12 months salary before applying for "sejour ilimite"?

@nyamani77

Did you apply card type A or L at 1st July?

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@maharaji1984

when I arrived Belgium back in 2020, I came with carde-A and it is the same carde until today. so I have been working based on carde-A ALL THE TIME.

no worries. it is fixed, here comes the importance of having a lawyer, he sent my paper directly to the foreign affairs bypassing the commune.

what I did is that I replied to the commune email "can you send me a legal document or an article of the law which clearly stating that I had to work for 12 months continuously before applying for an unlimited permit?

they then replied that "we have reviewed your papers again and you can apply for long-stay residence" ...etc but the lawyer advised me to not sign anything with the commune at the moment as he already dealing with the ministry of foreign affair directly.

I never heard such a rule before. They need to accept your application .

@maharaji1984

They refused my application

not because of the 12 months rule, but after they sent my application to foreign affairs they refused the "sejeur de long-duree" because: (this is important caveat)

1. I started my initial work from May 2022 to February 2024. it was carde-A single permit i.e. only for this job
2. I was searching for a new job between February 2024 until I started my new job on 11 November 2024

They refused my application because they consider the time while I was searching for a job as a time where I am not in the country !!! although I went to BAJ to make sure my stay is legal and they reassure me that I can stay to search for a new job as long as before my current carde expired (my ID cade associated with the old work was valid until May 2025)

the gap between the two jobs is not counted toward the 5-year rule.

I have one month to appeal, I contacted with my lawyer and now he is asking me for more money, plus he keeps telling me that it might be refused and you have to wait until you complete another 5 years

@nyamani77

Sorry to hear that,

Please go to mycarreer and check if your 5 years working days  were covered . Otherwise they will not accept your application neither with a lawyer.

@nyamani77

“You mentioned, ‘I was searching for a new job between February 2024 and when I started my new job on 11 November 2024.’ Were you in Belgium or outside Belgium during this period? I heard that if you stay outside the country for more than six months, your clock might be reset.”

@nyamani77

may I ask you which commune asked you to work 12 months before applying ? They just need the last 3 months payslips and that’s all. People at the commune really think that they have a kind of « power », it’s so crazy. Their role is just to take the application file and just transfer it to the immigration office. It’s so irritating to see that some commune workers who don’t even have a bachelor degree most of the time, think that they have the right or they are giving a privilege to people who are participating to the economic life of Belgium to apply for permanent residency. We pay more taxes than them, plus they work for us, their salary come from our tax money. If they say a sh*t statement, just ask them the legal origin/law of their statement.

@maharaji1984

hello

yes I checked this and it was written that I have worked for almost 1000 days in Belgium!

@gbsc0609

I was absolutely in Belgium during this time, same address for the last 5 years.

It was all documented. I went to Actiris searching for a job during this time, I did volunteer " though the lawyer told me later that normally you have to get an authorization to volunteer" which I was not aware of. And I was in the hospital few times to get some treatment.

it is interesting because during this time my insurance was active, my ID card was active, everything was active. Even at the commune I went few times to get some papers and all my services was on.

did not travel outside Belgium except for 2 weeks to visit my mother.

@@Tomkar

it is " Woluwe Saint-lambert".

I know, that is why I replied kindly to them asking "from where this law come from"? then they changed their mind and had submitted my application.

Anyway, I fight enough here and most likely we will move to either Canada or US. I have some friends there and my husband is American, we were hoping to build a life in Belgium but our chance is getting less and less and seems that government/commune is trying to find any reason to refuse your application, even the lawyer are not very helpful.   

@nyamani77

Maybe it is because you asked for L type which is based on work and you have some gaps there. I would try to apply to B which is based on 5 years uninterrupted residence plus integration/economic participation... Before considering a big move. I have heard B is easier to obtain. But I would also definitely wait until I have 12 months salary to avoid this question from them to be on the safe side.

@gannam

They won't, I asked for carde-B too.

Since I came on a work permit, it has to be L-type (at least this is what the commune informed me about).

I also asked the lawyer that it is not possible how come they refused my application and I worked and participated in social security for almost 1000 days ...etc while I know some applicants did have gaps. the lawyer informed me that they must have came to Belgium on a different carde not A carde (it might be a family reunion carde for example) so they will be eligible for carde B application where they don't have to work continuously for 5 years but their partner are the ones who have to work,,,,etc.

at this moment, I completed 12 months of my current work. So this should not be an issue.

@nyamani77

Sorry I am confused. Isn’t the requirement for permanent residency 5 years of continious legal stay, vs. 5 years uninterrupted work?

@Elena Igor

You are right

https://www.vreemdelingenrecht.be/verbl … -d-l-kaart