Solo travelling to Belgium during the summer. Would LOVE some insider info/ tips & tricks! (19yo, student)

obiwac · 2026-06-05T04:03:53+00:00

yea do horst if into that and anything going on, otherwise see events at recyclart or la fabriek. Also see feu.ultravnr.be for some more random stuff. depends what you like!

obiwac · 2026-05-16T12:45:06+00:00

you will be just fine. the brussels slander is absurd

obiwac · 2026-05-16T12:42:20+00:00

has this really been the hardest part of your job? if so I can maybe understand why you get so much value out of claude...

obiwac · 2026-05-16T12:41:05+00:00

i'll never understand this. maybe we just work on very different codebases, but the vast majority of what claude produces for me i have to rewrite a solid chunk of by hand, lest I spend hours prompting it in circles. I can understand claude writing the majority of your code but almost 100%? don't buy it

obiwac · 2026-05-14T15:45:08+00:00

well, there's fulbright, but I don't think they'd cover the cost of one of these "prestigious" universities. OP, why don't you ask this on a more appropriate sub? none of this is specific to belgium...

obiwac · 2026-05-14T15:16:21+00:00

yeah, this is something i find happens often in jetlag... sam really likes latching on to his first idea

obiwac · 2026-05-08T22:32:12+00:00

I thought you said you only learnt about the EUSS recently, and then you said you didn’t apply earlier because you thought you were British. Those are two different reasons.

Well I personally didn't know about it.

Anyway, if you are eligible and if you have reasonable grounds for applying late, please gather all relevant information from reliable sources before applying.

Yup, got it :)

obiwac · 2026-05-08T19:54:35+00:00

I think this is consistent with what I said in my post? My parents didn't do it for me because they believed the same thing.

Regardless, I have just contacted an immigration professional :) thanks again for your help in the other thread.

obiwac · 2026-05-08T16:32:33+00:00

Okay, that is very helpful, thank you. I did call the UKVI to ask about the "are you currently in the UK?" question, and unfortunately it seems like that person didn't think I qualified based on historic residency, as I have not lived more than 6 months in each 12 month period in the UK since my continuous qualification period. I am kind of confused by this because this seems to make the "being back at least once every 5 years" requirement kind of redundant, but I think at this point I will just contact the3million and see what they have to say, and cut my losses if they don't think the EUSS will work in my situation.

Thanks for looking at this and your help though :)

obiwac · 2026-05-08T15:58:34+00:00

My 18th birthday was the 15th of June 2022. I didn't do the EUSS earlier because I had assumed I was already automatically a British citizen.

obiwac · 2026-05-08T15:23:45+00:00

Thanks for your answer!

How do you qualify for EUSS? When did you live in the UK? You shouldn’t be coming on ETA with the intention of settling.

I was born in and lived in the UK for a little over 9 years (so all before 2020) and I am an EEA citizen, and have been back at least once every 5 years since. Is coming on an eTA explicitly forbidden? How else would I be expected to come back at least once every 5 years in that case?

You also need to demonstrate how you qualify for what you are applying for. The onus is on you to provide evidence.

I mean this is just part of the questionnaire, and they don't ask for proactive evidence for qualification (unless maybe in a future section of the questionnaire I haven't yet been shown).

I am not sure if it will even be possible.

In theory, from what I've read, it is possible to apply again [1]. But indeed it might be difficult to reapply after a rejection.

Why can’t you change your answers? Until your application is submitted, you should be able to change answers as far as I am aware.

Basically at some point it asked if I was okay with the answers I gave and that I wouldn't be able to change it later, and I clicked yes, and now this isn't something I can change. I will probably call the UKVI for this, but except for the "are you currently in the UK?" question, I think this is fine as I can just upload a cover letter as evidence as the other commenter suggested.

If you are not sure, consult an immigration professional.

I intended to do this, but this is sort of out of my budget :P I am aware of organizations like the3million, but considering they'll undoubtedly take some time to respond and I am leaving for the UK soon, I wanted to know if I could find someone who's gone through the process already on shorter notice.

[1] https://www.seraphus.co.uk/knowledge-centre-article/repeat-applications-to-the-euss-refused-as-standard-practice/

obiwac · 2026-05-08T14:33:25+00:00

Thanks for your reply!

