2026-10-07 · Léa Moreau, Office manager, Brussels
When one partner moves first
A split move is common and badly planned. One person starts the job. The other is still in the old flat with the children.
From Brussels I see this every month. The contract starts in January. The school place, if it exists, starts in September. Someone asks whether one partner should go ahead. Sometimes yes. It is not a small decision, and it is not only a visa.
What has to be true before you split
The person who goes first needs a lawful stay that does not collapse if the job changes. The person who stays needs to know for how many months, who has the children on a school morning, and whether a visit is a visa or a right. “We will see” is how a three-month plan becomes a year.
The part people forget
The partner who is not the employee
A dependent visa, a remote-work visa, and “I will enter as a tourist and sort it out” are three different risks. Tourist entry is not a plan for a spouse. Ask counsel before anyone gives notice.
The children
Changing school twice in one year is the expensive version. If the children stay until the summer, book the next school before the first parent flies, not after.
We put both dates on one page. We do not tell a couple they should live apart.
