Residence continuity. Do I have a gap?

Member since 16 June 2025

Eline PaulActive member17 October 2025 17:44:19

Hi everyone, I have a question about residence continuity in Belgium.

I had an orientation year permit and applied for a single permit before it expired. My orientation year card expired, and the single permit was ready 3 days later. The commune told me they issue no annex in this situation and I just had to wait for the single permit decision even if my card expired.

Now I’m wondering, do those 3 days count as a gap in my legal stay, or is it still considered continuous since my new permit was pending?

On my “attest van hoofdverblijfplaats met volledige historiek”, it says “ingeschreven in het vreemdelingenregister sinds 19/09/2022” ( The date I received my first annex). Does that mean my registration was continuous?

Has anyone experienced something similar or knows how this affects the 5-year count for long-term residence?