When it took up office earlier this year, the government of Bart De Wever announced a raft of measures to tighten the rules for getting Belgian nationality.

The first of these changes has seen a seven-fold hike in the federal application fee from €150 to €1000.  While the increase is substantial, this is still significantly less than the €5000 application fee which the current Minister of Defence Theo Francken had previously proposed (see further private Members’ bill proposal No 56 0246/001). Note that the fee is indexed meaning that it will increase every year in line with rises in the cost of living.

However, this is not the only change being contemplated to the Belgian Nationality Code. Further changes have also been announced as regards the substantive conditions which applicants have to meet when applying for Belgian nationality by declaration.

At present, under the rules contained in the Belgian Nationality Code, a person may apply for Belgian nationality after living in Belgium for a continuous period of five years provided that they prove their economic participation, social integration and knowledge of one of the national languages (at A2 level).  

Alternatively, a person may apply for Belgian nationality after living in Belgium for a continuous period of ten years if they can prove social integration or economic participation, as well as knowledge of one of the national languages.

Further options also exist for those born in Belgium, those married to a Belgian and those who reach retirement age or are unable to work due to disability.

When it took office, the government of Bart De Wever announced that it wanted to “set higher expectations and standards” as regards the acquisition of Belgian nationality.

A series of proposed changes to the Belgian Nationality Code were accordingly announced in the coalition agreement for 2025-2029.

As at today’s date, no government bill has been laid before the Belgian Parliament – although various proposals were introduced by parliamentarians in 2024 that call for similar changes to the law.

What do we know about the proposed changes? The following changes are likely to be enacted:

• Anyone wishing to obtain Belgian nationality will now have to take a nationality exam consisting of a citizenship test and a language test in all cases. This would be in addition to the social integration requirement. The contents of this nationality exam would need to be defined at a later stage in an agreement between the linguistic communities.

• The required level of the language test will be raised to B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The current required level is A2.

• The language test will need to be made in the language used in the region in which the person resides. As a result, it will no longer be possible to demonstrate meeting the language requirement by having completed a French language course when living in Flanders.

• In addition, it will no longer be possible to automatically qualify for the language requirement through five years of continuous employment, nor by having attended an integration course.

• Belgian nationality will be foreclosed to anyone who poses a threat to public order or national security. Anyone who has an uncontested tax debt will also lose the opportunity to obtain Belgian nationality.

We do not yet know when these changes will be proposed nor when they are likely to take effect. Nonetheless, we should expect these changes to be enacted during the course of this current government (2025-2029).

What we do know is that it’s soon going to be more difficult to apply for Belgian nationality .

In the event you are likely to be affected by these proposed changes to Belgian nationality, please feel free to contact us for further assistance.

Following our successful lobbying efforts on behalf of “Brexit and the Belgian Brits”, a royal decree was adopted on 30 August 2021 and published today by the Belgian Minister of Justice which ensures that the “M card” is now explicitly included among the list of residence documents which qualify for the acquisition of Belgian nationality by declaration.

Following the change of rules, which will enter into force on 11 September 2021, the “M card” will now feature among the list of residence documents which qualify for the purposes proving lawful residence when applying for Belgian nationality by declaration.

The “M card” is the special residence document which is issued to British citizens who qualify as beneficiaries of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. All British citizens who wish to retain a right of residence in Belgium must apply for an “M card” before 31 December 2021.

In addition to the M card – both with and without a permanent residence endorsement – the list of qualifying residence documents will also include Annex 56 which is a temporary residence document issued to applicants pending the issue of their M card.

Our firm provided legal advice to “Brexit and the Belgian Brits”.

In the event you are affected by a refusal of the Belgian authorities to grant you Belgian nationality on the basis that you have held an M card or a special identity card or if you have been refused an M card, please feel free to contact us for further assistance.

