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Belgian immigration lawyer

Question

Afternoon,

Can anyone suggest a Belgian immigration lawyer? Thank you.

J

What for? Lawyers are often the last people you need to see in the immigration process, and then it's often a matter of throwing good money after bad.

Sep 2, 2016 21:29
crisscross

Fragomen in Brussels is one I know of that are good.

Fragomen Global LLP
Kunstlaan 44 Avenue des Arts
B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
beneluxinfo@fragomen.com
T +32 (0) 2 550 1020
F +32 (0) 2 550 1029

Sep 3, 2016 09:52
P

Thanks Crisscross.
J - fair point. It is to do with this Brexit nonsense and I am seeing if owning property in Belgium would count towards an application for citizenship alongside previous (but not current) residency.

Sep 5, 2016 09:23
becasse

You don't need to pay a small fortune to a lawyer to be told the answer to that - it is NO.

The common required feature of all types of application for Belgian citizenship is to have been a registered resident for the last five years (and in practice, because of the way the bureaucracy works, at least some months longer than that).

Sep 5, 2016 10:37
P

Becasse - thanks. Does one have to be a registered resident at the time of application with the five years having to be the five previous consecutive years?

Sep 5, 2016 11:33
P

Becasse - thanks. Does one have to be a registered resident at the time of application with the five years having to be the five previous consecutive years?

Sep 5, 2016 11:33
becasse

Yes and yes, although some temporary absences from Belgium within that time are acceptable provided that one remained registered.

Note that 5 years registered residence is just the starting point, there are other conditions, language competency and "integration", for example, to be fulfilled as well.

Sep 5, 2016 11:43
J

Wikipedia is usually an excellent source for this sort of question.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_nationality_law#Naturalisation_as_...

And yes, residency has to be current and continuous, so your property ownership does not qualify you.

Sep 5, 2016 14:08
P

Becasse and J - thank you. On the latter link I am curious about this point: "a declaration may be made by a foreigner who is the parent of a Belgian child."
As a father to a Belgian child, but not fulfilling the five year continuous residency option, I wonder if that would be one route to pursue?

Sep 6, 2016 16:12
becasse

OK, since you don't seem to understand plain English, let's try you on legal French. This is what the actual law on the subject says in its French version:

3° l'étranger qui :
a) a atteint l'âge de dix-huit ans;
b) et séjourne légalement en Belgique depuis cinq ans;
c) et apporte la preuve de la connaissance d'une des trois langues nationales;
d) et est marié avec une personne de nationalité belge, si les époux ont vécu ensemble en Belgique pendant au moins trois ans, ou est l'auteur ou l'adoptant d'un enfant belge qui n'a pas atteint l'âge de dix-huit ans ou n'est pas émancipé avant cet âge;
e) et prouve son intégration sociale :

Comprenez?

Sep 6, 2016 21:25

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