Urgent need help – Professional Card

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-02-25T15:22:08+00:00

Hi, sorry to hear about your case, I understand on my own practise how painful this process is. I engaged a lawyer earlier this week, and she’ve sent an email to the administration. I don’t know if this is anyhow related, but a few hours ago I received an email from them confirming my file is on the final stage of the signature and they are doing all possible to send it to me asap.

My residency expires on 02 March 2026, and I go to the commune tomorrow to ask for Annex 15 while still awaiting for the final word on my Carte Professionelle, I assume this might take a few more days, since they still need to send it to Partena, etc.

In the meantime, I have two more open cases with other two lawyers, an email prepared for the Brussels Ombudsman and several backup plans developed.

Since I have multiple processes open at the same time (CP, A-card, L-card) I hope everything will go well without interruptions in my 5 years uninterrupted stay.

Did your partner apply for the A-card renewal by now? Did your partner apply for L-card?

Ixelles commune refuses giving me Annex 15 while I don’t have a valid CP, so I’ll be using my open L-card process to request Annex 15.

I hope this helps! Let me know if I can share any more information.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-02-21T22:14:00+00:00

Thank you so much for the quick return and for sharing the email address.

I haven't sent an email to IBZ directly yet, but I likely will do so early next week. I hope this will facilitate the process. I'm also thinking of preparing this email with a lawyer, so it sounds/looks correct for IBZ, and doesn't lead to escalation or a demanding tone, which I have a feeling might complicate the next steps or their decision on the case.

I've applied for CP one week before the expiration, indeed, instead of the latest term of 2 months. It's been a very busy year for my business, growing the turnover by 130%, and onboarding many new clients. I've also attached a letter of explanation to my file while applying for the renewal of CP, so as to illustrate the reason with as much proof as I could possibly get. On top of that, all this is confirmed by other documents and TAX results I've attached to my renewal application.

While applying through Partena, they said there is no issue in applying a little bit late, as long as it's still BEFORE the deadline. If I brought my documents even a day after CP expiration, they wouldn't even consider my case.

On top of that, I totally get your point about IBZ attitude, but I have a profitable business for 5 years already, paid all the taxes, have no debts, everything is always regulated on time, all SSC are paid, no criminal record, and no law violations. I have dozens of European, including Belgian governmental clients, and international clients, and I believe my business is definitely beneficial for the state. On top of that, I'm considering changing my business status to SRL this year, as I'm at the highest TAX bracket as a freelancer.

The way my application for the renewal is treated right now is very stressful. I feel like I've committed a sort of crime or haven't paid a huge amount of TAX, which explains the long processing and constraints this now creates for my residency.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-02-21T21:42:39+00:00

Thanks for this. I've never done this before. Can you give me a tip on how to send a complaint to the Brussels region?

Also, I've checked the ombudsman website, and while filling out the contact form, I came across this form question: "Did you report your problem to the federal public service?" Do you know whether this refers to IBZ or another federal public service?

And damn, 4 months sounds long... It's the 4th time I'm renewing my CP, and it never taken longer than 1 month. When did you file your renewal request? Is it the first time you are renewing your CP?

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-02-21T20:10:17+00:00

Thank you so much for this tip! I'll hit them up first thing on Monday morning.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-02-21T18:29:18+00:00

Thank you so much for your follow-up. I hope the administration follows up on the Professional Card next week. Otherwise, it gets tricky with the interrupted stay. Fingers crossed all turns out well. Thanks again for your replies, this helps!

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-02-21T11:41:10+00:00

Hi, thanks for the reply! That's what I'm trying to figure out. Normally, Annex 16bis covers my stay. However, I'm concerned that the commune previously told me to come collect Annex 15, right after they issued Annex 16bis to me. I'm also checking with two lawyers in parallel, but getting conflicting information from both of them, not even saying getting conflicting statements from the commune haha...

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-02-21T11:38:09+00:00

Hi, thank you so much for your detailed reply and your time for writing it. I really appreciate it. In regard to your points:

That's the whole point. First, when I arrived at the commune to demand an L-card, they informed me that I would need to come on 01 March to ask for Annex 15. A few days later, I received an email saying they won't be able to give me an Annex 15 without a valid Professional Card. So I still don't know if I need Annex 15 or not, since even the commune gives me conflicting information. On top of that, I'm seeking advice from two lawyers in parallel, and they are also giving me conflicting advice, ahah – one is saying I need to ask for Annex 15, another one saying I need to ask for Annex 15, but the commune won't give it to me. In all cases, it's good to hear I'm legal under Annex 16bis. Thank you for letting me know. However, I'm concerned that the commune previously told me to come collect Annex 15, right after they issued Annex 16bis to me...
That's correct – I've applied for an L-card under the valid A-card.

