Dear Members,
I have been living in Belgium for about 8 years now. I am not a citizen, but a temporary resident, because I had to return to my home country (India) due to family emergencies after my first 5 years of continuous stay in Belgium.
The question I want to post here is: Is there a possibility for me to get my single widowed mother permanently to Belgium. She is 70 years old & is living alone in India since mid-2017. I am the only child to my parents. There is no second thought that all her expenses will be covered by me. She has already traveled twice to Belgium on a Tourist VISA and stayed for roughly 3 months each. But, that is the max duration she can stay here.
I have been looking all over the internet; and most of the posts are related to bringing the spouse or dependent children. I am also aware that EU considers only Spouse and Children as dependents. But, is there any legal way for my mother to come here permanently, as I being the only child.
Regards,
Avi
Family Re-unification - Single Parent
Hi Avinushen. Sorry, I do not know precisely what needs to be done.
But this was an excellent webpage for me to learn about cohabitation. Please do check it out:
http://belgiumcohabitationvisa.com/coha … -visa-101/
Hello,
no, family reunion with parents are not possible except if you're EU (non-belgian) or if you're less than 18 years old.
So, family reunion is not possible in your case.
If she has enough money / bank letters / bank statements covering at least a period of 6 months / income from real estate properties / ..., then you can maybe think about the "retiring" visa D...
But she can't be, legally speaking, in your care. So she must proof she has enough money to take care of herself.
@KaiserWilhelmII
Cohabitation is not an option. Visa regarding a cohabitation will not be granted based on a request between family members.
Cohabitation can still be done in Belgium once she arrives for tax matter and to be declared in her care, but that's the only advantage in her case and would not grant her any right about family reunion (and so, the resident permit)
There is a possibility which is not easy to obtain, it is the humanitarian visa (long stay)
Being granted a humanitarian visa is not a right like family reunification. It is a favor of the Belgian state towards the member of your family who wishes to join you in Belgium but who does not fall within the definition of family as posed by article 10 of the law on The foreigners.
The Aliens Act and Articles 9 and 13 do not establish the conditions for obtaining such a visa. The decision is thus left to the complete discretion of the Immigration Office which will consider, on a case by case basis, whether or not the circumstances, duly proven, brought to their attention justify that such a residence permit be granted to the member of your family.
The decision of the Immigration Office must nevertheless be taken in particular with respect for fundamental rights such as the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights) and the prohibition of processing inhuman and degrading (Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights) and in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child.
In addition to all the official documents to be added to the file when submitting the request to the competent Belgian diplomatic post, as is the case for family reunification (see page 13 of the brochure), it is your responsibility to bring also all the evidence justifying the granting of a humanitarian visa.
So, in practice, it is particularly important to prove your family member's dependence on you, the fact that this member is in a precarious situation and that you will be able to take care of him. (It is important to be able to prove both emotional and psychological dependence but also financial dependence. In practice, the Immigration Office attaches great importance to this element. Thus in particular, proof of shipments can be provided. money to your family member, any proof of their indigence and proof of your income in Belgium.)
In addition, it will also be important to be able to prove, if necessary, that no other member of your family can take care of your family member, that the latter is therefore in an isolated situation.
Finally, in order to prove the serious humanitarian circumstances, it is also interesting to provide, if possible, a report from an organization (such as the UNHCR, the ICRC, etc.) on the spot who could attest to their living conditions. , his future in the country or the best interests of the child.
It is the long-term service of the Immigration Office which processes these requests (unlike the family reunification visa office which processes normal family reunification requests).
It is therefore very important to indicate on the visa application form that this is indeed a visa application for humanitarian reasons within the meaning of Article 9, so that the file will reach the appropriate service.
The law also does not provide for a time limit within which the Immigration Office must issue its decision.
Processing time can take up to a year or more.
In practice, obtaining a humanitarian visa is rare. We suggest that you seek advice and be assisted by your lawyer or social worker to assess the merits of making such a request and to support your request, if necessary.
Thank you, I will research into this option of Retirement VISA.
Stay Safe!
Regards,
Avi
Avinushen wrote:Thank you, I will research into this option of Retirement VISA.
Stay Safe!
Regards,
Avi
Retirement visa doesn't exist in Belgium...
Oops, sorry! My reply was meant for Alex. The post prior to yours 
& thanks to you as well for the pointer on Humanitarian VISA. I will collect more information on this as well. My situation does tick most of the boxes, but my mother is not living in a war-torn country or in a miserable situation, so I don't really know if I will be able to convince the authorities.
Regarding Retirement VISA, I did find some info on one website, but it doesn't provide in-depth information though.
Website: https://www.expatica.com/be/moving/visa … on-100069/
yes there're Phipiemar, although the documentation on dofi is pretty bad and nearly non-existing...
2 friends of my mum did receive their visa to retire in Belgium, so I'm sure it "exists".
In the end it's just a normal Visa D, but classified in "other categories" such as humanitarian / religious / ...
Information should be requested at the embassy as it's a case by case process, as well as the humanitarian visa that you were talking about in your previous message.
If you check the Belgian's embassy website in the USA, you do find an official article about it (due to the high demand)
https://unitedstates.diplomatie.belgium … ng-belgium
But if you check other diplomatic embassy, it's only in the "other categories" and they ask you to mail them for further information.
But basically it's nearly always the same things: enough money + insurance + criminal record empty
@AlexFromBelgium,
Thanks for the link.
I compared this link with the website of Embassy & Consulates of Belgium in India, unfortunately, I don't find any option of "Retiring in Belgium" option under VISA For Belgium. Looks like this option is not available for third world countries. I will keep my search on.
Regards,
Avi
i read that if we take belgian citizenship then its possible to bring parents on 5 year PR ?
http://www.commissioner.brussels/i-am-a … nification
Residence Formalities
RESIDENCE FORMALITIES
EU CITIZEN
NON EU CITIZEN
FAMILY REUNIFICATION
Presentation
If a member of your family is living in Brussels and you wish to rejoin him/her, this is possible thanks to the family reunification procedure. According to the law of 15 December 1980, EU nationals can settle in Belgium with other EU family members under certain conditions.
Who is considered to be a family member ?
A spouse;
A partner (being at least 21 years old);
[b]Ascendants and those from the partner, in their care;[/b]
Descendants under 21 years or in their care, and those from the partner.
@Avinushen
It is available to any nationality as it's in our consitution.
Like I said in my previous messsage, it's considered as "other category" and you need to ask for information to the embassy in New Delhi.
@ankurbhanot
It's exactly what I said in my previous message.
EU nationals are allowed. (art 40bis $2 4°)
Belgians (art 40ter) are excluded from doing a family reunion with ascendants.
They can only do a family reunion with their children & spouse/partner.
Meaning that EU citizens living in Belgium have more rights than Belgian citizens on the family reunion topic...
In the past, getting Belgium nationality was way too easy: only 3 years of stay, no language test/certification and nearly no check at all. And it was an open door to abuse from fresh new Belgians to get their whole family in Belgium...
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