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Start Date for Counting:

Your Annex 15 issue date marks the official start of your 5-year residency count — not your actual physical arrival in Belgium nor your first A-card.

1. Why do many city halls use the A-card date?

Many city halls in Belgium calculate the 5-year period for an L card (long-term resident card) starting from the date your first A card was issued. This is likely because they follow the same logic applied to the B card, which is explained clearly on the under "Verblijfsrecht onbeperkte duur (B kaart)".

For example, for arbeidsmigranten (economic migrants) under national law

De periode van vijf jaar begint te lopen vanaf de afgifte van de eerste verblijfskaart (bijv. A kaart). Volgens DVZ gaat het in dit geval niet om een recht op een B kaart na 5 jaar, maar om een gebonden bevoegdheid om in het kader van een verlengingsaanvraag na meer dan 5 jaar een B kaart af te leveren. Daardoor kan het in in dit geval in de praktijk meer dan vijf jaar kan duren voordat je een B kaart krijgt.

However, this logic does NOT or should not apply to the EU Long-Term Residence (L card), which is based on EU Directive 2003/109/EC — a completely different legal framework.

If you want to argue it with your city hall, please see my comment #12 for detail explanation. Good luck with the Belgian bureaucracy!

Student Status = Half Time

If you were under student status (even if you were a paid PhD researcher), your residency only counts as 50% of that period.

Example:

1 years 28 days as a student = 0.5 years and 14 days counted towards PR.

Search Year (Zoekjaar) = Full Time

But

Time before your zoekjaar is officially approved = still student status (you probably held an annex15)  → counts 50%

Time after approval date = now officially on zoekjaar → counts 100%

Only when your search year permit is officially approved and you are no longer under student status, that time counts fully (100%). However, most people don’t know the exact approval date of their search year. Your A-card issue date is not the approval date — there’s usually a delay of several weeks between when the search year is approved and when you receive your card. Ask your gemeente (city hall) for the official approval date of your zoekjaar — that's the date when 100% counting really begins.

Can I apply for a L-card during mt search year?

Yes!!! You can apply for the L card during your search year if you meet all other legal requirements, and DVZ should not refuse the application solely because the person is on a search year permit.  However, if you do not have a permanent job, or if your job is considered not "stable" enough, your application can be refused

To know more, please check or

5 Years are 1825 or 1826 Days?

Under EU Directive 2003/109/EC, it’s 5 continuous years of legal residence — not 5x365 exactly. Most city halls (and DVZ) accept 1825 days but in leap years, 5 years can equal 1826 calendar days.

So it would be better to aim for 5 full calendar years from your start date (e.g., 01/11/2021 to 01/11/2026).