Belgian laws make it clear that anyone wishing to stay for more than
90 days in Belgium is required to apply for a residence permit, whether for work, studies, research or humanitarian aid.
As a general rule, this person must submit his application abroad, in the form of an application for a D visa addressed to the competent Belgian diplomatic mission or consulate in his place of habitual residence in accordance with Article 9 of the Act.
Exceptionally, it can submit its application in Belgium in the following cases
When exceptional circumstances justify the application in Belgium, according to Article 9 bis of the law.
For medical reasons, according to Article 9 bis of the law.
When you are already legally residing in Belgium according to Article 25/2 of the decree.
As a rule, a residence permit is granted for a limited period and a person receives an A card.
A person who wishes to extend his residence must request the renewal of his card and submit documents that prove that he meets the conditions for renewing this card.
This request must be submitted to the municipal administration of the place in which he resides between the forty-fifth and thirty days preceding the expiry date of the card A.
Unless they are exempt, that person must also demonstrate that they have made efforts to integrate into Belgian society when they first apply to extend their A-card.
D visa application according to (Article 9)
Article 9 of the Act of December 15, 1980 states that a citizen of another country who wishes to stay for more than 90 days in Belgium must apply for a D visa, i.e. a national long-stay visa, at the competent Belgian embassy or consulate of his usual place of residence abroad.
The list of Belgian embassies and consulates abroad has been published on the website of the FPS Foreign Affairs: www.diplobel.fed.be
The procedure to be followed for submitting a visa application is explained on the website of the publication or its third-party service provider (VFS Global, TLS Contact).
The holder of a D visa must inform the municipal administration of his place of residence within 8 days of his arrival in Belgium, after inquiring about the residence, he is registered in the foreigners’ register and obtains a residence permit “A card”.
It is good to know that the visa does not grant an absolute right to enter the Schengen area, and border guards can refuse entry if the conditions of residence are not respected or are no longer respected, or if there is a risk of abuse of the procedure.
As for the main reasons for which permission to stay in Belgium for more than 90 days can be granted, they are work, study, internship, work holiday program or even humanitarian reasons.
Exceptional Circumstances (Article 9 bis)
Article 9bis of the law of December 15, 1980 allows a person to apply for a residence permit to the mayor of the place where he actually resides when exceptional circumstances justify making such an application in Belgium rather than abroad in accordance with Article 9, paragraph 2 and on condition that he submits an identity document.
No action is taken on an application addressed directly to the Immigration Office.
Any non-exempt person must pay a fee and provide proof of full payment when submitting their application, and if they do not provide such evidence, their application is considered inadmissible.
identity document
The residence permit application must contain proof of identity.
Acceptable identification documents include: a recognized international passport, equivalent travel document, or national identity card.
These applicants do not need to attach an identity document to their application and they are:
An applicant for international protection whose application has not been subject to a final decision, or who has submitted an administrative monetary appeal has been declared admissible in accordance with Article 20 of the Laws of the State Council, harmonized on January 12, 1973, up to the date of the pronouncement of the judgment rejecting the accepted appeal.
An applicant who correctly proves the impossibility of obtaining in Belgium one of the above-mentioned identity documents.
exceptional circumstances
The application for a residence permit must contain an explanation of the exceptional circumstances that justify the application in Belgium.
The applicant must demonstrate that it is impossible, or particularly difficult, for him to return to his country of origin or to a country in which he is authorized to remain, in order to apply for a residence permit in accordance with Article 9, paragraph 2 of the December 15, 1980 Act of any visa application D at the competent diplomatic or consular post.
It must be known that a long stay in Belgium, or integration into Belgian society, is not in itself an exceptional circumstance that justifies an application for a residence permit in Belgium.
The Immigration Office assesses exceptional circumstances on a case-by-case basis, and according to Article 9bis, the following items cannot be considered exceptional circumstances and are declared inadmissible:
– Items already invoked in support of an asylum application within the meaning of Articles 50, 50bis, 50ter and 51 of the Act, and which have been rejected by the asylum authorities, except for items rejected because they are foreign to the criteria of the Geneva Convention as defined in Article 48/ 3 of the law and the criteria provided for in Article 48/4 of the Law in matters of subsidiary protection, or because they do not fall within the competence of these bodies;
Elements that should have been invoked during the asylum application processing procedure within the meaning of Article 50, 50bis, 50ter and 51 of the Act, as long as they existed and were known to the applicant before the end of the procedure.
– Items already invoked during a previous application for a residence permit in Belgium, except for items cited in the context of an application considered inadmissible due to the lack of required identification documents, or due to non-payment or incomplete payment of the fees referred to in Article 1 /1 of the law, except for the items cited in previous applications that were the subject of the withdrawal
Elements invoked in the context of an application for a residence permit on the basis of Article 9 III of the Law of December 15, 1980.
Residence control
The municipal administration verifies whether the person actually resides at the indicated address within 10 days of submitting the residence permit application, and if the investigation is positive, the municipal administration sends the residence permit application to the Immigration Office for examination and a decision on it, but if the investigation is negative, it refuses The municipal administration takes the application into account and informs the applicant and the Immigration Office, and the application is not sent to the Immigration Office.
Multiple requests
A person who has submitted several applications for a residence permit and whose examination has not been completed is considered to have withdrawn from these applications, therefore, the Immigration Office will make its decision on the basis of the elements mentioned in the last application.
