The Belgium residence permit is a card issued to foreign nationals who want to live in Belgium for a specific or indefinite period of time. While EU citizens need to present only their passports when moving to Belgium, immigrants from non-EU countries need to apply for a residence permit card.
Types of Belgium Residence Permits
There are two types of residence permits that both allow you to stay in Belgium for more than 90 days:
- Belgium temporary residence permit
If you want to stay in Belgium for more than three months, you need to apply for a long-stay visa (known as a D visa) for a temporary residency. This residence permit allows you to study, work and live in Belgium for up to five years.
- Belgium permanent residence permit
After you have lived in Belgium for five years, you can apply for permanent residency. Long term residence allows you to stay indefinitely in the country with the same rights as Belgian nationals. It is valid for five years, and it is renewable.
Belgium Temporary Residence Permit
If you want to stay longer than 90 days in Belgium, you should apply for a temporary residence permit in your home country. This is also referred to as a D visa.
The types of Belgium temporary residence permits are:
- Residence permit for work.
- Residence permit for studying.
- Residence permit for a family reunion.
You must submit your application for a Schengen long-stay visa to
the consulate or embassy of the country where you will be apply for temporary residence.
Required Documents for Belgium Residence Permit
These are the common documents you have to provide to the Belgian authorities when applying for a temporary residence permit:
1) The
application form for a long-stay visa. You should download the application form, print it and fill it.
2) Valid passport. You should have a valid passport for as long as you intend to stay in Belgium.
3) Two identical passport pictures of you. You should have two photos taken recently, and they must fit the Schengen visa photo requirements.
4) Health insurance. You should have health insurance coverage for the period that you will reside in Belgium.
5) Civil status. You should bring any civil status documents such as marriage or birth certificates.
6) Proof of your accommodation in Belgium. You should bring a document proving that you have a place to stay in Belgium.
It can be:
a) Apartment rental.
b) Invitation to stay with a family member or friend.
c) Student accommodation. Etc.
7)Proof of your financial means. You should prove that you have enough money for your trip to Belgium.
It can be:
a) A personal bank statement.
b) A document that you are employed.
c) A document that your employer has paid you.
8) Proof by your local police for your good conduct. You should prove with a document that you do not hold any criminal conviction.
Belgium Temporary Residence Permit Fees
The fees for a Belgian temporary residence permit are:
- Temporary residence (D visa)180EUR
- Residence certificate 20 EUR
After you arrive in Belgium, you have eight days to go to register your residence permit at the
Stadskantoor (City Office).
Can I Apply for a Temporary Residence Permit From Inside Belgium?
Yes, if you are already in Belgium, then you can apply for a
temporary residence permit from the local municipality office. You have to contact the municipality, set up an appointment (if required), collect the required documents, and submit them on the date of your appointment.
Belgium Permanent Residence Permit
Citizens of EU/EEA or Swiss have the right to receive permanent residence immediately after residing in Belgium continuously for five years. If you want to obtain your residence card, you should go to your local municipal office and apply for a document that gives you the right to reside permanently in Belgium. This card is valid for five years, and it is renewable.
Non-EU/EEA or Swiss citizens are also permitted to apply for a permanent residence permit after they have lived in Belgium for five straight years. However, you need to apply for it at your local office. They will send your application for review to the Immigration Office. You will get the residence card if your application is successful. After five years, you can renew your permanent residence card, but you do not need to lodge a new application.
Types of Belgian Permanent Residency
If you have lived in Belgium for five years, you are qualified for permanent residency.
Depending on your nationality and your status, you can get one of the following permanent residency cards:
- E+ and F+ cards. Only apply to EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals.
- B, C, and D cards. Only apply to Non-EU nationals.
You should find out which one applies to you:
1) Electronic residence card type E+.
EU, EEA, and Switzerland citizens will receive this card automatically after living five years in Belgium. If you hold the E+ card, you get registered in the civil registry.
2) Electronic residence card type F+.
Family members of EU citizens will obtain the card type F+ immediately after living five years continuously in Belgium.
3) Electronic residence card type B.
If you have lived and worked legally in Belgium for five years, you are permitted to obtain the electronic card type B. This card allows you to stay outside of the country for a period of one year. If you do not exceed this one-year absence, you can return to Belgium without losing your residency rights. Type B holders are registered in the foreigner’s registry.
4) Electronic residence card type C.
After obtaining type B, you can apply for type C, which gives you the right to establish. As a holder of residence type C, you no longer have to register in the foreigner’s registry but in the civil registry. The difference between these cards is that they have access to different social welfare assistance.
5) Electronic residence card type D.
To qualify for this card, you must have a monthly income of at least €793 (plus €264 for dependent) and health insurance. If you hold the D permit, you can leave Belgium for six continuous years max, as long as you stay in the EU during that period of time. The difference between D permit, B and C permit is that other EU member states also recognize it.
