GET YOUR RESIDENCE PERMIT IN BELGIUM
BY MARRIAGE OR COHABITATION
Minefield...
beware of the pitfalls !
A fundamental right
Belgium cannot legally prevent you from marrying or living freely as a couple with the person of your choice. This right is guaranteed by article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights : "Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and to found a family, according to the national laws governing the exercise of this right.
A framed right
However, given that your choice entails the obligation for Belgium to grant a residence permit to any foreign spouse or partner, restrictive measures have been taken to protect the country against an imaginary "great replacement" of "real Belgians" by hordes of "dangerous foreign invaders" who want to impose their habits and practices at all costs, particularly the religious ones.
Violation of privacy
If the member of your couple established in Belgium is Belgian or non-European, you have only 2 options :
marriage or legal cohabitation, two procedures that entail a police investigation of several months - a real interference in your private life - in order to detect possible "white marriages" or unions of convenience, whose only purpose would be to obtain a residence permit in Belgium.
Getting around the system
On the other hand, if the member of your couple established in Belgium is European but not Belgian - having made use of his or her right of free movement within the European Union - then a third option is offered to you, which allows you to obtain immediately your first residence permit and to avoid the police investigation : a residence permit on the ground of a lasting relationship which - unlike marriage and legal cohabitation - does not require any formalization by the Civil Registrar.
In practice, most municipal administrations do not really respect the procedure and deadlines imposed by the law and have an unwelcoming behavior - even definitely racist - with regard to most foreigners, especially if they do not have a residence permit.
The risk is therefore great :
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to collect an order to leave the country with the possibility of jailing in a closed center to ensure your forced repatriation ;
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to being banned from returning to any Schengen country for several years. In short, your life as a couple will be destroyed.
Examples of recurring problems
that we have to solve for our clients
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refusal to consider requests
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lack of acknowledgment of receipt of documents
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abusive extension of procedural deadlines
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notification of orders to leave the country
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imprisonment for forced repatriation
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intimidation attempts during the investigation
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absence of hearing report of the investigation
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unauthorized home visits
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unwarranted threats of criminal prosecution
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refusal to celebrate the marriage
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refusal to register the legal cohabitation
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contestation of residence for lasting relationship
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etc...
If you are planning to obtain a residence permit in Belgium on the basis of your relationship as a couple, whether it is a marriage, a legal cohabitation or a simple lasting relationship, we can support you all along your journey so as to avoid any risk of deportation and to protect you effectively against the abuses committed by the vast majority of the municipal administrations.
