Search Q&A
Family reunification
I moved to Belgium last year on a professional card category and just been settled. Now want my family to join me but long stay visa for Belgium takes about six month and i need at least one month to prepare documentation, so if my family applies for long stay visa in June it will take up to December 2012 and I checked with Schools they will start classes in September so my kids will lose at least one year in the education.
They have a valid short stay visit Visa for another Schengen state, can they join me on short stay visa and get register in the commune and receive a residence card as my dependent ?
Thanks in advance.
Asad
No your children cannot go to a local school here if they are on holiday in another country, your children will need to be on the national register (except for special status children of EU civil servants, diplomats etc) and will need to be with a mutuelle - they cannot have either if they are on holiday and the school would be in trouble if they ignored the rules. They cannot register at the commune on Schengen visit visas as their immigration status will be verified.
.
Your children, if they arrive in December, can apply for school places to start in December. Of course it will be harder to find a place mid year. IF any are over the age of 6, they will be obliged to go to school or be home schooled (and inspected) from December onwards when they arrive. It depends entirely upon where you look as to how difficult it will be to find a school place in the middle of the school year but I know dozens of children who have arrived mid year from abroad and done this.
Dear Asad,
Did your family move to Belgium in the end? I'm looking for people who came to Belgium through family reunification for my thesis.
Please reply,
Alexandra
