If a member of your family is living in Brussels and you wish to rejoin him/her, this is possible thanks to the family reunification procedure. According to the law of 15 December 1980, EU nationals can settle in Belgium with other EU family members under certain conditions.
Who is considered to be a family member ?
NOTICE: If you are a family member of an EU civil servant click here.
Present yourself within a period of 3 months from the date of arrival in Belgium to the municipal authority in your place of residence.
Bring the following documents :
Your municipality will then issue an “application for a registration” or Appendix 19, which are valid for 3 months. This period of 3 months will permit you to gather all the required document.
Your municipality will list you and your family in a provisional register.
Expect a control of residence by the police (more info in the "more than 90 days unit"), after which you will be registered in the aliens register and will get a national number.
Required documents to present at the municipality:
For everyone :
| If you register as | You need to prove | by |
| A spouse | The marriage link | marriage certificate or a registered partnership equivalent to marriage (made in Germany, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, UK or Sweden.) |
| A partner | The partnership link AND The long-term relationship which is proved by one of the following criteria | - A legal partnership made abroad or in Belgium (Déclaration de cohabitation légale / Verklaring van wettelijk samenwonen) - An uninterrupted cohabitation for at least 1 year in Belgium or abroad prior to reunification demand. OR - Have known each other for at least 2 years;have regular contact with each other by telephone, regular mail or email;have met 3 times at least during these past 2 years, for at least 45 days. OR - Having a child together. |
| As an ascendant | Relationship link | Birth certificate + proof of entrust |
| As a descendant | Relationship link | Birth certificate, proof of the custody + proof of entrust |
GOOD TO KNOW:
1) Family reunification is also possible as an "other family member". Other family member” under article 47/1 of the law of 15 December 1980 on access to Other family members" means:
2) Please note that specific rules apply to family reunification with a Belgian national. See more info here.
You must present yourself to the municipal authority in your place of residence and ask for the so called Appendix 22 (séjour permanent / duurzaam verblijf). The Immigration Office shall take a decision within five months from the date of submission of annex 22. You will be registered in the population register instead of the aliens’ register. The fact of being registered in the population register gives you right to social integration.
For more details consult the Immigration Office website.
Registered partnership allows two persons living as a couple to register their union at the relevant authorities of the country in which they reside.
Registered partnership abroad is equivalent to marriage in Belgium if it was registered in compliance with legislation in one of the following countries: Germany, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, UK or Sweden. In this case, it gives the same immigration rights to both partners.
In Belgium, registered partnership is called "legal cohabitation". A declaration of legal cohabitation can only be signed if the signatories are legally competent to conclude a contract, are not married and do not legally cohabit with another person. Registered partnership allows two people living in couple to register their union with the relevant authorities of their country of residence. That doesn't only apply for heterosexual and homosexual couples; one can legally cohabit with a family member for instance.
Conditions: