Every person born in this country can obtain Belgian citizenship. There are also several other interesting ways to obtain permanent residence in Belgium . Belgian legislation is distinguished by its softness and democracy in relation to foreigners who want to “establish themselves” in the territory of this state.
Anyone who meets the existing criteria can obtain Belgian citizenship.
Four main ways
There are 4 main ways to obtain Belgian citizenship in 2023:
- By right of birth (if a child of immigrants is born on the territory of this power, then he becomes a citizen of the Kingdom earlier than his parents).
- Naturalization (the main condition is even a short period of legal residence in the state
- By kinship (relevant for people who have relatives in the country).
- Individual solution to the issue (relevant for persons capable of doing business on the territory of the state).
The fourth method is slightly less popular than naturalization. In this case, the person has the right to obtain a Belgian passport after seven years of stay in the Kingdom.
Also, a person applying to become a full citizen of the Kingdom must fulfill the following conditions:
- Create a financial organization with a concern structure.
- Have share capital in the amount of 12.4 thousand euros.
- Have an annual salary of 35.0 thousand euros.
Naturalization options
The basis for obtaining Belgian citizenship in this case is even a short period of residence in this state. The main criterion for obtaining citizenship under this scheme is the age of majority of the candidate.
At the time of submitting the relevant documents, the candidate must be eighteen years old.
In general, a hypothetical Belgian citizen must live in the country for two to five years. During the first two years, a person has the opportunity to obtain a civil passport.
If the applicant for a Belgian passport is a refugee, then naturalization is valid after two years of his stay in the country.
Exceptional Feature
A pleasant bonus of the country’s legislation is that starting from 2007, a foreign person arriving here may not renounce his “native” citizenship.
That is, unlike many other countries, not only European ones, dual citizenship is allowed in the Kingdom. Dual citizenship can also be obtained based on territorial origin.
Children, upon reaching adulthood, can either retain their second citizenship or renounce it in favor of Belgian citizenship.
Advantages
Belgium is one of the “old-timers” of the European Union. In this regard, a Belgian citizen has every right to live and work in any other EU country.
Citizenship by birthright of the candidate
A person born in the Kingdom can only obtain the status of “Belgian citizen” if:
- He has no other citizenship.
- He loses citizenship upon reaching adulthood.
- One of his parents was born in the country and lived here five to ten years before the birth of the candidate.
- Before reaching the age of eighteen, he was adopted by a guardian born in the country (the hypothetical adoptive parent must confirm the fact of residence in the country for the last five to ten years).
Thus, a person born of immigrants permanently residing here can receive the honorary status of “Belgian citizen” by birth. The grandson of a Belgian immigrant can also become the owner of a Belgian passport by birthright.
It is important to know that even those born out of wedlock can become an official subject of the Belgian Kingdom. To do this, you will need to provide all certificates confirming paternity or maternity.
According to the application
You can also become a Belgian citizen by application. This method, relevant for those who have special ties to the Kingdom, is a simplified method of naturalization.
A person who has reached the age of eighteen can obtain a passport in this country. To do this, a person must meet certain criteria:
- birth on the territory of the country or in regions dependent on it;
- birth from a Belgian citizen in another country;
- possession of an indefinite residence permit in the Kingdom.
The application for citizenship must be submitted to the country’s municipality for signature. It is important to consider that the document cannot be approved by the Consulate or Embassy in another country.
A foreign person officially employed in the Kingdom can count on a simplified scheme for obtaining the relevant document. In this case, the candidate has the right to apply for the appropriate document after 3 years of stay in the state. The form is issued at the place of residence.
Citizenship by marriage
You can apply for a passport as a full Belgian citizen after 5 years of residence in the country after marriage. Before this, you will be issued a residence permit in the country.
Collection of documents
Despite democratic legislation and the loyal attitude of the authorities of this democratic power towards migrants, it is quite difficult to obtain a passport. To do this, you need to collect an impressive package of documents and submit them to the country’s Consulate.
The main documents include:
- a certificate of financial solvency (the document is necessary to confirm that a foreign person has the ability to support himself and his family);
- certificate of no debt;
- a certificate indicating good knowledge of English or French;
- certificate from place of residence;
- passport (civil and foreign), copy and original of current pages;
- three “fresh” color photos.
How can you lose citizenship
There are several ways to lose Belgian citizenship. If a person plans to refuse solely at his own discretion, then he must provide the Embassy with a positive response from the authorities of the country in which he wants to live.
Those persons who were born or served in military service in the territory of another state can also lose their Belgian passport without notifying the Government of the Kingdom about this.