Free · no account
Can you sit on a board there?
Pick a market. You get the residency test, the nationality test, the work-authorisation position, the appointment steps in order, and the frictions that actually delay appointments — each cited to the instrument that creates it.
Choose a market
SingaporeHong Kong SARJapanMalaysiaAustraliaIndiaSouth KoreaTaiwanThailandIndonesiaPhilippinesVietnamNew ZealandUnited KingdomGermanyNetherlandsIrelandSwitzerlandFranceItalySpainBelgiumAustriaPolandSwedenNorwayDenmarkFinlandUnited StatesCanadaBrazilUnited Arab EmiratesSaudi ArabiaSouth AfricaIsraelQatarKuwaitBahrainOmanNigeriaKenyaMoroccoEgyptLuxembourgJerseyGuernseyCayman IslandsMauritius
Open to foreign directorsBE
No nationality or residency requirement applies to a Belgian director, and Brussels boards are among the most internationally composed in Europe.
- Residency test
- None.
- Nationality test
- None.
- Work authorisation
- A non-executive director attending board meetings requires no permit. An executive mandate held by a non-EEA national requires a professional card or work permit depending on the structure.
- Board language
- Large international issuers work in English; Belgium has three official languages and board documentation may be in Dutch or French.
- Tenure limit once appointed
- Twelve years, as a statutory criterion under art. 7:87 of the Code of Companies and Associations rather than a code recommendation.
- Time commitment
- Typically 6–10 board meetings a year plus committees.
- What a seat pays
- €60,000 – €100,000 a year for a non-executive director of a BEL 20 company, before committee fees.
- Tax on your fees
- Directors' fees from a Belgian company are Belgian-source income with withholding for non-residents; the VAT treatment of director services has changed following CJEU case law and should be checked.
The appointment steps, in order
- 1Appointment by the general meeting, or co-option by the board pending confirmation
- 2Publication of the appointment in the Moniteur belge / Belgisch Staatsblad and registration in the Banque-Carrefour
- 3Confirm the appointment does not fall foul of the gender rule — while the board is non-compliant, an appointment that does not remedy it is void
- 4For a supervised financial institution, FSMA or National Bank fit-and-proper assessment
What actually gets in the way
- The gender sanction suspends directors' benefits for the whole board while the imbalance persists, which concentrates minds but also constrains the next appointment
- Belgium has three official languages and board documentation may be in Dutch or French; large international issuers work in English
- Directors' liability under Belgian law is capped by statute at levels that vary with company size, which is unusual and worth understanding
The instruments behind these answers
- Code of Companies and Associations (2019) — Permits a one-tier board, a dual structure with a management board and supervisory board, or a sole director. It also sets the statutory criteria a director must meet to be treated as independent. (Kingdom of Belgium)
- Code of Companies and Associations art. 7:87 — Sets the independence criteria for directors of listed companies, including that the director has not been a board member for more than twelve years and has had no executive or material relationship with the company within the defined periods. (Kingdom of Belgium)
- Law of 28 July 2011 on gender balance — Requires at least one third of the board of a listed company or autonomous public undertaking to be of the other gender. While the board is non-compliant, any appointment that does not remedy the imbalance is void and directors' benefits are suspended. (Kingdom of Belgium)
- Belgian Code on Corporate Governance 2020 — Comply-or-explain. Recommends at least three independent directors, an audit committee and a nomination and remuneration committee composed of a majority of independent directors, and a formal annual board evaluation. (Belgian Corporate Governance Committee)
Reviewed against primary sources in September 2026. This is governance decision-support, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and transitional provisions frequently apply — verify against the primary instrument before you rely on it.
Eligibility is only the first question
Being allowed to sit on a board there is not the same as being read for one.
The mobility index answers the second question: whether your record is legible to a board in that market, whether you hold what it is currently short of, and whether you can do the job in the language its board works in.