Hi community,
I have a question regarding obtaining a long term residence status for a non-EU national.
According to this page, one of the conditions to obtain a long term residence status is Uninterrupted legal residence of 5 years (Immediately prior to applying for your permanent resident status, you have an uninterrupted legal residence of 5 years in Belgium.
How uninterrupted residence is defined? Or more precise, what defines an interruption in this case?
I started working in Belgium with a type B work permit, for a period of one year. Although my company applied few months before an expiration date of a work permit, decision for an extension one year after was not made on time (granting a residence for Combined permit, work permit was positive). Municipality issued me Bijlage 49, I was not allowed to work and that document covered a residence right only during wait for a full procedure to be completed. After a few days, I received Bijlage 46 that allowed me to start working again, and received an appointment to get a new Residence Card.
Is my legal residence interrupted in this case, and is period before this problem also counted for a process of obtaining a long term residence status in Belgium?
Thank you in advance for your feedback
