Organization : Belgian Federal Government
Type of Facility : Residence Documents For Belgium
Country: Belgium
Website : http://www.belgium.be/en/family/residence_documents_for_belgium/
Residence Documents For Belgium :
To come to Belgium as a foreigner you must be able to present certain identity and residence documents. Otherwise, you will be unable to gain access to Belgian territory.
Related : Belgian Federal Government Information & Services Naturalisation Procedure : www.statusin.org/8414.html
For EU citizens, the identity card or a passport is generally sufficient. Foreigners with another nationality may need a visa. To come to Belgium for a long period or permanently, there are other types of residence status.
The documents needed will depend on:
** the nationality of the person who wants to come to Belgium
** the length of the stay in Belgium
** the purpose of the stay in Belgium
What is a visa?:
A visa is a sticker which is put in your passport at the consulate. It allows you to stay in Belgium for a given period, or to travel through it. The issue of visas is the responsibility of the FPS Foreign Affairs.
There are different sorts of visa. When you apply at the embassy or consulate you will be told directly which kind of visa you need.
Visa application:
You must apply for a visa at the Belgian Embassy or the consulate in the country where you live.
If there is no Belgian embassy or consulate in the country where you live, you must apply to the Belgian Embassy which had been appointed for your country. This is usually in a neighbouring country.
In some cases, the visa application procedure may take a long time. You are advised to make your application at least four weeks before you plan to travel.
All the information about visas for Belgium can be found on the web site of the FPS Foreign Affairs. You can also always ask for information at the local Belgian embassy or consulate.
Other types of residence status:
If you want to stay for a very long period or permanently in Belgium, you will need another residence document after your visa has expired.
These residence documents are the responsibility of the FPS Home Affairs, Department of Federal Immigration in French or Dutch.
Social Security in Belgium :
** Belgium has a very extensive social security system. Foreigners also are entitled to certain allowances and to social services.
** The benefits which you may enjoy as a foreigner are strictly dependent on the conditions under which you are resident on Belgian soil.
** If you are planning to live, work or study in Belgium, your social security entitlements (such as family allowance, pensions, reimbursement of medical costs and work incapacity allowance) depend on agreements, if any, signed between Belgium and your country as well as on European legislation. Entitlements also depend on your personal situation and vary according to your nationality and employment status (salaried worker, self-employed, on secondment, retired, etc.).
** You can use Coming2belgium (link is external), a special online tool developed by the social security institutions, to find out what you are entitled to under the Belgian social security system.
** See your entitlements under the Belgian social security system (link is external)
** More information on international agreements between Belgium and other countries (link is external)
Social security :
** The Belgian social security system is based on the payment of social contributions on your income from work. These social contributions serve to finance the social security system.
** Each month the employer pays a considerable amount on top of your salary into the social security fund. The employee also pays a proportion of his gross salary in social security contributions.
This fund is then used to pay social security :
** allowances in the event of sickness
** unemployment benefits
** allowances in the event of incapacity for work through sickness or invalidity
** allowances in the event of accidents at work
** allowances in the event of industrial disease
** family allowances
** pensions
** The self employed can also claim social security. The self employed therefore pay a social contribution. This contribution is a lower percentage than the joint contribution of employers and employees, but gives fewer rights. However, the self employed may pay extra voluntary contributions which give them additional rights in certain cases. At the beginning, the self-employed pay “provisional contributions”.
** For civil servants there are a number of rules which differ from those for employees and the self employed. Employees who work under contract for a government department may claim social security for employees.
** There are also supplementary support systems. These supplementary support systems are not paid on the basis of contributions made, but are financed with government resources.
** To receive these forms of support you must meet strict legal conditions. As a rule these forms of support are dependent on your available income. Foreigners cannot always claim Social Security and support to the same extent as Belgians.
The supplementary support systems are :
** income support
** the income guarantee for the elderly
** the guaranteed family allowance
** payments for people with a handicap
** payments for help to the elderly
For more information about these residence documents, it is best to contact:
Department of Federal Immigration
Chaussée d’Anvers 59B
1000 Brussels
Tel: 02 206 15 99
Fax: 02 274 66 91
E-mail: helpdesk.dvzoe AT dofi.fgov.be