Throughout the world, there are common law relationships that are recorded by a public authority but do not have the same effects as marriage. In Belgium, these are known as ‘legal cohabitation’.

As of 1 April 2017, Article 328(3) of the Belgian Civil Code explicitly provides that the recognition of a child conceived by the unmarried parent can take place at any time during the pregnancy on the basis of a medical certificate issued by a doctor or a midwife (law of 20 February 2017, Belgian official journal 22 March 2017).

The most important legislative changes in Belgium in the past year are the following :

1.1 Financial contribution for most of the residence or visa applications
As of March 2nd, 2015, the processing of some visa D applications and some residence applications require payment of a contribution either €215 (usual amount), € 160 (student and family reunification), or € 60 (long-term residents and certain family members).

Altea is the winner of the 2014 Corporate Intl Magazine Global Award :

‘Immigration Law Firm of the Year in Belgium’