Photo by Hanlin Sun on Unsplash
🇧🇪 Europe (Schengen)
Moving to Belgium from the US
Belgium for American digital nomads: no dedicated nomad visa, and a heavy tax regime once you become tax resident. Tourist entry for US passports: 90/180 days Schengen.
Europe (Schengen) 🧾 heavy tax
Belgium in numbers
At a glance
| 🛂 Tourist entry | 🇺🇸US90d🇪🇺EUUnlimited🇬🇧UK90d🇨🇦CA90d🇦🇺AU90d |
| 🛂 Digital nomad visa | No dedicated digital nomad visa |
| 🏠 Path to permanent residency | Permanent residence generally after 5 years |
| 🌍 What gets taxed | Worldwide income Once you are a tax resident it taxes your income from anywhere in the world, including pay from US clients. |
| 📈 Top income-tax rate | 50% Brackets: 50% top + municipal surcharges (effectively ~53-55%) |
| ✨ Special regime | None specific to nomads |
| 🇺🇸 US tax treaty | ✅ Yes Stops the same income being taxed by both countries and can lower tax withheld on things like dividends. |
| ⚖️ Family-law exposure (payer) | Obligation 6/10 · cross-border collection 8/10 |
| 🗣️ English | Very high proficiency (EF index 608) National average from the EF English Proficiency Index 2025; big cities and tourist areas usually run higher. |
| 🏥 Healthcare access | Very high (WHO coverage index 86/100, 2023) How well essential care reaches the population. Most Americans abroad use private care and insurance; this measures the public system. |
| 👩 Women's safety & rights | Very high (WPS index 0.902) Women, Peace and Security Index 2023/24 (Georgetown GIWPS): safety, legal rights and inclusion. |
| 🏳️🌈 LGBTQ+ equality | Very high (Equaldex index 78/100) Equaldex Equality Index (equaldex.com, CC BY-SA): laws plus public attitudes. |
| 🛡️ Safety (hard stats) | Homicide 1.08/100k · road deaths 4.6/100k |
Full detail with ratings and sources: visas & residency · tax breakdown · legal exposure · safety & crime
Data last updated · Source: Compiled from the visas, tax and legal datasets
Cities we cover in Belgium
Photos from Unsplash: Brussels by Hanlin Sun on Unsplash
Month-by-month weather: Brussels climate
⭐ Belgium on our best-of lists
🇪🇺 Other countries in Europe (Schengen)
Moving to Belgium: common questions
Can Americans move to Belgium?
There is no dedicated nomad or passive-income visa, so most Americans need work, study, investment or family routes. Path to permanent residency: Permanent residence generally after 5 years.
How long can Americans stay in Belgium without a visa?
About 90 days visa-free as a tourist on a US passport. Belgium has no dedicated digital nomad visa, so living there longer needs another residence route.
Will I pay tax in Belgium as an American?
Heavy: once resident, local income tax applies at relatively high rates. What gets taxed: worldwide income; the top rate is 50%. As an American you also keep filing with the IRS wherever you live; the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and foreign tax credits usually stop you paying twice.
What does it cost to live in Belgium?
About $2,508 a month for one person, all-in (everyday costs plus a 1-bedroom city-centre rent), across the 1 city we cover.
Is English spoken in Belgium?
Yes. The country ranks "very high" on the EF English Proficiency Index; most people you deal with will speak it well.
Is Belgium safe?
Belgium's homicide rate is 1.08 per 100,000 people a year (the US is roughly 6), and road deaths are 4.6 per 100,000. On our country scale that's "safer".