whereTOemigrate
Get your free results
BE country scene

Recognised Refugee Status

BelgiumHumanitarian protection

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

Official link

Explore pathways in Belgium Read the five questions ↓

What exactly is this: asylum, temporary protection, humanitarian admission, resettlement or another protection mechanism?

This is international-protection recognition as a refugee, granted by the CGRS or CALL. This route concerns the steps after the grant; it is not an ordinary visa or the initial asylum application.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The source describes the consequences after refugee recognition; it does not define the legal test or distinguish all stages of the initial international-protection process.

Which population, circumstances or geographic group does the mechanism cover?

This route covers a person after the CGRS or CALL has granted refugee status. The official source does not state the eligibility test, grounds for recognition or every population covered by the initial procedure.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Eligibility grounds, evidence standards, exclusions and procedural safeguards must be taken from current CGRS/CALL procedure sources; no eligibility conclusion is made here.
  • Recognised refugee status
    After the CGRS or the CALL grants refugee status, the person concerned receives a refugee certificate.

Where can protection be requested, and is this a direct application, border/in-country request, referral or other process?

After grant, the person receives a refugee certificate and applies to the municipality of their main residence to update the national register and obtain an A card. After five years from filing the international-protection application that led to recognition, the person may in principle be admitted to unlimited stay and may apply to the municipality for a B card, subject to Immigration Office instruction.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The page does not state all card-renewal, work, family or withdrawal rules; unlimited stay is described as 'in principle' and requires a B-card application/instruction.
  • Recognised refugee status
    After the CGRS or the CALL grants refugee status, the person concerned receives a refugee certificate.
  • Recognised refugee status
    The person concerned must then apply to the municipality of their main residence to amend the national register on the basis of this certificate and issue them with an A card (limited stay) valid for 5 years.
  • Recognised refugee status
    After a period of 5 years from the lodging of the application for international protection which gave rise to the granting of refugee status, the recognised refugee is in principle admitted to stay for an unlimited period.
  • Recognised refugee status
    For this purpose, an application for a B card (unlimited stay) must be submitted to the municipality of the main residence.
  • Recognised refugee status
    The issuance of a B card always requires prior instruction from the Immigration Office.

What happens after the request: registration, family handling, major support and rights where officially stated?

For a child born outside Belgium, the recognised refugee goes with the child to the Immigration Office registration centre to submit an international-protection application for the child and bring relevant documents. For a child born in Belgium, the birth is registered with the municipality and the child receives residence on a family-reunification basis. Travel requires the necessary identity/travel documents; travel to the country of origin may affect protection status, and an intended return during limited stay must be reported to the municipality.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The family detail is limited to the described minor-child scenarios and does not establish all family-member rights or support during a pending case.

Which competent authority, UN body or official assistance channel should the person use?

The CGRS/CALL are the status-granting bodies; the municipality of main residence handles the refugee's residence-card steps, and the Immigration Office registration centre handles the described child case. The official source does not give a general adult caseworker or scam-report channel or initial-application contact details.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The listed child-registration contacts are not presented as a general adult asylum helpline, legal-aid service or fraud channel.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

Explore more pathways in Belgium · All pathways

Your story.
Your next step.

Explore pathways in Belgium →