Legality of a foreign car in Belgium

Ok sorry I'm wrong, if you have a car and you've brought it to Belgium 5 months after moving here, you still have only 1 month left to register, the 6 month counter starts from when you register, not when the car enters the country!!!!
http://www.blbe.be/en/importing-and-registering-car

Ok i have actually regiestered my car its from 6 months of u registering in Belgium from the date on my id card

However the reason i though it was due to shenen was becouse I was told thats why i couldnt leave Belgium after 6 months untill my id card arrived

EU nationals have freedom of movement and registration at the commune / gemeentehuis is NOT affected in any way by travelling. You NEVER hand in your passport or ID card as EU nationals, you are free to travel anywhere you like. The only thing which would affect registation is registering in another country.


Having an ID card is not obligatory for EU nationals and has not been since about 2008. It is still obligatory to register and for those who choose not to pay for a residents' ID card, they are instead required to carry with them at all times in Belgium, in conjunction with their national ID / passport, the paper proof of registration. This applies to all EU/EEA/Swiss non Belgians in Belgium above the age of 14 or 15, can't remember exact age.

I know but then when i travel to and from uk why do i always have to show my passport. Now you have got me puzzled about that

Also people have traveld from Uk to Belgium then to Nederlands germany etc back to UK and then a few months later refused entry back into Belgium becouse they have travelled outside of uk for to long. Hence this is why i thought it was all to do with Shen. Given that uk is one of the few countries with a EU border control

Also I think the id card for Non Bel in Bel is lower as the son I live with had to get a id card last year and hes not even 13 yet

Showing your passport has no connection with freedom of movement. You also have to be prepared to show your passport in the Schengen area. The only British citizen allowed to travel the world without proof of her British citizenship is the queen!

It is against freedom of movement rules for any other EU/EEA/Swiss country to mark anything inside another EU/EEA/Swiss passport, so you can travel where you like, your passport remains unmarked, no-one knows where on earth you are. How would Belgium know you have been to the UK or anywhere else in the EU? So you were and still are free to move backwards and forwards between the UK and Belgium. The only people who are not supposed to leave Belgium during registration are non EU nationals in certain categories.

You have to show your passport / national ID card every time you enter the UK, Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus, from another EU country, even though they are EU counries, they do not implement the Schengen agreement. If you leave Belgium on the Eurostar to the UK, The Belgian Border Police have a permanent exit control there, because people are leaving the Schengen area! When you travel on the Eurostar from the UK to Belgium, the French Border Police have a permanent entry control because people are entering Schengen - they effectively operate the border control for all the other 25 Schengen countries, In theory, every single person, irrespective of nationality, must show their proof of nationality when entering the outer border of the 26 Schengen countries, in practice you do find cracks in their supposed "strong" outer border - try travelling by car to France through Dover where the French operated Schengen border control for Calais is actually situated, you'll be lucky to be given a 2nd glance, never mind show your passport.

Appently in Belgium its the law to have one. Its probs why I cant even rent a movie without being asked for it. Found this

All Belgians aged 12 and above are issued with an identity card (Dutch: Identiteitskaart, French: Carte d'identité, German: Personalausweis). Belgians aged 15 and above are required to always carry it with them unless they are within 200 m from their homes. (Foreigners must at all times be able to provide identification, either a passport, or an identity document issued by another EU member state.) Holders who are Belgian citizens are also entitled to use the card for international travel within the European Union and a number of other European states, such as Macedonia,[1] Croatia[citation needed], Serbia and Albania[citation needed] in lieu of a Belgian passport.

What I am saying is if you spend to much time out of the UK they do stop you there was actually a topic about it on here some time back and I mistook the being stoped and only being able to spend 3 or was it 6 months in Belgium from uk a year for Shen

EU nationals are NOT obliged to have residents' ID cards at all. They ARE required to carry from the age of 14 or 15 their paper proof of registration OR a residents' ID card, one or the other.

For non Belgians under the age of 12, the residents' ID cards are little white cardboard cards with a simple photo.

For non Belgians 12 years and over, the residents' ID for EU/EEA/Swiss nationals are green, marked E-card or E-card +, same as adults cards. A 12 year old non Belgian who happens to have this card is not obliged to carry it yet upon them or the paper version of proof of registration.

A Belgian national is REQUIRED to have a valid national ID card, from the age of 12 years old. They are not yet required to carry them around, that happens at age 14 or 15 years old.

Okies well it was well getting a bit confuseing and sadly I cant find the topic about the person being refused entry back into Belgium if I find it i will post it up so u can see. However this is kinda getting off topic

An EU national is allowed to live here, even without legal residence, even if they fail to get a residents' card. They can only be physically removed from Belgium if non conducive to public policy or security.

Hannah, the rules for Belgians and non Belgians are completely different, the ID cards are different too, Belgian cards are proof of identity and nationality, non Belgian cards are proof of identity and status in Belgium but can not be accepted as proof of nationality.  Read back through what I said, non Belgians are NOT required to have or carry their non Belgian residents' ID cards, but from the age of 14 or 15, they are required to carry proof of their residence here, if they are resident, in either the form of a non Belgian national residents' ID card or paper form.

An EU/EEA/Swiss national or recognized CANNOT be refused OR granted entry to Belgium, that is reserved for non EU/EEA/Swiss nationals only.

An EU/EEA/Swiss national can be granted ADMISSION to another EU/EEA/Swiss country and also can be refused ADMISSION on grounds of public policy or security. Admission is the right to freedom of movement.

There are a few exceptions, eg New Zealanders (bi-lateral agreement), but as a general rule, a non EU national who has visited Belgium or Schengen for 90 days must leave the Schengen area for a further 90 days, in order to be able to be granted re-entry to the Schengen area.

So Hannah, you were free to travel to the UK at any time. You'll need to read the quote you posted, it states you as a British citizen must carry your passport with you at all times (it misses out only if 15 years or over, all correct except for this little admission), it does NOT say you must be issued with a residents' ID card. The reason you cannot hire a video is because your video shop will obviously only accept rental with a resident's ID card, but it's not a legal obligation for you to have one. It does however make it tricky sometimes, like in video shops, where people are so used to Belgians carrying their national ID cards, they are stumped when a non Belgian comes along and hasn't got one!

Sorry I should shut up, but I do actually know this topic quite well, I sort of can't help it sorry. All this info is out there on various EU government websites.

Hello all.

Just to remind you that the thread title is Legality of a foreign car in Belgium.

Thank you,
Aurélie