Expat Welcome Desk — Brussels-Capital Region's free multilingual relocation service
Belgium
Free multilingual (EN/FR/NL) advisory service for anyone relocating to Brussels for work, run by the Brussels-Capital Region Commissioner for Europe …
Good practice
Imported
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Brno Expat Centre — one-stop integration service for international talent
Czechia · Brno · See the Czechia profile · See the Brno profile
Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 54% 67/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice
City- and region-funded one-stop service (since 2010) providing visa, housing and labour-market guidance to international skilled professionals; 13,000+ served over 14 years; entering 15th season in 2024 with 50% growth in student users.
13,000+ professionals
Professionals served since 2010 (2010-2024)
50 % growth
Growth in student users after 2023 expansion (since 2023)
77,201 workers
Foreign workers in Brno (end-2021)
33 % increase
Increase in foreign workers over preceding six years (~2015-2021)
Details
- Maturity
- Established
- Promoter
- Brno Expat Centre (non-profit, co-funded by City of Brno and South Moravian Region)
- Period
- 2010–present
- Region (NUTS)
CZ064- Keywords
- International talent services, expat integration, public administration
Context
The Brno Expat Centre is a non-profit, one-stop integration service established in 2010 in Brno, Czechia's second-largest city (population ~400,000), co-funded by the City of Brno and the South Moravian Region to support international professionals moving to the region.
Objectives
The centre aims to ease the settlement of highly skilled foreign professionals (and, since 2023, international university students) by providing consultations on visas, residence permits, housing, healthcare, schools, taxes and labour-market issues, coordinated through the TAIM (Talent Attraction and Integration Management) initiative linking employers, universities and public services.
Activities
Services include individual multilingual consultations, a buddy system pairing newcomers with local residents, and, since 2023, an extension of services to international university students; the centre hired five new staff members in autumn 2024 to support growing demand.
Results
Since 2010, the centre reports having served 13,000+ highly skilled professionals, with a 50% growth in student users following the 2023 expansion; separately, Brno recorded 77,201 foreign workers at end-2021, a 33% increase over the preceding six years.
Conclusions
The model has reportedly been adopted in multiple EU cities, including International Houses in Helsinki, Copenhagen and Amsterdam, suggesting the one-stop integration service approach is seen as transferable across European mid-sized and capital cities.
Implementation
- Indicative cost
- Low (< €50k) — Co-funded by City of Brno and South Moravian Region; incremental staffing growth (5 new hires in 2024) suggests modest, stable operating costs rather than large capital investment.
- Time to results
- Long (> 3 years) — Established 2010; expanded to university students in 2023; continuously operating for 14+ years.
- Staffing & skills
- Non-profit staff team; five new staff members hired in autumn 2024 to meet growing demand
Conditions for success
- Co-funding from City of Brno and South Moravian Region for stable public backing
- Coordination through the TAIM initiative linking employers, universities and public services
- Buddy system pairing newcomers with local residents to support informal integration
- Multilingual individual consultation model covering visas, housing, healthcare, taxes and labour-market issues
Where it fits
- Governance type
- non-profit co-funded by municipal and regional government
- Scale
- city-level (Brno, ~400,000 population)
- Income level
- high income (Czechia, EU member)
Commonly funded by
Own resources / municipal budget
Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.
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Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
- Evidoria practice page — Brno Expat Centre — accessed 2026-08-01
Attachments
Where it's been adopted
Documented replications and adaptations of this practice elsewhere.
| Place | When | Adopter | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helsinki, Finland | — | International House Helsinki | One-stop integration service model reportedly adopted for international talent, per source. |
| Copenhagen, Denmark | — | International House Copenhagen | One-stop integration service model reportedly adopted for international talent, per source. |
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | — | International House Amsterdam (Expat Center Amsterdam) | One-stop integration service model reportedly adopted for international talent, per source. |
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