More than 90 days - Commissioner Brussels Europe & International

eu citizen
NON EU CITIZEN

If you, as a EU citizen or citizen of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, want to stay more than three months in Belgium, you are classified as a resident and will have to go through a range of formalities to obtain a residence permit or “long-term stay”.

Before you register with the local municipality, it's important to think about which status you are going to use: worker, jobseeker, family member, person with sufficient resources, etc. Sometimes there are several possibilities open to you. It may therefore be useful to choose the procedure that will be the least burdensome in terms of the documents to be submitted and the quickest.

Your stay is over 3 months but not permanent

A right of residence is granted to all the citizens provided they carry a passport or identity card of the country of origin and a number of documents according to their status (worker, student, jobseeker …).

STEP 1 : You receive a certificate of registration application or APPENDIX 19

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:

A valid passport or ID card;
Your lease contract;
A health insurance;
Specific documents depending on your status (table below);
Some passport photos;
A small fee will be charged.

Employee

Belgian employment contract.

Self-employed

Registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises + Affiliation to a Social security fund for self-employed.

Someone having sufficient means

Prove of income (pension allowance, income from rented accomodation, savings, commitment that charge will be taken by someone...)

Job seeker

Enrolment to Actiris + copies of application letters sent to potential employers.

Student

Enrolment to a Belgian university/school, health insurance, prove of sufficient means of subsistence.

Trainee

Traineeship contract.

European civil servant

Certificate provided by the European or international institution that employs him.

Family member: partner/spouse/children/parent

See “family reunification” unit.

Seconded national expert

Certificate provided by the European or international institution that employs him + A1 form (social security certificate proving that you pay social contributions in your home country).

Your municipality will then issue an “application for a registration” or Appendix 19, which is valid for 3 months. This period of 3 months will permit you to gather all the required documents.

Your municipality will list you and your family in a provisional register

Expect a control of residence by the police, after which you will be registered in the aliens register and will get a national number.

Control of residency by the municipality

Each municipality verifies the presence or absence of persons on its territory.Generally the police are responsible for checking people’s movements.In the event of a request for domiciliation, a local police officer will call at the declared address and verify that the names of the inhabitants correspond to the declaration. The officer completes a questionnaire and sends it to the municipality.The municipalities have established several criteria for evaluating if a person actually lives at a certain place:

The person lives at this address for the majority of the year;
The person returns to this address after work;
It is the area where the children go to school;
It is the address to which energy consumption (gas, electricity and water) is invoiced.

Once this inquiry is positive, your entry in the population register is confirmed and you receive a “national number” which enables you to be identified conclusively in Belgium. This national register number or NISS is a unique identification number attributed to all individuals entered in the population and foreigners register held by the municipalities. It consists of 11 numbers and begins with your birth date in reverse order!Population registers are files which hold information (address, nationality, etc.) on individuals who set up residence in Belgian municipalities. Each local municipality must keep a population register up to date. They are currently computerised.

GOOD TO KNOW: the local police officer will usually want to see you in person. These investigations take place at random times, during the day, in the evening and at weekends. If the local police officer never meets you, he or she will send a negative report to the municipality, which will block your residence file. You should therefore pay close attention at this stage of the procedure!

STEP 2 : you receive a residence permit

After +/-3 months you will be called by the commune to orderyour electronic residence permit: EU card .This period may be longer depending on the status under which you have chosen to register.
While you are waiting for your electronic residence permit to be issued (+/-3 weeks), you will receive an “Appendix 8 ter” which provisionally certifies your registration.
Once you receive PIN/PUK codes at your home address you will then be able to collect your residence permit in person at the municipatliy.

Your stay is a permanent residence

The permanent residence (EU+ card) can be applied for after an uninterrupted stay of five years starting from the provisional register.

STEP 1 : ask for Appendix 22

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.

STEP 2 : you will receive a permanent residence permit

Once all the conditions of the Appendix 22 are met 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.

When to unsubscribe from the municipality ?

When leaving Belgium, you are required to inform the Aliens service before departure. It will carry out your removal from the register of foreigners.

You have two options to report your departure from Belgium:

Either by going voluntarily to the Aliens service, a document of deregistration called "Model 8" will be given in exchange for your residence permit. During your visit to the municipality, be sure to have your residence permit with you.
Either by returning your permit by mail to the Aliens service. In this case, indicate in your letter your new address abroad, and the date of your departure.