The national visa for Belgium is a multiple-entry visa. This means that you can leave and re-enter Belgium while it is valid. However, the Immigration Authorities may require you to stay in the country while processing your residence permit. When you submit your application, you should inquire about your travel rights.
Obtaining Belgian citizenship takes some effort unless you can get it by right of birth. Suppose you do not have any connections with Belgium, such as a spouse or an ancestor. In that case, it will take years of residing there as a temporary resident before you can start the process to become a Belgian citizen.
Since Belgium is part of the list in the European Union, it presents a lot of advantages for non-EU nationals.
Benefits of Belgium Citizenship
Holding Belgian citizenship gives you the chance to live and work not only in Belgium but in all other EU countries because of its free movement rights. Also, it grants you rights to:
- Pass on the citizenship to your minor children
- Education
- Recognition of qualifications
- Welfare benefits
- Social assistance
- Union membership and freedom of association, etc.
The requirements to become a Belgian national are:
1) Being registered in the population register. You should be registered in the list of the population as an individual who is residing in Belgium.
2) Staying legally in Belgium for five to ten years. You need to live in Belgium for at least five years in order to receive citizenship through the residence.
3) Showing that you are economically and socially integrated. You should have worked in Belgium for the past five years or should have taken an integration course.
4) Showing knowledge of Belgian laws. You should be aware of what is legal and illegal in the country of Belgium.
5) Showing knowledge of one of the three national languages. You should prove that you are able to speak either Dutch, French, or German.
6) These are the requirements that the Belgium embassy asks for if you want to obtain Belgian citizenship through naturalization.
To become a Belgian citizen, you must first live in Belgium for at least five years. A simplified step-by-step process is:
- Find a job and apply for a work visa
First, you need to search for a job in Belgium, which you can do online. After your employer provides you with a work contract, then you can apply for a work visa. A work visa is a type of long-stay visa (D-visa) that allows you to work and live in the country for more than 90 days.
- After you arrive in Belgium, you will need a work and residence permit before you can start working. Your employer applies for the work permit on your behalf. You can get your residence permit at your local administration or city hall.
- Convert into permanent residency
As a non-EU citizen, you can convert your temporary residency (D-Visa) to Belgium permanent residency after living in Belgium for five years continuously. You have to apply for permanent residency at your local town hall. The application will be sent to the Immigration Office for review, and if it is successful, you will receive your residence card. After five years, you can renew your permanent residency without needing to submit a new application.
For EU citizens, it is easier to get permanent residency since they do not have to go through the visa application process. EU citizens have to go to their local municipal office, register their stay, and get a residency card.
- Apply for Belgium citizenship
In order to apply for Belgian citizenship, you should follow these steps:
1) Make an appointment. You can apply for naturalization to the House of Representatives or in your local municipal office. The registrar will forward your application to the House of Representatives for review, and they will decide if you have been granted naturalization.
2) Check out the requirements. You have to fulfill some requirements to pass Belgium citizenship, such as language proficiency proof, integration, period lived in Belgium, etc.
3) Compile the documents file.
The documents you need to bring include:
a) Birth certificate.
b) Proof of residence.
c) Proof of social and economic integration.
d) Proof of language proficiency.
4) Wait for processing. The processing time for your citizenship application depends on your individual situation and in the city you submit the application. In most areas, it takes four months, but in Brussels, for example, it may take five to eight months to process your application.
Other Ways to Obtain Citizenship in Belgium
Except for naturalization, other ways to receive citizenship in Belgium are through birthright and marriage.
Birthright.
Birthright
If you were born in Belgium or born to a Belgian citizen parent, you have the right to obtain Belgian citizenship. Birth to a Belgian parent is the most common way to receive Belgian nationality.
A child born in Belgium to foreign parents has the right to Belgian nationality if they:
- Do not hold another nationality before turning 18 years old.
- Lose their nationality before turning 18 years, which means being stateless.
- Have a parent who was born in Belgium and has lived there for five years before the child was born.
- Have been living in Belgium since birth and have two foreign parents that have been born abroad but have lived in Belgium for ten years.
- They are adopted by a foreign parent who was born in Belgium and has lived in Belgium for five years before the adoption.
Marriage
To acquire citizenship through marriage with a Belgian citizen, you must have lived at least five years in Belgium, at least three of which you must have been cohabitating with your partner. You should speak one of the national languages, which are: Dutch, German, or French, and prove your social and economic integration.
Dual Belgian Citizenship
Belgian law permits dual citizenship. Belgium will not require you to give up your citizenship even if you hold the nationality of another country. However, some countries may not allow dual citizenship, so you might be obliged to choose between Belgian nationality and your country of origin.
Belgium