BELGIUM NATIONALITY 2023

@FAHAD CHEEMA i think it would differ from commune to another.

i've applied in Dec and still waiting. Have you applied in Brussels?

@vocicag725 Hi , which city hall you applied from ? did the police check done ?

@andrew77 Hello, i've applied in Brussels. No police visit yet.

Some other members shared that there were no visits in Brussels.

@vocicag725 100% no police visit in Brussels

Here a short overview of my case in the city of Bruges:

total time passed from signing of declaration to getting confirmation -> 3 months 1 week

I applied on a F card, not F+, F card

submitted documents and signed on (saturday) 3rd of dec 2022,

5th dec 2022 received by post a confirmation that docs were sent to Brussels.

police visit around 3 weeks later, talk in dutch, what you do in life, general questions,

13th of march 2023 -> my nationality approved

the city of Bruges notifies this by email, and not by post.

today I went to ask for my Id card, and everything fine, Ik ben belg

why so fast? well... I took contact with the town hall weeks before applying for the nationality, and have been sending docs and information by email to the people making the revision, very friendly staff and very well informed, they don't let you through unless they feel you have a strong dossier.

So the moment I did the completion of the declaration, they had already checked everything, they only had to forward it to Brussels.

It was also my second time, I already had faced a negative decision 2 years ago, so don't think that everything is a walk in the park.

The first experience helped to have a waterproof dossier.

Learning experiences:

- do not call or email to ask about a status, just go lively, you can spare yourself months of worrying.

- Don't give more than what they asked you, as they (at least in Bruges) stick point by point to the law...

Do read the law! After the first negative decision, I read up and down the laws related to obtaining nationality and made sure for the second time ALL was ok.

-inburgering/integration course on its own does not always proof you speak the language, if they want they can make it difficult and ask extra language certifications. So do include these on top of the integration course.

- 2 years ago I got Nationality denied due to Master diploma and studies from the VUB being in English... even though the clerk told me that it's OK. You can take the risk... but it depends in the procureur and the person in his team in the court checking your case...

-as my diploma was in English, they also said I didn't meet the requirement for integration....

- and also didn't count towards working days...(this would have been the case if my studies would have been in any local language).

- 2 years ago, they were not accepting the orange card as a proof of uninterrupted stay... even if you have not left the country a day! This changed in 2021, there is a publication, and also the clerks in Bruges knew about it, which is a very good sign. I'm the lively proof of it.

Hope this helps!

@bruggeling1 thanks for sharing.

I didn't get much the part you've explained why so fast.

i've sent my doc to the commune for validation before i applied but dont think they take that into account

Thank you

@vocicag725

Fast because

I did preparation work, I didn't just come one day suddenly saying, "hey, here are my papers, please check them and tell me to pay And sign the declaration"

What I did instead, is that I asked multiple appointments as "checkpoints", in which I would slowly bring new documentation to the clerk, or check that he has revised the emails I sent with the newest information to add to my dossier.

This means that the actual day that I came to sign the declaration, they didn't have to take the "extra month" to check, because they have been doing it all along in the previous exchanges I had with them.

@bruggeling1 thanks for sharing. May I ask if your orange card was due to the application of F card so thats why it should not be considered interruption?

thanks!

@Peterjohn123

Yes, the orange card was due to the F card

@bruggeling1 thanks!

congrats to your nationality!

although I share with you the refusal due to master degree. I was taught in an integration course that it should be no problem. Even I read a study document from EU level that they accept diploma for whatever it is taught even in English because it still shows that you are more or less aware of the culture and the daily life language.

but indeed, it depends on the person who verifies the file (belgium type of work) and challenge the case will just worthless as it could take years…

i will come back with my experience when I get nationality. I also have msc from Vub.

@vocicag725 i applied in Verviers commune. 

@andrew77 Verviers.....Police came just to verify the addresse where i live and after ask me to pass to the office just for a small interview max 20 mins. few small questions about daily life and family and work thats it.

@FAHAD CHEEMA  hi , how long it takes for police visiting you from the time you applied?

@andrew77 after one month

@vocicag725 hi..

In Brussels is different.police not come no interview.just sign declaration in Commune and wait until 4 months 4 days..do not worry no police.

@Muhammad Hanif69 Hi, did commune email you after exactly 4 months or you came to the commune and ask them for the ID card?

@peterjohn1104 commune will send you letter for change your Id to Belgian eID.when your application approved.

@bruggeling1 Thanks for sharing your experience.

In my commune I was informed that orange card does not count toward uninterrupted stay if your partner is a Belgian citizen (not EU member state citizens)

Do you think that a PhD program done in English language may not count towards number of working days?

@woodcook so just to be clear, her orange card counts because its an orange card immediate prededing the F card application and since F card application was approved, all the residency prior to the application was also in effect (retro effect). This is not the case for the Orange card given in other application cases.

If you are non-EU and has no permanent residence yet, pls focus on getting that one first. A PhD student usually has a student status hence 1/2 times will count toward permanent residence.

@peterjohn1104

I have card F and my orange card lead to the issuance of the card F.

However, find below the information regarding orange card that lead towards card F as described by my commune.

"The period on the orange card or registration certificate of 3 or 6 months can be assimilated to legal residence in two cases:

– in the context of an asylum application which resulted in the recognition of refugee status

– in the in the context of a request for family reunification with a European (non-Belgian) which resulted in obtaining a type F residence permit"

In terms of PhD when I started I already had the card F and I had it through out the study period. I guess that changes thing?