Source: Arrêté royal du 30 août 2021 modifiant l’arrêté royal du 14 janvier 2013 portant exécution de la loi du 4 décembre 2012 modifiant le Code de la nationalité belge afin de rendre l’acquisition de la nationalité belge neutre du point de vue de l’immigration,  MB 01/09/2021 p. 93770 / Koninklijk besluit van 30 augustus 2021 tot wijziging van het koninklijk besluit van 14 januari 2013 tot uitvoering van de wet van 4 december 2012 tot wijziging van het Wetboek van de Belgische nationaliteit teneinde het verkrijgen van de Belgische nationaliteit migratieneutraal te maken, BS 01/09/2021 p. 93770

Our firm has started to receive several reports from different sources of British citizens who have been refused an M card despite having arrived in Belgium before 31 December 2020.

An M card is the residence card issued to British citizens and their family members to prove they are beneficiaries of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

So what should you do if your application has been refused?

The first thing to do is not to panic. You are not going to be arrested by the police and deported on a flight back to the UK. You still have a bit of time to re-apply and fix your residence status before the end of the year.

However, you should not be complacent. The worst course of action would be to ignore the decision to refuse your application for an M card. You must instead take action straight away.  This is because from 1^st January 2022, it will effectively become compulsory for all British citizens to hold the M card in Belgium. Those without an M card after that date are at risk of being found irregularly present in Belgium and liable to removal from Belgium.

A second immediate issue to consider is whether to appeal. There may be several reasons to do so, including the fact that lodging an appeal effectively prevents the Belgian authorities from being able to take any enforcement against you. This becomes particularly important as we approach the end of the application period for M cards on 31 December 2021.

In order to appeal, you will need to lodge proceedings before the Council for Alien Law Litigation within 30 days (30 days – not one month) of having been notified of the decision to refuse to issue you an M card. It is really important to get legal advice as the procedure is highly formalistic and litigants-in-person can easily be caught out by the procedure. Once the 30-day deadline has passed it is no longer possible to appeal.

In most cases your best course of action will be to submit a fresh application. Therefore a final matter to consider is what to do when you re-apply for an M card. It will be important to ensure that new documentation is provided in any new application to prevent a second refusal.  For example, it may be that the decision identified a problem with proving your presence in Belgium before 31 December 2021 and therefore any new application would need to provide documentary evidence to address this lack of evidence.

In conclusion, if you are refused an M card, do not worry, you should in most cases be able to resolve the situation. However, in order to minimise the chances of receiving another refusal, you should ideally get legal assistance.

In the event you are affected by a refusal of the Belgian authorities to issue you with an M card, please feel free to contact us for further assistance.

In a letter submitted by “Brexit and the Belgian Brits”, the Belgian Minister of Justice has been formally requested to include the “M card” among the list of residence documents which qualify for the acquisition of Belgian nationality by declaration.

The “M card” is the special residence document which is issued to British citizens who qualify as beneficiaries of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. All British citizens who wish to retain a right of residence in Belgium must apply for an “M card” before 31 December 2021.

At present, the “M card” does not feature among the list of residence documents which qualify for the purposes of proving lawful residence when applying for the acquisition of Belgian nationality by declaration.

As a result, this prevents British citizens from being able to prove their right of lawful residence when applying for Belgian nationality by declaration under Article 12bis of the Belgian Nationality Code.

This in sharp contrast to the situation of EU citizens and their family members who can apply on the basis of E, E+, F or F+ cards and even using special identity cards, following our firm’s successful involvement in cases before the Belgian Supreme Court (Hof van Cassatie / Cour de Cassation).

This is likely to constitute unlawful discrimination contrary to the Belgian Constitution.

Our firm provided legal advice to “Brexit and the Belgian Brits”.

In the event you are affected by a refusal of the Belgian authorities to grant you Belgian nationality on the basis that you have held an M card, please feel free to contact us for further assistance.

In a judgment that will undoubtedly be welcomed by many, the Belgian Supreme Court (Hof van Cassatie / Cour de Cassation) has ruled that a special identity card can constitute proof of lawful residence for the purposes of EU citizens applying for Belgian nationality by declaration (art. 12bis WBN / art. 12bis CNB).