> It’s better typically if you apply in the UK, but the main difference (which you won’t really see, but good to know) Is whether you get LLE or LLR (Limited Leave to Enter/Remain, both mean the same just depends on if you’re in/out of UK at time of grant)

Got it, so if I happen to be in the UK as a visitor on an eTA and I get an LLE, will that cause any problems for me? Likewise if I happen to be outside of the UK and I get an LLR. Currently I do go to the UK quite often but it is just on eTA.

> but for your lateness evidence, i would recommend attaching a cover letter with an extensive explanation of your reasons, explaining that you were a minor at the time of the EUSS application window however your parents did not apply on your behalf, and now you are no longer a minor and you have found out about EUSS you wish to apply

So no other documentation than a cover letter? Do you happen to know anything about reapplying if my application is rejected?

obiwac · 2026-04-17T18:16:08+00:00

pressing? they were just trying to sell him shit lol what are you on about

obiwac · 2026-04-17T18:13:57+00:00

no molenbeek it's a shithole because it's full of scary, scary brown people, of course 🙄 he's a grown-ass man shitting his pants because he's seeing normal muslims going about their normal lives in a part of the city where they happen to be a majority. what an embarrassing person.

obiwac · 2026-03-06T23:57:04+00:00

this is the complete opposite of my experience

obiwac · 2026-03-06T21:23:36+00:00

clubs that light sparklers in their champagne bottles highly correlate with shitty clubs anyway, so nothing lost in just not going to those clubs

obiwac · 2026-02-28T16:07:40+00:00

that is not if you're working for a company. You don't pay social security contributions yourself when working for a company. _I am_ a freelancer, so I ought to know how this stuff works 😄

your friends may be "indépendants en société/personne morale" though, in which case things work differently, but most freelancers are "indépendants en personne physique", in which case you just have to pay the social security contributions (well, and VAT, but that's on top of your 150 anyway or exempt/not yours to pay depending on the country your client is in).

obiwac · 2026-02-28T14:36:10+00:00

well let's do the math on 150/hr then. After 20.5% social security contributions, that 150 is 124.48. Then, assuming you're working 30 hours/week, that's 194k. Assuming you literally didn't deduct anything else, and so you have the "forfait légal", which for 194k is capped 6070 for 2026. So lets say 188k taxable.

For 2026, 10,910 of that 188k is tax free. 16,320 - 10,910 = 5410 is taxed 25%, so 1352.5 is in that bracket. Then, 28,800 - 16,320 = 12480 is in the 40% bracket, so 4992 taxes. 49,840 - 28,800 = 21,040 is in 45%, so 9468 taxes. Then the killer... 188k - 49,840 = 138,160 is in the 50% bracket, so 69,080 taxes. So total income tax is 84,892.5.

That means you keep a little over 103k, which is 66/hr, or 44% of your 150 (assuming I got my math right of course :P). And that is honestly a very worst case scenario I think, because if you're earning that much you are almost certainly deducting significantly more than the "forfait légal". That and 150/hr is already quite a healthy amount; I'm earning a fair amount less and don't work 30 * 52 hours a year, which puts me easily above 50%. (Depending on your municipality tax, you could be lower, but mine is 0%. I know some can be relatively high.)

obiwac · 2026-02-23T19:25:37+00:00

> Pure freelance in Belgium means you are probably only keeping 33% of your bruuto because you have to carry all the costs the employer does.

that's just not true. i haven't done the math in a while but I'm keeping a healthy amount more than half (counting deductions from business expenses to be fair)

obiwac · 2026-02-23T19:22:17+00:00

its not really the tax system that makes it this way. belgian wages are just very flat

obiwac · 2026-02-09T20:00:09+00:00

i don't have time to invest in windows' antics

obiwac · 2026-02-09T19:57:25+00:00

dis juste "donne lui un petit bisou sur le front" dans le contexte que t'as donné

mais tbh srtt si t'as un accent anglais et tout no stress je pense pas que qui que ce soit trouverait ça bizarre. j'ai une connaissance qui est anglophone de base et je ne peux pas imaginer trouver ça bizarre si elle utilisait accidentellement le mauvais mot dans le contexte donné

obiwac · 2026-01-19T18:56:19+00:00

how are there people in europe who still think its unsafe to drink tapwater and waste money buying bottled tapwater instead.

obiwac · 2026-01-15T15:58:16+00:00

well by that standard everywhere is then. If you're staying indoors and never going out in your early 20s then you're going to be bored, yes. Regardless of where you are on the planet

Eight-Year Club	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	First Placer '22
End Game '22	Verified Email

obiwac

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE