Home is where the heart is, the cliché tells us. But what is it that makes a residence a home? Each move presents us with the same challenge: turning this new place into a home. A place that is truly yours, somewhere you can really be yourself. We recognize our home immediately, but find it hard to express in words.
Article by Leen Creve (first published in ReLocate Winter 2014)
As a resident of Belgium you are legally required to exchange your national driving license for a Belgian one. The exchange process can however be more complex than we would like it to be. Much depends on the license you hold and which country you obtained it from. We bring you a practical overview of what’s what, and what you can do to help speed up your exchange process.
Much to the frustration of expats and relocation agents alike, there is a lot of discussion around the process of exchanging a foreign driving license for a Belgian one. How long should it take? What are the legal requirements? And what can the expat do whilst awaiting their new license? With conflicting reports and advice coming from the various municipalities or communes, our board has been actively trying to seek some clarity on what should be a straight-forward process. We looked at the different types of licenses and spoke with Eric Klitsch of Brussels Relocation and Koen Reekmans of Altair Global for an update on their efforts to ease the process.
Contemplating a move to Belgium is quite a task in itself, however once you have made the decision to relocate, there is then the rather complex exercise of figuring out immigration regulations, spousal rights and customary red tape. Who better to enlighten us on the ins and outs of the Belgian immigration system than the experts themselves, Fragomen. We’ve asked them the burning questions you want to know the answer to – whatever stage of the immigration process you are approaching, they’ve got it covered.
With so many different days celebrated across Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, you’d be forgiven for wondering which are actually official bank holidays. With 2017 gradually coming to an end, Pro-Pay provides you with a handy overview of the Belgian public holidays for the year 2018 and a reminder of the rules applicable to replacement days.
The second EuRA conference session that stood out for its relevance to all our members spoke about leveraging social media for our business’ benefit. Entitled “How small companies can use the power of social media” it proved an inspiring session full of practical advice. We’ve spoken about how to turn your stakeholders into brand believers and the tech shift that is driven by millennials, but this issue we bring you easy to follow advice on how to get yourself noticed on social media as growing brand recognition and opportunities to convert new clients increasingly take place online. You may also want to check out what EuRA’s keynote speaker Tony Chapman had to say on selling your brand.
EuRA conference speakers. From left to right: Damien O’Farrell, Principal Relocation; Roberta Mura, MRS Global; Shelley Lloyd, Celsium; Michele Bramstoft, Copenhagen Relocations.
Inspired by the ‘Clicking Culturally’ session at the recent EuRA Relocation Congress in Warsaw we decided to look at what happens when we feel ready to pass our ‘baby’ on to the next generation. Will your company stay in the family or will you find that perfect partner who is willing to contribute to its growth after you say goodbye? And what happens after you have left? Will everybody be as happy as they once were? Will people ‘click’ with the new company culture?
Speakers at the EuRA conference. Clockwise: Patrick Oman, Irish Relocation Services; Sebastien Besson, Intouch Relocations; Corallie Pringle, Intouch Relocations; Dean Foster, Dwellworks; Bob Rosing, Dwellworks; Dan Sennett, Irish Relocation Services.
Since February 1st, 2017 anyone renting out their spare room or other property must pay the same taxes as those that are applied to hotels in the region. From that date onwards, the responsibility for hotel tax shifted from the 19 individual municipalities to the region. For the likes of AirBnB, the taxation system surrounding privately managed short stay rooms, apartments and houses used to be quite the grey area, and to be honest, with the new regulations it’s not necessarily become that much clearer.
Evolution is key to just about everything, and it’s not limited to the natural world either. In business we need to evolve to stay ahead of the market, to develop new trends and to keep the lifeblood of a business flowing. Most importantly, we need to know how to evolve our business practices to retain our most precious present employees, and to attract future employees, filled with fresh energy and new perspectives.