@peterjohn1104
I have card F and my orange card lead to the issuance of the card F.

However, find below the information regarding orange card that lead towards card F as described by my commune.

"The period on the orange card or registration certificate of 3 or 6 months can be assimilated to legal residence in two cases:
– in the context of an asylum application which resulted in the recognition of refugee status
– in the in the context of a request for family reunification with a European (non-Belgian) which resulted in obtaining a type F residence permit"

In terms of PhD when I started I already had the card F and I had it through out the study period. I guess that changes thing?
-@woodcook

That would be something to my knowledge as my friends (married to Belgians) usually got orange card and their counts were not resetted. Or am I misunderstanding something :-?

Agii cited that:

Legal stay during the period prior to the application

During the period immediately prior to the application, you must be admitted or authorized to stay in Belgium for more than 3 months or to settle in Belgium. It concerns the required period of legal residence prior to the application: since your birth, 5 or 10 years in the case of a nationality certificate or 2 years in the case of an application for naturalization by a stateless person.

Article 4 of the Royal Decree of 14 January 2013 determines which documents can be accepted as legal residence prior to the application, and divides them by category:

For Union citizens:

Annex 19

the E (or EU) card

the E+ (or EU+) card

For family members of Union citizens referred to in Article 40bis of the Residence Act (Vw):

the Annex 19ter

the certificate of immatriculation

the F card

the F+ card

Annex 15 to be issued pending the decision on the application for permanent residence.

Note: family members of Belgians (Article 40b of the Residence Act) and the ‘other family members' as referred to in Article 47/1 et seq. Residence Act (brother, sister, aunt,... of a Union citizen) are not mentioned.

In this judgment of 27 May 2021, the Constitutional Court ruled that the certificate of immatriculation issued to the relative of a Belgian during the family reunification application procedure must nevertheless be considered lawful residence if it is issued between two different residence statutes over which the applicant has no influence.

@woodcook either the people of the town hall are not up to date with their information.

Or you came directly to Belgium through family reunification which means that your first residence permit in Belgium was the orange card.

The orange card only counts towards the count if you already have lived in the country before that under another residence permit.

Go show them the decision of the court of May 2021. They can't block your application just because they don't want to read... anyways it's not them who will do the final check but the people in the team of the procureur.

@bruggeling1 Thanks for the detailed explanation. I can see why they said so from your explanation. The first application was denied, in which we accepted the decision and then reapplied. It was stated that since we accepted the decision my residency was automatically terminated.  I made the second application which lead to the issuance of the orange card.

@bruggeling1 Thanks for the detailed explanation. I can see why they said so from your explanation. The first application was denied, in which we accepted the decision and then reapplied. It was stated that since we accepted the decision my residency was automatically terminated. I made the second application which lead to the issuance of the orange card.
-@woodcook

Would you mind sharing a bit up? So you came to Belgium as family reunification with a Belgian so you came here with Visa D and applied for F card and it was denied?

But the second F card application, it means your legal stay was counted from the issue of the orange card?

Thanks

@Peterjohn123 I came as a student. Our first application was denied, we accepted the decision from the government and then reapplied again. The second application was approved and the card F was then issued.  According to the explanation given that if your family reunion is with an EU member (non-Belgian) then the orange card that leads to the issuance of card F is counted as part of 5 years legal stay. But if your partner is Belgian and you do not have an existing legal stay before application, the orange card that lead to the issuance of card F does not count towards your 5 years of legal stay. Your 5 years of legal stay starts counting the day the card F was issued.

@woodcook hello

Your Nationality application is rejected?

@Muhammad Hanif69 Hello hanif bro. Did you receive any letter or news from your communep regarding your application or not yet?

@ABS25 hi dear..

I dont recieve nothing yet..just waiting what news  i will get ..they give me appoitment on 17.04.23...but no updates still waiting bro.

@Muhammad Hanif69 No brother.i have to wait until 17.04.23..i hope it will be positive

@Muhammad Hanif69 If this appointment for 17th april is by the commune, then most probably they will apply your Belgian eID. There is no other logic of appointment. If it was a refusal then you could have received it by registered post.

@Muhammad Hanif69 Can you still login online on mon dossier? And you saw another update after last update of january?

@ABS25 i can log in on mydossie.be still and the last updated is same..no more update 05.01.2023  after that i do not have any updates.

@Muhammad Hanif69 hello

did you ask them to give you an appointment to check the status?

i'm uncertain why is the appointment if they didn't inform you that it has been approved and to come to apply for your card.

@Muhammad Hanif69 I think your card will be cancelled/blocked after completion of 4 months and one week which is i think 16th april because you applied on 9th december. Thats why they gave you appointment of 17th april.

@vocicag725 they said at the time i made declaration for citizenship if you do not recieve  any letter any updates so 17.04 you come to commune because your process time will complete..i can check my decision on 17.04 in commune.

@ABS25 excatly on 16.04 my time will complete.so i will check my id card on my dossie.be before going and i will share updates here for everyone..insha allah

@Muhammad Hanif69 Good luck

@FAHAD CHEEMA Cheema Sahib.you said 2 years ago my citizenship app were refused?May i know that your refusal letter were sent to you before the process timeline or at the end of the timeline?mine is 10 days remain but in stress that  what will be the decision..here in Brussels you should wait until the process ending.