Logging into Belgian government websites as a foreigner – pass through the town hall first?

You might have already read that it became even more complicated for foreign companies to log on to government websites. Moreover, from 31 January 2024, the commercial certificates that still allowed you somewhat easy access will disappear.

If you do not have a Belgian identity card or cannot use the ‘itsme’ application, you have two other options for logging in.

A first option is to log in with an ‘electronic identification recognised at European level’. Also known as ‘eIDAS’. This is intended to simplify the registration process on (Belgian) government websites for people with a European identity card.

The future of eIDAS looks promising. Unfortunately, we still often notice problems in practice. For example, it is not possible to find out which person represents a foreign company.

We expect usage to improve in the coming years. Hopefully, more European countries will jump on this bandwagon.

Another option is to apply for ‘digital keys’.

The digital keys can be requested by the legal representative in Belgium physically at a local registration office or via an online video call with the relevant service as of 11 January 2024.

Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.