Checking the admissibility of the application
The Immigration Office checks whether the application for a residence permit is admissible. If it is not accepted, it informs the applicant through the municipality administration and his attorney.
The request is not accepted in the following cases:
Proof of payment of fees has not been attached, i.e. unless the applicant is exempt.
A copy of the identity document was not attached and the applicant did not provide a correct explanation.
There are no exceptional circumstances that justify submitting an application for permission to remain in Belgium rather than abroad, at the competent Belgian diplomatic or consular post.
Check the merits of the order
If the residence permit application is acceptable, the Immigration Office examines the reasons why the applicant wants to stay for more than 90 days in Belgium.
If the Immigration Office accepts the application, the municipal administration registers the applicant in the Aliens Registry and gives him card A (limited residence) or card B (unlimited residence). The type of card depends on the reasons chosen for granting a residence permit.
If the immigration office rejects the application, it informs the applicant via the municipal administration and his attorney, and an appeal can be lodged against this decision. However, this appeal does not have a suspensive effect. Thus, the decision to refuse an application for a residence permit takes effect immediately.
Renewal of a limited residence permit
Anyone wishing to extend their stay must request the renewal of their A card from the municipal administration of the place in which they reside, and submit documents proving that they meet the conditions for renewing this card.
The renewal must be requested between the forty-fifth and thirty-fifth day preceding the validity date of Card A, as the municipal administration refers the request to the Immigration Office, ie the long-stay service, for examination and a decision on it.
Medical reasons
Article 9 III of the law of December 15, 1980 allows a person residing in Belgium to apply for a residence permit there when he suffers from an illness such as involving a real danger to his life or physical safety, or a real inhuman or inhuman danger. Humiliating treatment in the absence of appropriate treatment in his country of origin or in the country in which he resides
The application must be sent to the Immigration Office, by registered mail, at the following address:
Immigration Office, Department of Exceptional Residency - Department of Medical Residency, Boulevard Pacheco 44, 1000 Brussels
The request must contain:
Identity proof.
Address of actual residence in Belgium;
All useful and up-to-date information related to the disease, treatment possibilities in the country of origin or residence, and access to such treatment.
A standard medical certificate prepared less than three months prior to submitting the application, stating the disease and its seriousness and the treatment it deems necessary.
Standard medical certificate.
ID proof
The residence permit application must contain proof of identity. This proof can be provided with an identity document, or with evidence that meets the following conditions:
Contains the full name, place and date of birth and nationality of the applicant.
– be issued by the competent authority in accordance with the law of July 16, 2004 on the code of private international law or international agreements relevant to the subject;
It made it possible to establish a physical link between the person referred to in the document and the applicant.
It is not created on the basis of simple data by the applicant.
The applicant can also prove his or her identity through several pieces of evidence that, taken together, meet the constituent elements of identity such as full name, place and date of birth, and nationality.
The obligation to prove identity does not apply to aliens whose application for international protection has not been subject to a final decision, or who have submitted an administrative monetary appeal that has been declared admissible in accordance with Article 20 of the Laws of the State Council.
The foreigner must attach evidence that he is exempted to his application.
.Exclusion from procedure
A citizen of another country is excluded from the procedure when the Immigration Office has serious reasons to believe that he has committed the acts referred to in Article 55/4 of the Law of December 15, 1980.
Checking the admissibility of the application
The Immigration Office checks whether the application for a residence permit is admissible, and the application is not accepted in the following cases:
The application is not sent by registered mail to the Immigration Office, or does not contain the address of actual residence in Belgium.
– The identity is not proven in the application in the manner referred to in Article 9 III Paragraph 2 of the Law, or the application does not contain evidence.
– The standard medical certificate is not submitted with the application, or the standard medical certificate does not meet the conditions stipulated in Article 9 III Paragraph 4 of the Law
– indicates the official or designated physician, in the notice that the disease is clearly unresponsive to an illness for a residence permit in Belgium
If the Immigration Office declares the application accepted, it informs the municipal administration, which registers the applicant in the Aliens Register and gives him a certificate of registration (AI).
Risk assessment by a medical officer An official doctor or a doctor appointed by the Immigration Office assesses the disease, its severity, and the treatment it deems necessary and indicated on the medical certificate.
With regard to the doctor, the real danger to the applicant’s life or physical integrity, or the risk of inhuman or degrading treatment;
As well as treatment options and access to treatment in the country of origin or residence.
The physician may, if deemed necessary, examine the applicant and seek additional expert advice.
The Immigration Office may reject the residence permit application if the applicant does not appear on the date specified in the doctor's summons, and does not provide a valid reason to justify himself within 15 days of that date.
As a rule, the Immigration Office makes its decision after receiving a doctor's opinion.
If the Immigration Office accepts the application, the municipal administration registers the applicant in the Aliens Register, and grants him an A card i.e. limited stay valid for one year. This limited residence permit becomes an unlimited “B card” at the end of the 5-year period after the authorization request.
If the Immigration Office rejects the application, it informs the applicant through the municipal administration and his lawyer, and an appeal can be lodged against this decision. However, this appeal does not have a suspensive effect. Thus, the decision to refuse an entry permit application takes effect immediately.
Renewal of a limited residence permit
Foreign nationals who wish to extend their stay beyond the date set by the Immigration Office must request the renewal of their residence permit (card A) from the municipal administration of the place where they reside, between the forty-fifth and thirty-fifth day before this date, and to submit documents proving that they meet the conditions for renewal Residence permit.