Spouse or Equivalent Partner of a Third-Country Resident

his/her spouse ;

the foreign national with whom a registered partnership has been established that is considered equivalent to marriage in Belgium (assimilated partner);

This page provides information on the general conditions for family reunification with a third country national admitted or authorized to stay in Belgium for a limited or unlimited period., and on the documents to be presented by the foreign national's family members who wish to accompany or join him or her in Belgium to live as a family.

Third country national means any foreign national who is not a national of any of the Member States of the European Union or the Schengen area, nor of a country associated with the European Union (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Switzerland).

Certain family members of a third-country national legally residing in Belgium may benefit from special conditions due to the situation of the sponsor in Belgium.

a foreign national to whom Belgium has granted international protection (refugee status or temporary protection)

a foreign national authorised to reside in Belgium for medical reasons (article 9ter of the Law)

a foreign national who has obtained long-term resident status in another European Union State.

The applicant must be married to the sponsor or have entered into a partnership in Germany, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden or the United Kingdom.

→ Submit valid proof of marriage and, if marriage by proxy, a copy of the power of attorney. If the applicant or the sponsor has remarried, submit proof of the dissolution of the previous marriage, or proof of the death of the spouse; or

→ Submit valid proof of partnership considered equivalent to marriage in Belgium. If it is a new relationship, they must submit proof of the dissolution of the previous relationship (divorce certificate, spouse's death certificate, etc.).

The applicant is not entitled to family reunification when another spouse of the sponsor already resides in Belgium.

The applicant and the sponsor must be over 21 years of age. This minimum age is reduced to 18 years if the spouses prove that the marriage existed before the arrival of the sponsor in Belgium.

→ Submit the birth certificate of the applicant and the sponsor, or any other document that validly proves their age.

The Immigration Office may have doubts regarding the real intention of the applicant and/or the sponsor to create a long-term life together. In this case, the applicant and/or the sponsor may be invited for an interview and the opinion of the public prosecutor's office may be sought.

If the investigation shows that the marriage is for the purpose of obtaining a residence benefit (e.g. a residence permit), the Immigration Office will likely deny the request for family reunification.

The sponsor must have stable, regular and sufficient means of subsistence to meet their own needs and those of their family members and to avoid becoming a burden on the public authorities.

The sponsor must have adequate housing to accommodate the family member(s) who have asked to join them, and which meets the conditions imposed upon property rented out as a main residence, as stipulated in Article 2 of Book III, Title VIII, Chapter II, Section 2 of the Civil Code.

The sponsor must have health insurance that covers the risks in Belgium for themselves and their family members.

- H card (European Blue Card): The applicant's personal income is taken into account when assessing the means of subsistence of a sponsor who has an H card, if the family unit already existed in another European Union state.

- H card (European Blue Card) : If the family unit already existed in another state of the European Union, the sponsor who has an H card does not have to prove they have adequate housing.

- Long-term resident status: For the assessment of the means of subsistence of a sponsor who has obtained long-term resident status in another state of the European Union, the applicant's personal income is taken into account if the applicant presents a "EU long-term resident" residence permit or a residence permit issued by the state that granted long-term resident status to the sponsor, as well as proof of residence as a family member of the sponsor in this state.

[Article 10 or 10bis of the Act of 15 December 1980]

The right to family reunification must be recognised if the aforementioned family members prove with documents that the conditions for family reunification have been met.

Waiting period for the sponsor who has a B, C, D, F or F+, K, L card:

If the sponsor is admitted or authorised to stay in Belgium for an unlimited period of time, or is authorised to settle there, he can only be joined after 12 months. For the calculation of this waiting period, the period during which the sponsor has resided in Belgium for a limited period of time is taken into account.

There is no waiting period in the following situations: (a) The marriage or partnership existed before the sponsor's arrival in Belgium, (b) The partners have a mutual child, and (c) The sponsor is authorised to stay in Belgium as a beneficiary of international protection.

The waiting period is not imposed on the sponsor residing in Belgium for a limited duration (A or H card).

The applicant must provide a medical certificate proving that they are not affected by any of the diseases listed in the annex to the Act of 15 December 1980, which may pose a danger to public health.

The applicant must provide an extract from the criminal record or an equivalent document.

The applicant must come to live with the sponsor.

The Immigration Office may have doubts regarding the real intention of the applicant and/or the sponsor to create a long-term life together. In this case, the applicant and/or the sponsor may be invited for an interview and the opinion of the public prosecutor's office may be sought.

If the investigation shows that the marriage is for the purpose of obtaining a residence benefit (e.g. a residence permit), the Immigration Office will likely deny the request for family reunification. These checks will also affect the examination period for the application for family reunification.