Is nationality possible if you work abroad but live in Belgium?

Technically if you work abroad you won't be a Belgium resident anymore ... I would wait the get the nationality first.

yossupaga wrote:

Hello

I have permanent residence in Belgium (B-card) but I would like to evaluate job opportunities abroad (UK, Switzerland, Germany) while still residing in Belgium not to lose my status for nationality application after 3 years.

Does anybody have an idea/experience?

Thank you...

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Nationality rules, in general, require you to actually be a resident in the country where you are applying, most countries require you to have been registered as a resident for a certain length of time before you can apply.  Where you are deemed as being resident is decided by which country you have lived in the longest in any single tax year; so for example, if you live and work more than 6-months in Germany, you will be deemed as being resident there.

My advice is to work in Belgium until you have sufficient residency time to enable you to get your Belgian passport, then you can go where you like for as long as you like, nothing will stop you.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi,

All of this information has already been provided in the past.

To get nationality, Foreigner who has legally resided in Belgium for 5 years, the person must:

- Be at least 18 years old with proof via the birth certificate (Belgian or foreign)
- Be in possession at the time of the nationality request for an unlimited stay of one of the following residence permits: Card B, C, D, E, Annex 8, F, E +, Annex 8bis, F +
- Stay legally in Belgium and continuously for 5 years. You will need to provide a residence certificate with history of addresses and stays.
- Proving knowledge of one of the three national languages ​​(French, Dutch or German).
- Prove their social integration.
- Prove its economic integration. Provide tax assessment certificates.

The main residence in Belgium and the stay which must be shown for the application for nationality must have been uninterrupted. If the residence or stay has been interrupted at some point, the starting point for the period required for the declaration of nationality will start to run from the end of the interruption.

However, certain exceptions are allowed:
- Temporary absences from the territory
They can be 6 months maximum and cannot exceed in total more than one fifth of the periods of stay required by the Nationality Code.
- Cancellation by mistake
- Administrative interruptions

Your case falls under exception number 1. So 6 months in one piece over 5 years.

In my case, I will be fulfilling 468 work days in Belgium by July, 2020 in the last 5 years which is one of the conditions to apply citizenship.

The idea is to legally reside in Belgium but work remotely for a company abroad and maybe time to time travel to the office. So, technically I will be continuing to live in Belgium but earn my life from a company out of Belgium.

How would it be in this case?

It is not my job to interpret the laws.  I have provided you with the official conditions.  Now if you want to interpret them your way, it's your decision.  As we say in Belgium, when you want butter + butter money + ... You should not be surprised if you get burned ...

Just to add, the UK is no longer in the EU although there is a transition period till 31st December 2020 unless you have skills the UK are short of sorry to say you have a slim chance working there.

Thank you... Indeed... I have to find a job with my own efforts w/o eu resident/work permit advantage.