer or the intermediary is authorised — the FSMA supervises conduct in the sector.

Switzerland's social insurance rests on three named parts: old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV/AVS), disability insurance, and occupational pensions — with contributions shared with your employer. That occupational-pension layer is the piece newcomers most often overlook, since it sits alongside the state scheme rather than inside it. Motor third-party liability insurance is mandatory for vehicles, and basic health insurance is separately compulsory. Insurers and financial markets are supervised by FINMA.