The judgment relates to persons who had been refused Belgian citizenship on the sole basis that they held a special identity card, which according to the Belgian authorities did not prove lawful residence in Belgium.   Our firm has been representing the appellants before the Belgian authorities since the initial application was lodged at municipal level – for further background see our previous post here.

The Court held that the Court of Appeal was wrong in deciding that an applicant for Belgian nationality by declaration should not be considered lawfully resident in Belgium simply because they held a special identity card, which can be used as proof of the exercise of free movement rights which flows directly from EU law.

The Court did not rule on the other grounds of appeal relating to discrimination.

While the case will now go back to a Court of Appeal for a final decision, the ruling has immediate repercussions. All those with a pending appeal should make new submissions to the lower court drawing attention to this ruling and its implications.

Anyone who has been refused in the past should ideally reapply on the basis of holding a special identity card. However, as is always the case, it is advisable to get a lawyer to advise even at the commune level to draw attention to the judgment and its effects. 

In the event you are affected by a refusal of the Belgian authorities to grant you Belgian nationality on the basis that you have held a special identity card, please feel free to contact us for further assistance.

Today the Belgian Supreme Court (Hof van Cassatie / Cour de Cassation) will be hearing three cases on the issue of the refusal by the Belgian authorities to consider that a special identity card can constitute proof of lawful residence for the purposes of applying for Belgian nationality by declaration (art. 12bis WBN / art.12bis CNB).

The cases relate to three persons born in Belgium who have been refused Belgian citizenship on the sole basis that they held a special identity card, which according to the Belgian authorities does not prove lawful residence in Belgium. Our firm has been representing the individuals concerned before the Belgian authorities.

While the lower court initially ruled in our clients’ favour, the case was appealed by the Procureur’s office. The court of appeal then ruled in favour of the Procureur and dismissed all arguments alleging discrimination under Belgian law and breach of EU law. The requests to refer the matter to the Belgian Constitutional Court and to the EU Court of Justice were refused.

A further appeal was brought before the Belgian Supreme Court against these judgments of the court of appeal. The legal basis for the appeal is discrimination contrary to Articles 10 and 11 of the Belgian Constitution and breach of the rules on preliminary rulings to the Belgian Constitutional Court.

In the event the appeal is successful before Belgian Supreme Court, this will not however be the end of the matter, as the case is then expected to be sent back to the appeal court and be referred to the Constitutional Court to determine whether there is any discrimination…

However, it will mean taking one further step towards achieving final closure on this issue.

In the event you are affected by a refusal of the Belgian authorities to grant you Belgian nationality on the basis that you have held a special identity card, please feel free to contact us for further assistance.

Have you been denied Belgian citizenship because you hold a special ID card?

If so, we would like to hear from you! We are currently collating evidence in support of an official complaint to the EU institutions to advocate for formal infringement proceedings to be initiated against Belgium.

Any information you provide will be used purely for statistical and analytical purposes. No personal information will be shared and your identity will remain confidential.

Please send an email to Valcke & Associates at evidence@valckelaw.com

Beware of fraudsters claiming to be from our law firm!

*updated August 2021*

We have been alerted that emails are circulating which fraudulently claim to be from our law firm proposing some investment scheme.

If you receive such a fake message, you should not respond, mark this as spam and delete it from your inbox.

Also there is no-one by the name of “Miss Abigail” working at our firm.

This is an example of the fraudulent email currently circulating:

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Anthony Valcke <a_avalcke@outlook.com>
Date: Thu, Jul 9, 2020, 14:52
Subject:
To: [your email]

 

I am  Anthony Valcke.(Attorney). I got your name and contact information in my quest for his existing extended family, I am writing you on highly confidential grounds with mutual benefit in respect to the investment of my client Mr [fake name that will match your surname].

