Setting Up a Company in Belgium as a Foreigner: Documents to Translate

Are you a foreign national who wants to set up a company in Belgium? Part of your file rests on documents issued abroad that you will need to have translated by a sworn translator, and sometimes apostilled or legalised. Here are the steps and the documents to prepare.

📖 Also read: translation of the articles of association · sworn guide · apostille or legalisation

The main steps of incorporation

Setting up a company in Belgium follows a fairly well-defined path. For most forms (SRL/BV, SA/NV), you first visit the notary, who draws up the deed of incorporation and the articles of association as an authentic deed. The notary then handles registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE) and the filing of the articles. For a commercial activity, you turn to an approved business counter to finalise the registration and, where relevant, check the conditions for access to the profession. You usually also open a Belgian bank account in the company's name to deposit the cash contribution.

Which foreign documents must be translated?

The notary and the Belgian authorities work in French or Dutch depending on the region. Any document drafted in another language must therefore come with a sworn translation produced by a sworn translator. The most common documents are:

• Identity card or passport: to identify the foreign founders and directors.
• Extract from the register of the parent company: if a foreign legal entity is a partner or shareholder, its official extract (the equivalent of the CBE extract) must be translated.
• Power of attorney: if you do not sign before the notary yourself, the power of attorney granted to a representative must be translated.
• Various supporting documents: the parent company's articles, the management body's decision authorising the participation, certificates of residence or bank statements.

Apostille and legalisation of official deeds

A translation is not always enough. Official deeds issued by a foreign authority (company extract, notarial deed, civil status document) often need to be authenticated before they can be used in Belgium. If the country of origin has acceded to the Hague Convention, an apostille is enough; otherwise, a chain legalisation is required. Check your situation in our guide apostille or legalisation, and have the apostille affixed before the translation where possible, so that it appears in the translated document.

The special case of the articles of association

If a foreign parent company is involved, its articles of association may need to be produced and translated, and conversely the Belgian articles may need to be translated for your partners abroad. We go into the points to watch in our dedicated article on the translation of a company's articles of association in Belgium.

Self-employed from outside the EU: the professional card

If you are a national of a country outside the European Union and you intend to work as a self-employed person, you generally need a professional card issued by the competent Region, in addition to the appropriate residence permit. The application file also contains foreign documents (diplomas, proof of experience, criminal record) that will need to be translated by a sworn translator. Anticipate this point, as it often determines when the activity can start.

Tips for a file that gets accepted

• Ask the notary and the business counter for the exact target language (French or Dutch) before starting the translations.
• Have the documents apostilled or legalised first, then translated: the translation thus carries over the authentication stamp.
• Provide clear and complete copies to the sworn translator, with no missing page or illegible stamp.
• Group together all the documents of the same founder to keep the file consistent and avoid back-and-forth.