Transmission of the family name has long been perceived as the indisputable legacy of the father. The Belgian Civil Code thus restricted the choices as to transmission of the surname, making transmission of the father's name the rule, and transmission of the mother's name the exception (mainly when there was no legal father). In response to modern society's quest for better gender equality and greater international mobility in regard to the transmission of names, people's rights to naming children have evolved.

The loss of Belgian citizenship often feels like a real injustice, with former Belgians feeling dispossessed of part of their identity. These former Belgians can try to get their nationality back via the recovery procedure. However, the impact of such a procedure is limited since it only applies to the individual person and, for the moment, does not have an automatic retroactive effect, which can have significant consequences, especially for the nationality of any children.

Before the reforms of the Belgian Nationality Code in 2000 and 2012, obtaining nationality included a morality and personality investigation. These investigations, conducted by police officers, intended to assess the integration of candidates for Belgian nationality. Among the criteria assessed were language proficiency, participation in social life, but also more personal, sometimes intrusive aspects, including questions about knowledge of traditional Belgian dishes. These investigations, perceived as disconnected from genuine integration efforts, were widely criticized for their excessive and inappropriate subjective nature.

The European Union is soon set to implement two new border control systems, ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) and EES (Entry/Exit System), aimed at enhancing security and simplifying border checks.

Obtaining long-term resident status in Belgium is possible under certain cumulative conditions: the applicant must be a national of a non-EU country, have stable, sufficient, and regular resources, be covered by health insurance, not be a threat to public order or national security, and provide proof of five years of legal and uninterrupted residence in Belgium.

1. Country overview

The year 2022 was marked by the asylum reception crisis. For months, the Belgian government has been failing to comply with its legal obligations regarding the reception of asylum-seekers.

Sign the petition: https://dekamer.mijnopinie.belgium.be/initiatives/839

As a rule, reacquisition of Belgian citizenship is required to be done on Belgian soil, after one year of residence in Belgium and provided that one has an unlimited residence permit in Belgium at the time of their application (Article 24 of the Belgian Nationality Code).

Protocol No. 15 to the European Convention on Human Rights came into force on 1 August 2021 once it had been signed and ratified by the 47 member States of the Council of Europe. The main changes brought about by this Protocol consist in the additions to the Convention of express references to the principle of subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation doctrine.

British citizens who “exercised their right to reside” in Belgium before January 1, 2021, and “continued to reside thereafter”, can apply until December 31, 2021, for the status of beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement (art. 47/5, §3 from the law of December 15, 1980, on the access to the territory, stay, establishments and return of the foreigners, and art. 69undecies, 1° from the royal decree of October 8, 1981, on the access to the territory, stay, establishments and return of the foreigners).

The Code of Belgian Nationality provides that a child born abroad to a Belgian parent who is him or herself born abroad, is Belgian if the Belgian parent makes an ‘award declaration’ (déclaration d'attribution/toekenningsverklaring) claiming Belgian nationality on behalf of the child (Article 8, (1) (2)) within 5 years of its birth.