 

I’d appreciate it if you get back to me by confirming to me if this medium is safe and confidential enough to enable me divulge to you details on why I contacted you. contact : 

 

Email:   a_avalcke@aol.com

 

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation. I expect to hear from you asap.

 

Regards,

 

Anthony Valcke  (Valcke & Associates)

+32-460245759

Name: Dennismog
Daytime Phone: 83723495217
Evening Phone: 81564234342
EMail: [deleted]
Country: Costa Rica

Comments: Ihr Einkommen 6000 EURO in funf Tagen. Registrieren Sie sich schneller, wenn Sitzplatze vorhanden sind >>>>>>>>>> https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fvk.cc%2Fc19oJ5&sa=D&Ni=Hw&usg=AFQjCNE1hCglSk67TImhpV5aXDA5sbTaog

Name：Dennisgax

Phone:82465623527

E-Mail: [deleted]

Comments: Ihr Einkommen 6000 EURO in funf Tagen. Registrieren Sie sich schneller, wenn Sitzplatze vorhanden sind >>>>>>>>>> https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fvk.cc%2Fc19oJ5&sa=D&Ni=Hw&usg=AFQjCNE1hCglSk67TImhpV5aXDA5sbTaog

 

 

Brits in Belgium: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Belgian Citizenship Law

*updated October 2018*

According to one poll, Belgian citizenship is in the top 15 coolest citizenships to hold in the world …

But that’s not the only reason to apply…

With Brexit looming, British citizens wanting to preserve their rights to live, work and retire anywhere in the EU should strongly consider applying for Belgian citizenship.

Usually, British citizens who have been living in Belgium for five years or more are usually eligible to naturalise as Belgian citizens by the process of “declaration”.

You will want to take particular care that you provide all the necessary documents needed for your application.

Here’s what to look out for to minimise the chances of having your application turned down:

• Make sure that you hold the correct residence card. If you’re an EU official, unfortunately your special identity card will often not be accepted. The first thing you need to do is apply for an E+card after five years of residence, so you can apply on that basis.
• Make sure you have held a residence card for the entire past five years. If there are any gaps in your residence, you will need to submit a legal opinion explaining how your gaps in residence should not affect your application. As regards the five-year qualifying period for EU civil servants, the good news is that several Belgian courts have in recent years ruled that special ID card must be accepted; the bad news is that you are likely to have to make an appeal to court to have your special ID card accepted.
• Make sure you meet the conditions regarding your economic participation in Belgium. This generally means you need to have worked for 468 in the past five years, or you paid social security contributions as a self-employed person for at least six terms in the past five years. If you have reached retirement age or are disabled, you may be eligible for a waiver. If you’re an EU official, that’s going to be particularly tricky to demonstrate, although there is very recent case law that states that employment in the EU civil service must be taken into account. If this is your situation, it is strongly recommended you obtain legal advice to help with your application.
• Make sure you meet the conditions regarding your social integration in Belgium. This usually means you can show you worked here for a continuous period of five years, or you have been awarded a higher education degree by a recognised institution in Belgium, or you have undertaken a professional training course of at least 400 hours with a recognised institution in Belgium, or you have undertaken an integration course with a recognised institution in Belgium. You can also demonstrate this by having worked in Belgium for five years.
• Make sure you can demonstrate knowledge of French, Dutch or German. Usually you can do this by obtaining a certificate of aptitude at level A2 or above or showing you obtained a higher education degree in Belgium by a recognised institution in Belgium.

If you don’t meet all the above requirements, there may still be a possibility for you to apply for citizenship after having lived in Belgium for ten years and can prove that you are engaged in social and economic activities in Belgium. You are more likely to be successful in making you case if you get a legal opinion in support of your application.

As a last resort you may apply for a discretionary grant of Belgian citizen through the parliamentary process of “naturalisation”. However, for this you are going to need legal advice to help you build a convincing case.

There are also specific rules apply for children born in Belgium.

Should you wish to discuss your individual situation further, please do not hesitate to contact us.

You can also book a face-to-face consultation with us by Skype at any time.