Who can join you and under what conditions?
Five categories of persons may join you in Belgium:
Family members who do not fall within one of those categories but belong to your family and want to join you in Belgium, can possibly apply for a temporary residence permit based on articles 9 and 13 of the Law of 15 December 1980 (humanitarian visa).
If you are married or if your partnership is “equivalent to marriage”, your spouse/partner can join you in Belgium on the following conditions (art. 10 § 1, 4°):
- Both of you must be over 21 years of age. If your union took place before your arrival in Belgium, this minimum age is reduced to 18 years.
- Your spouse must come and live under the same roof as you.
In case of a religious or traditional marriage, you can submit the application as a standard family reunification application (Article 10).
If the marriage in the country of origin is recognized as an official marriage, the unit 'visa family reunification' of the Immigration Office will issue a regular visa for family reunification (Article 10). If this isn't the case, the Family Reunification unit can issue the visa in the form of a temporary residence permit based on Articles 9 and 13 (humanitarian visa). The issuance on the basis of article 9 is often subject to additional conditions at the moment of renewal of the residence right once in Belgium (for example: proof of studies or work, one cannot be a financial burden on the public authorities, proof of integration efforts).
Polygamy
Polygamous marriage is not recognized in Belgium. If you have several wives, only one of them can join you (Article 10).
This limitation does not apply, however, to the children from a polygamous marriage (decision 95/2008 of the Constitutional Court). Those children can join you in Belgium as long as they meet the general conditions.
If you are not married, your registered partner can join you in Belgium on the following conditions (art. 10 § 1, 5°):
- Your partnership must be legally registered. This means that you must provide proof that you have made an official declaration of legal cohabitation at a Belgian municipal administration or at the competent foreign authority.
- Both of you must be over 21 years of age. If you provide proof that you have lived together for at least 1 year before your arrival in Belgium, this minimum age is reduced to 18 years.
- Your relationship must be “stable and lasting”. This means that you must provide the following evidence:
- or you lived together legally and uninterruptedly in Belgium or abroad for at least 1 year before applying for family reunification.
- or you have known each other for at least 2 years and you can provide two proofs:
- you had regular contact by telephone, regular or electronic mail (e.g. email, photos, etc.);
- you met at least 3 times during the 2 years preceding the application for family reunification and that these meetings lasted at least 45 days (plane tickets, etc.).
- or you have a common child.
- Your partner must come and live under the same roof as you.
- Both of you must be unmarried and not be in a lasting relationship with another person.
Registered partner
Your partner can only join you in Belgium via family reunification if your partnership is officially registered. The law distinguishes two types of registered partnerships: a partnership considered to be “equivalent to marriage” and a “legally registered partnership”. If your partnership was registered in one of the following countries, this partnership is “equivalent to marriage”: Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom (art. 12 of the Royal Decree of 17 May 2007).
It does not concern your de facto companion. In practice, few refugees have registered their partnership, since only a few countries allow this.
Your de facto companion will only be able to join you with a visa in view of marriage or through a legal cohabitation. Another option still is to marry in a third country. In all of these cases complementary requirements need to be fulfilled. Under certain specific circumstances a temporary residence permit can be issued on the basis of articles 9 and 13 (humanitarian visa).
Children born to you and your spouse/partner, as well as the children you or your spouse/partner may have had separately, may join you in Belgium on certain conditions (Article 10).
Children born to the couple
They must meet the following conditions:
- be under 18 years of age;
- be unmarried;
- come and live with you under the same roof.
Children of only one of the spouses/partners
If you or your spouse/partner has sole custody and responsibility of the children, the children must:
- be under 18 years of age;
- be unmarried;
- come and live with you under the same roof;
- provide a copy of the judgment granting you sole custody.
If custody of the children is shared with the other parent, the children must:
- be under 18 years of age;
- be unmarried;
- come and live with you under the same roof;
- provide the consent of the other parent that the children can join you in Belgium.
If the embassy or the Immigration Of ce has doubts about the children’s age, they may ask for a bone test to be done in order to determine their age. The bone test is not strictly regulated or monitored. The results of the bone test are left to the interpretation of the physician abroad who has been asked to perform the test.
If you or your spouse/partner has a child aged 18 or over with a disability (child born to the couple or not), he or she may join you in Belgium on the following conditions (art. 10 § 1, 6°):
- provide a document certifying the child’s state of health. This certificate must be issued by a physician certified by the competent Belgian diplomatic or consular post. This certificate proofs that the child is unable to provide for his/ her own needs as a result of the disability;
- be unmarried;
- come and live with you under the same roof.
