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Do L Card holders still need a professional card to start working as freelancers or to register a company/business?

Hello All,

I am a L-card holder living and working in Brussels for several years. I am currently working as an employee and planning  to start working as freelancer under my own company name/registration. Do I still need a professional card to start my own business or am I exempted from this requirement as a L-card holder?

Different websites provide completely different information on this. For example, the website of Flanders government clearly says that B card and D/L card holders are exempted from Professional card requirements, however the website of Brussels region says that persons who are registered in foreigners register are exempted from professional card.

It also seems that the requirement for registering a new business/company also differs between the 3 regions. For instance, One has to provide documentary evidence for his/her knowledge of management  ( e.g: a degree) to register a company (or as self employed) in Brussels and Walloon regions. However, this requirement was removed in Flanders region since 2018. So, a bit of confusion.

Any assistance you can provide on this topic would be greatly appreciated.  Please note, I have an upcoming appointment with one of the Enterprise Counters in Brussels in the coming days where I will raise this question. However, as you aware, in many cases we get different answers/decisions for the same topic dealt by different persons/authorities. So, just wanted to clarify it from forum members so that I can ask counter questions/clarification if I receive a different answer during my upcoming appointment.

Thanks in advance.