@Tomkar
Belgian citizen
Forum posts
28
About me
Belgian
Lives in Brussels, Brussels Capital, Be
Registration: 18 September 2025
My expat journey
Brussels, Brussels Capital, Belgium
Arrived as a student. Got my bachelor & my master. Working now
Finance Projects Consultant
Ouagadougou, Centre, Burkina Faso
Born and raised
Activity
L Card conditions by Safiu saf
Hello everyone,I have a few questions regarding the eligibility requirements for obtaining an L card. Here is my situation:3 years as a university student;3 years working under a permanent employment contract (CDI) with a limited single permit.I now ...
@Safiu safFor L card, it is up to the requestor to submit his own means of living. So its should be your own payslips. They don’t want you to fall under the State financial help. So try to find another job ASAP. Read More
L card request rejected by Kenzie marisa
Hi ,I have been staying in Belgium for 5years now.and I moved to local contract 2 years back paying social security an tax. And I have not taken any break between both jobs when I applied for L card , it was rejected saying that I was detached ...
@jp_2018 You were paying income taxes + social security contribution. Or you were only paying social security ?You need to pay both to be able to be eligible to the L card. You can also check this with your commune. Read More
L card time frame by Gvad45
Hi everyone,Has anyone recently received their L card in Belgium? How long did it take from submitting your application to actually receiving the card?I’d appreciate hearing about your recent timelines. Thanks!
@Srizzy for my part it’s the date since I received my annex 15 (I arrived first as a student). And this was confirmed by my commune and the foreign office worker with who I exchanged e-mails on my eligibility date. Read More
L card time frame by Gvad45
Hi everyone,Has anyone recently received their L card in Belgium? How long did it take from submitting your application to actually receiving the card?I’d appreciate hearing about your recent timelines. Thanks!
@Gvad45One applied last December and got it in February (Ukkel) and the other one applied March and got it in June (Ixelles). Read More
L card time frame by Gvad45
Hi everyone,Has anyone recently received their L card in Belgium? How long did it take from submitting your application to actually receiving the card?I’d appreciate hearing about your recent timelines. Thanks!
@Gvad45 Hey ! I applied almost 2 months ago, and I’m still waiting for the reply.Looks like the L card processing time by the foreign office is very odd. I’ve one friend who got it 2 months after applying. And another one that got it 3 ... Read More
L card request rejected by Kenzie marisa
Hi ,I have been staying in Belgium for 5years now.and I moved to local contract 2 years back paying social security an tax. And I have not taken any break between both jobs when I applied for L card , it was rejected saying that I was detached ...
@pranav2424Commune matters as some commune take time to send out the file to the ministry !Just a simple example : I applied at Uccle commune, and I got the annex 16 BIS the same day I applied. And I didn’t need an appointment to apply.But at ... Read More
L card request rejected by Kenzie marisa
Hi ,I have been staying in Belgium for 5years now.and I moved to local contract 2 years back paying social security an tax. And I have not taken any break between both jobs when I applied for L card , it was rejected saying that I was detached ...
@Kenzie marisa When did you apply , at which commune and when did you get the answer please ? I’m also waiting for a reply.But as far as I know, if your contract was detached , not local, then the years are not counted for the 5 years required ... Read More
L card application in Antwerp by Valoche328
Hello everyone,I applied for permanent residency (L card) and received Annex 16 + 16bis on 28 October 2025. The Antwerp city hall scheduled an appointment for 28 March 2026 to inform me of the Immigration Office’s decision.However, when I ...
@Valoche328 this is not true at all. After 5 months of waiting, if there is no answer, city hall needs to give you the L card. After the 5 months, no refusal decision from IBZ is valid. Their refusal decision needs to be made before the 5 months. If ... Read More
How are we informed if an application is delayed/rejected by BMM996210
Hi,Just to have an understanding. Does anyone know/experienced a rejection/pending status for their L card.After how many days/months was this communicated to you?.Reason: I would be completing my 5 months period after the L card application and ...
@Diegote22 I’m also waiting for a decision for my L card. I think the best way to know if a decision has been made is to regularly call « Office des étrangers ». I call them every 3 weeks now, to see if a decision ... Read More
B card application by rjBelgium18
Hello, I am working in Belgium from last 7 years and recently switched to local employer.I am paying social security from last 3.8 years. I applied for L card and application was rejected.Commune said that your employer can raise B card request for ...
@rjBelgium18 For B card you need to wait 5 years of working under Belgian contract before applying, if not it will be rejected.May i know, how long did you wait before receiving your L card application decision ? When did you apply and when did you ... Read More
L card - 5 years requirement by Stranger_F
Hello,I live in Brussels/Schaerbeek. One of the requirements for L card is "justifier d'un séjour légal et ininterrompu en Belgique au cours des 5 ans".Do you know from which date those 5 years are calculated? For instance I have three ...
@JalanizCongrats ! I’m also waiting for the L card. Can you tell me how did you get the approval , did the commune directly called you? Also what was the last activities of the past months on your national register ? You can check it online ... Read More
Unavoidable travel after citizenship approval by vinaysem
Dear,My citizenship has been approved today and I have to travel in another 2 weeks to India. Could someone please help and let me know if I can still travel with Indian passport and existing(old) Belgian Permanent residency card?
The short answer is : yes you can travel with your Indian passport + your existing residency card. There is no problem at all.But if you want to travel peacefully, you can go online on your national register, download your citizenship certificate ... Read More
Family Reunification for single permit holders by dj68
Hello all!In the IBZ website, it says that Exceptionally, embassies and consulates-general are authorised to issue a family reunification visa to the spouse and minor children of a foreign national holding a single permit, without prior consultation ...
@dj68 Hi ! I live in Belgium, and I’ve seen situation like this. Yes your spouse reunification visa should be granted fast as it is based on your single permit. If your single permit is already granted, there is no reason that she don’t ... Read More
Belgium Nationality 2026 by callonafo
Hi everyone,Let’s use this topic to share experiences and information about obtaining Belgian nationality in 2026, so we can gather useful and up to date details in one place.To make the information complete and easy to compare, it would be ...
@callonafo I see that your L card will be available middle of this month. I also applied and I’m waiting for the reply of OE. May i ask when did you apply and when did OE checked your national register ? You can see it in Mydossier if you have ... Read More
L type card processing time by guestuserbrs
hello , When I applied L type card in commune, they informed that maximum time taken for decision is 5 months and if any decision is not taken you can come after 5 months to commune for further processing.Now 5 month period is over and commune is ...
@Taimtaim11 did you finally apply for the L card ? And did they approve it ? Read More