Obtaining citizenship in Belgium
Foreign individuals can
obtain citizenship in Belgium legally or voluntarily. Entrepreneurs, individuals who are already working in the country or
investors in Belgium can
acquire Belgian citizenship if they are considered eligible and if they follow certain steps.
Foreign nationals who have been living in the country for the minimum number of years, and who also comply with the other requirements for becoming Belgian citizens, can reach out to out team for assistance if they wish to apply for this status in 2023.
Acquiring Belgian nationality
When an individual aged over 18 submits a voluntary application to obtain Belgian nationality it is considered that the respective individual wishes to acquire Belgian nationality.
This can be accomplished in one of two ways:
- by nationality declarations;
- through naturalization.
Individuals who have their main residence in Belgium are entitled to submit an application for obtaining Belgian nationality. These individuals must be registered with the population register.
Regardless of the manner in which a person submits the application for obtaining citizenship in Belgium in 2023, this step does not automatically guarantee that he or she will be granted citizenship. There are several factors which are taken into consideration and the individual must submit a complete set of required documents together with the application.
The procedure for obtaining citizenship in Belgium
The documents that need to be submitted together with the application for obtaining Belgian nationality depend on the current country in which the individual lives. If the main place of residence is also in Belgium, then the individual needs to contact the local registrar in the municipality where the residence is located. Those who live abroad and are applying for Belgian nationality must address the Belgian consular offices in the respective country.
In most cases the documents will need to be legalized. Documents in Dutch, French or German are accepted and those that are not originally in one of these languages must be translated. All documents must be presented in original form or in a certified copy.
As far as statistical data on citizenship applications is concerned, StatBel, the country’s statistical institute, reveals that in December 2022 a total of 3,595 persons had obtained Belgian nationality. Most of the applicants were from Morocco, Syria, Romania, Afghanistan, and Turkey.
On January 1st, 2022, the legal population in Belgium amounted to 11,584,008 inhabitants. On a year-on-year basis, the population growth between 2021 and 2022 was 0.54% (or 62.770 inhabitants).
Belgium is a very attractive country for investments because of its business friendly policies, multiculturalism and no restrictions on dual citizenship.
