Various documents must be submitted when applying for a combined trainee permit. One of these documents is proof that the trainee will have sufficient means of subsistence.
The minimum amount the trainee must have at his/her disposal is laid down in Article 14, §1, 2°, of the Act of 26 May 2002 on the right to social integration and as indexed on 1 Februari 2025, according to Article 15 of the aforementioned Act, i.e. €1,314.20 net per month.
The employer or host entity may act as guarantor for the trainee by completing, signing and attaching an Annex 32bis to the application. The effect of this guarantee is that the employer undertakes, jointly and severally with the trainee, to reimburse any subsistence, living and accommodation costs that were borne by the Belgian State or the PCSW for this trainee.
However, the guarantee can never be the sole evidence to prove the trainee's sufficient means of subsistence. The trainee will have to provide other supporting documents to prove the sufficient means of sustenance, in addition to any guarantee. Annex 32bis only constitutes valid, subsidiary evidence with regard to the condition of sufficient means of subsistence if it is accepted by the Immigration Department.
The guarantee given by Annex 32bis must be supplemented by 2 supporting documents:
(1) Proof of power of representation:
This is proof that the person signing Annex 32bis (the guarantee) can actually commit the employer as a legal person to this guarantee. This is because the employer or host entity acts as a guarantor as a legal entity and not as a natural person.
If the external representation power of the signing director is limited and signatures of several directors are required, an Annex 32bis shall be completed and signed for each director.*
(2) Evidence of sufficient financial resources:
The legal entity must demonstrate that it has sufficient financial resources available to act as guarantor for the trainee.
The employer or host entity must have at its disposal at least the amount of 120% of the living wage, as indexed on 1 Februari 2025 in accordance with Article 14, §1, 3° of the Act of 26 May 2002, i.e. €2,131.28 net per month.
This amount can be proved by extracts showing that the legal entity can use the necessary capital when the costs covered by the guarantee are to be reimbursed or paid.
Note: This amount should be proved per trainee for which the legal entity enters into the guarantee. Thus, the number of trainees for which a guarantee is entered into should not be disproportionate to the available funds.
*The additional documents mentioned here in (1) and (2) need to be added only once to the Annex 32bis and not per completed Annex 32bis, as they concern the same company and the same trainee.
The guarantee of the employer or host entity has the effect that the related legal entity becomes jointly and severally liable with the trainee in terms of paying subsistence, living and accommodation costs.