Work permits in Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Belgium

The first question is not which country. It is which passport you hold.

Everything on this page is taken from the laws, ordinances and league regulations listed under Sources, which we downloaded and read. Where we could not reach or confirm something, we say so at the end rather than guess.

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen: none of this applies

Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Icelandic players — and every other EU, EEA or Swiss citizen — need no work permit, no quota place and no minimum salary to play in any of these four countries. Free movement covers you. The rest of this page is about players from outside that area.

Under 18, the binding limit is not immigration law but FIFA Article 19, which governs every international transfer of a minor whatever the passport. See our guide to Article 19. For England, which left the EU and works differently, see our GBE guide.

Three systems, not one

The most common mistake in this subject is assuming every country works like England. They do not.

Country	What decides whether a non-EU player can come	Quota on non-EU players in the league rules?
Germany	A wage floor, plus confirmation from the DFB	None in the DFL licensing rules
Netherlands	A wage wall tied to Eredivisie salaries	Not checked
Portugal	Ordinary immigration procedure	None
Belgium	A regional wage floor that differs by region	Not checked

Germany: a wage floor and a federation stamp

The route is § 22 no. 4 of the Beschäftigungsverordnung, the German ordinance on employing foreign nationals. Professional athletes get a residence title without approval from the Federal Employment Agency if three conditions are all met:

1. You are at least 16.
2. The club pays a gross salary of at least 50% of the contribution ceiling for statutory pension insurance. For 2026 that ceiling is €101,400 a year, so the floor is €50,700 gross a year, or €4,225 a month.
3. The national federation for the sport — the DFB — confirms your sporting qualification as a professional, in agreement with the German Olympic Sports Confederation.

There is no labour market test and, in the DFL’s licensing rules, no cap on non-EU players.

What the DFL does require is locally trained players: at least eight on professional contracts, at least four of them trained by the club itself. “Locally trained” means registered for three full seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21 — with a club in Germany, or with the club itself. Nationality plays no part in it. A non-EU player who arrives young enough becomes a locally trained player over time.

The ceiling changes every year, so the €50,700 figure is for 2026 only.

In depth: how Germany's locally trained rule is built

The DFL distinguishes two kinds of locally trained player:

• Trained by the club: registered with his current club for three full seasons, or 36 months, between the season he turns 15 and the season he turns 21.
• Trained by the association: the same period, but with any club under the DFB.

A club must have at least eight locally trained players on professional contracts, and at least four of them must be club-trained. No more than half may be association-trained. Every locally trained player must be on the eligibility list for every competitive match.

A season counts from the first to the last league match of the division the player was registered in. A player who gets permission to play friendlies for the club by 31 July has that whole season counted.

For a young non-EU player, the point is the age window: arrive before your 18th birthday — which FIFA Article 19 makes hard — and you can become a locally trained player before you turn 21.

The Netherlands: the hardest wall of the four

A non-EU player needs a combined residence and work permit, and the wage criterion is the gatekeeper. The guaranteed salary must be at least:

• 150% of the average salary in the Eredivisie in the previous season, bonuses included, if you are 21 or older;
• 75% of that average if you are 18, 19 or 20.

That is the Eredivisie average — not the average Dutch salary, which is a mistake you will find repeated. The 75% band was extended to 20-year-olds from 1 April 2025; before that, a 20-year-old needed 150%.

Two further conditions matter:

• Immediately before the move, you must have played regularly in a league at least as strong as the Eredivisie, or have proven comparable quality in another way, such as at a World Cup.
• For football, the Eerste Divisie also counts as the top division, so the route is open to second-tier clubs too.

The wage rules contain bands from 18 upwards and nothing below. We found no route in these rules for a non-EU player under 18.

We have not published euro amounts: the average is recalculated every season, and we could not find an official figure labelled for 2026/27.

Portugal: almost no football-specific barrier

We read Liga Portugal’s competition regulations for 2026/27 in full. There is no limit on non-EU players — not on registration, not on the matchday squad. Claims that Portuguese clubs can only field a handful of non-EU players are not supported by the current regulations.

What Portugal does require is locally trained players: a squad must include at least 10 if the club has a B team, or 8 if it does not. As in Germany, the definition applies regardless of nationality: three full seasons or 36 months registered with clubs under the Portuguese federation between 15 and 21.

That combination — no non-EU limit, and a homegrown rule that a foreign teenager can grow into — is the structural reason Portuguese clubs sign young non-EU players early. The barrier that remains is the ordinary immigration process, not football rules.

Belgium: the region decides the price

Work permits are a regional matter in Belgium, and so is the minimum salary for professional athletes. The thresholds we could confirm:

Region	Minimum annual gross salary, professional athletes
Wallonia	€53,220 in 2026, €54,709 in 2027
Brussels	€88,320, adjusted every 1 July
Flanders	Not confirmed — see below

The same player therefore costs a club in Brussels far more in guaranteed salary than one in Wallonia. Neither region gives a lower threshold for young players in this category.

What we could not confirm

• Flanders. Two official Flemish sources give different figures for 2026, one roughly double the other. Until we have read the underlying decision, we publish neither.
• Germany below the 2. Bundesliga. Several sources say the Federal Employment Agency’s internal guidance limits § 22 no. 4 to Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga squads. We have not been able to read that guidance, so we do not state it as fact. If you are being offered a contract in the 3. Liga or below, ask the club how it intends to get your permit.
• Dutch euro figures for 2026/27, as above.
• Portuguese processing times. Reports describe a fast-track for athletes; we have not seen the official text.
• Belgium’s homegrown rule and whether it has an age limit of 21 or 23. The sources disagree, and the current federation text could not be retrieved.

The practical summary

If you hold an EU, EEA or Swiss passport, the only rule that can stop you before 18 is FIFA’s — after 18, nothing on this page applies to you. If you do not, the country decides the method: Germany asks for a salary and a DFB confirmation, the Netherlands asks for a salary most young players will never be offered, Portugal asks for almost nothing, and Belgium’s price depends on the city. Ask any club or agent which of these routes they are using. If they cannot name it, treat the offer with caution.