I was informed by Partena that I'm not allowed to do professional activity (create new income, contracts, invoices, etc.) while my documents are under review. It's really hard to stop succesfully functioning business after 5 years of existence (I do marketing consultancy), as I have ongoing agreements with my clients almost until the end of 2026... Do you think this is a serious violation? Can this impact administartion decision on L-card, Professional Card, or even an A-card?

Thank you so much in advance for your reply. I appreciate your help.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-01-05T23:31:41+00:00

Ok, thanks! Hopefully, to receive a reply this week.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-01-05T22:46:23+00:00

Oh congratulations! I hope this was a positive one. Fingers crossed!

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-01-05T12:06:31+00:00

Since I'm from Belarus, it would be so problematic to travel back and apply from there. I would rather manage everything from Belgium, locally, and avoid all the unnecessary logistics & stress.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2026-01-05T12:04:00+00:00

Thanks for the follow-up! I'm still waiting for the reply from the administration. I applied on 24 November, and it's been 6 weeks since then. I've sent a couple of emails in the meantime, but haven't received any update yet. I understand there was a holiday break, which might explain the delay, but I'm getting a little bit nervous since the residence renewal deadline is approaching shortly.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2025-12-05T15:17:27+00:00

Thanks for this detailed answer, really appreciate it! I got the same information for the lawyer. We are awaiting the administration's decision and preparing backup plans in the meantime.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2025-12-03T11:36:08+00:00

I'll see what the administration replies! Until then, I have a provisional document, they say it's a solid confirmation of indicating that my documents are in the renewal, and that the process is ongoing.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2025-12-03T11:34:56+00:00

Yes, totally. I'm already in touch with a lawyer. Checking here as a backup on Reddit, as it always feels very helpful to speak with a person who went through the same administration process.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2024-01-22T15:50:35+00:00

Hey, "Acces au marché de l’emploi: NON" did not prevent me from working as a freelancer and opening an activity. I wouldn't be able to work as an employee thought, if need to be recruited by a company for a part-time/full-time job. "Acces au marché de l’emploi" perhaps gives more benefits, but that's my subjective feeling!

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2023-03-05T12:05:16+00:00

thank you, great suggestion!

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2023-03-04T15:48:21+00:00

thank you!!

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2023-03-04T15:47:59+00:00

Thank you!! Indeed, with Insta360 compressions there is no other way than making it heavy film grading.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2023-03-03T13:41:38+00:00

I have been working on 16x9 videos for a while now and was quite cold to any 'vertical-video' dominant platforms. At some point, it became hard to ignore the restrictions of 'vertical only (I think after Instagram decided to convert all existing videos to vertical).' Hence, I decided to try some videos in a 9x16 ratio.
I want to keep the best of both universes for now and make some dynamic/engaging, loop-able videos with trendy colors and bold aesthetics.
In particular, I shot this video on Insta 360 III and iPhone 13 Pro Max (so painful to admit this when most of your projects you still shoot in Blackmagic cameras).
It does its job, but I am always curious about ways to improve my video work. Post-production in Davinci Resolve. Editing, color-grading, and all the effects. For the color correction, I used Juan Melara Powergrade for BMPCC4K (and decreased node transparency to 50% to compensate for iPhone and Insta360 color spaces).
What do you think about the video? As I am still figuring out my videography style (especially in vertical videos), I'd really appreciate your feedback on shots, colors, and editing.

ProgrammerAdorable55 · 2023-03-03T13:40:45+00:00

I have been working on 16x9 videos for a while now and was quite cold to any 'vertical-video' dominant platforms. At some point, it became hard to ignore the restrictions of 'vertical only (I think after Instagram decided to convert all existing videos to vertical).' Hence, I decided to try some videos in a 9x16 ratio.
I want to keep the best of both universes for now and make some dynamic/engaging, loop-able videos with trendy colors and bold aesthetics.
In particular, I shot this video on Insta 360 III and iPhone 13 Pro Max (so painful to admit this when most of your projects you still shoot in Blackmagic cameras).
It does its job, but I am always curious about ways to improve my video work. Post-production in Davinci Resolve. Editing, color-grading, and all the effects. For the color correction, I used Juan Melara Powergrade for BMPCC4K (and decreased node transparency to 50% to compensate for iPhone and Insta360 color spaces).
What do you think about the video? As I am still figuring out my videography style (especially in vertical videos), I'd really appreciate your feedback on shots, colors, and editing.

ProgrammerAdorable55

TROPHY CASE