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Administrative change for family reunion with EU (F card)

AlexFromBelgium

Prior to the 22th of May 2023, the foreigner's office had 6 months to reach a decision on applications for family reunification with an EU.

Without any answer from their part, the F card would be automatically granted by the commune (article 52, 禮 4, paragraph 2, of the Royal Decree of October 8, 1981 on access to the territory, residence, settlement and removal of foreigners)


But this not the case anymore!

As of the 22th May 2023, the commune will no longer automatically grant your F card, if no decision is taken by the foreigner's office within the 6-month period!


The foreigner's office MUST give their approval and verify if all the conditions are met (salary, mutual insurance, insurances, ...).

==> Court of Justice of the European Union (Diallo ruling of the 27th June, 2018 (C-246/17), as well as the recent case law of the Conseil d'tat (ruling no. 255.275 of the 15th December 15, 2022)


In resume, you'll go 6 months after the annex 19ter like usually, to know if the decision has been taken by the foreigner's office or if you need to extend your Orange card!

See also

Work permit in BelgiumThe Working Holiday Visa for BelgiumVisas for BelgiumFamily reunificationBelgium increases nationality fee starting July 2025
ARMaliq

Is it also the case for other cards which obligates the immigration to take a decision between a given time i.e. L card? Because I have read some posts where the commune is asking to wait even if the timeline of 5 months and 1 day is already reached.

Clouderzzz

@alexfrombelgium As far as I know there is no demand of insurance and salary for a family reunification with an EU citizen. Salary and insurance is a condition for reunification with Belgian and non-EU citizens. For a family reunification with an EU citizen, normally it is sufficent that the EU citizen has a job and is registered with the commune.


Thats not good news :( i have applied for a family reunificiation with an EU citizen and i have an orange card until end of july. Now i feel like my process will take a longer time than it supposed to be.



I have question : If i have applied before the administrative change, my file is till effected by that ?

AlexFromBelgium

There's indeed a slight difference in the documents to submit depending if the partner is Belgian or EU (non-Belgian). These conditions doesn't change :cheers:


It's possible that you'll need to extend the validity of your orange card.

Immigration didn't state anything about the potential delay. We just know that as partner of an EU/Belgian, the request is considered as high priority on their side.



Yes, as the commune can't give the F card anymore without the approval of immigration (since the 22th May 2023)

Nuri E.

Hello! Thank you for the information. Could you kindly direct me to the official website where I can read about these recent updates? I have also applied for family reunification with an EU citizen, and I'm feeling a bit confused. Is it necessary to submit additional documentation, such as salary details and mutual insurance? Has anyone ever been contacted by the Immigration office to provide these documents? Also, I am curious to know what the longest waiting period is to obtain an F card. If anyone could share their experience, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

ARMaliq

@Nuri E.

Hey, So how did it go? Did you get your F card within six months or did immigration take more time?