Other children aged 18 or over
Only your children aged 18 or over with a disability are eligible for family reunification. Your other children aged 18 or over cannot join you in Belgium via a family reunification procedure. In certain specific circumstances, they may be able to join you based on a temporary residence permit (art. 9 and 13 - humanitarian visa).
If you are an unaccompanied minor with refugee or subsidiary protection status, your parents can join you in Belgium via family reunification, on condition that the unaccompanied minor is under 18 years of age when the application for family reunification is made, entered the Kingdom of Belgium without being accompanied by an adult foreigner responsible for him/her by law and has not subsequently been taken into the care of such a person or has been left alone after having entered the Kingdom (art. 10 § 1, 7°).
Your parents needs to apply before your 18th birthday. However, when you reach the age of 18 during the asylum procedure, your parents can still submit the application within 3 months after international protection was granted. When your 18th birthday took place after international protection was granted, the Immigration Office strictly applies the rule that the application should be introduced before the 18th birthday. (Following the EU Court of Justice judgement C-550/16)
Your brothers and sisters are unable to join you on the basis of Article 10 of the Law of 15 December 1980. They can only apply for a humanitarian visa (art. 9 and 13). However, if the humanitarian application of the minor brothers and sisters was introduced together with the application of family reunification of the parents, the diplomatic post will send the applications to the Family Reunification unit of the Immigration Office. This unit can issue the visa when the visa for the parents is approved, and this without further special circumstances need to be proven.
The principle of the best interests of the child
The principle of the best interests of the child is enshrined in the Belgian Constitution (Art. 22bis) as well as in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 3). This means that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration in any decision concerning children.
This principle also applies to every decision of family reunification involving minor children (art. 12bis § 7). The principle can also be applied in the framework of a humanitarian visa. This exception may apply, for instance, to the child’s brothers and sisters, legal guardian or other members of his/her family. For example, if it seems that it is in the best interests of the child to be joined in Belgium by persons other than those authorized by the law. This may apply, for instance, to child's brothers and sisters, legal guardian or other members of the family of the child. This is for instance also possible for a de facto adopted child who stayed behind in the country of origin.
Other family members
Other members of your family (children aged 18 or over, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, de facto partners, de facto adopted children, etc.) cannot join you in Belgium by means of family reunification. In certain circumstances, they can be issued for a permit to reside in Belgium on humanitarian grounds (art. 9 and 13).
Humanitarian visa (long stay)
Unlike family reunification, a humanitarian visa is not a right. It is a favour granted by the Belgian authorities to a family member that wants to join you in Belgium but does not fall within the definition of “family” given by article 10 of the Law of 15 December 1980.
The Law of 15 December 1980 and particularly Articles 9 and 13 do not provide requirements that have to be met in order to obtain a humanitarian visa. The decision is left to the discretionary power of the Immigration Office. The Immigration Office will examine on an individual basis whether the circumstances, which are adequately proven, justify an authorization to reside in Belgium for your family member or not.
The Immigration Office has to take a decision in accordance with the fundamental rights such as the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights) and the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights) and in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child.
In addition to the authentic documents also to be submitted at the Belgian diplomatic post for an application for family reunification (see further), you will have to provide evidence of all the elements that could justify the granting of a humanitarian visa.
In practice, for instance, it is important to prove that your family member in a precarious situation, is dependent on you and that you will be able to maintain your family member. (It is important to prove emotional and psychological dependence, as well as financial dependence. In practice, the Immigration Office finds this last element very important. Consequently, it is useful to provide evidence of money transfers to the family member, of the fact that your family member does not have proper means of subsistence and of your own means of subsistence in Belgium.)
Furthermore, it is important to prove that no other family member can look after the family member concerned, who finds himself/ herself thus in an isolated situation.
Finally, to support the humanitarian arguments, it is useful to provide - if possible - a report of an organization (such as UNHCR or ICRC) in order to prove the living conditions and future perspectives of your family member in the country of residence or to assess the best interests of the child.
The “long stay” unit of the Immigration Of ce assesses these applications (contrary to the family reuni cation unit that handles the normal applications for family reuni cation).
To ensure that the proper unit receives your le, you need to indicate on the visa form that it concerns an application for a humanitarian visa.
The Law does not oblige the Immigration Office to take a decision within a certain time frame.
The examination period can take a year or more.
In practice, a humanitarian visa is only granted in exceptional cases. It is recommended to contact your lawyer or social worker for advice concerning the chances of obtaining a humanitarian visa and for support for an eventual application.