By Me Céline Verbrouck, attorney specializing in immigration and nationality law – ALTEA Law Firm
Children born abroad to a Belgian parent only acquire Belgian nationality at birth if that parent makes a declaration of attribution of Belgian nationality at the competent diplomatic or consular post within five years following the child’s birth.
Once this five-year period has passed, the law generally provides no possibility of recovery: Belgian nationality can no longer be attributed.
However, recent case law has fortunately softened this strict rule.
In a judgment dated 8 October 2025 (unpublished, RG 25/441/B), the Brussels Family Court (16th Chamber) once again recognized that the five-year period set out in Article 8, §1, 2°, b) of the Belgian Nationality Code may be extended in cases of force majeure.
In this case, the force majeure resulted from a consular impasse and the need to complete various administrative and legal procedures prior to the declaration.
The case involved a Belgian father living in Senegal, whose daughter was born in Dakar. From the moment of her birth, he wished to attribute Belgian nationality to her.
However, the Belgian Embassy in Dakar refused to recognize his own Senegalese birth certificate, preventing him from obtaining a Belgian passport and, consequently, from making the declaration of attribution within the legal time limit.
He had to initiate judicial proceedings in Senegal to have his birth certificate recognized as valid. Only after obtaining a favourable judgment and his Belgian passport was he able to undertake the necessary steps for his daughter—but by then, the five-year period had already expired.
Finding that the applicant had been prevented from acting due to circumstances beyond his control, the court recognized a case of force majeure and granted him a new six-month period to file the declaration of attribution of nationality on behalf of his daughter.
This decision once again demonstrates the Belgian judiciary’s willingness to interpret the law in a humane and proportionate manner.
The court recalled that the five-year period is a forfeiture deadline, but one that may be extended in cases of force majeure—especially when the administration itself is the source of the obstruction.
Such interpretations, aligned with the best interests of the child (Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 22bis of the Belgian Constitution), allow the rule to be viewed through the lens of fundamental human rights.
Nationality is not a mere administrative formality—it is an essential component of identity and family continuity. Any restriction on this fundamental right must therefore remain proportionate.
Belgian judges continue to show, through their case law, a clear commitment to ensuring that nationality law remains fair and respectful of children’s rights.
Céline Verbrouck
Attorney at the Brussels Bar
Specialized in Immigration Law, Nationality Law, and International Family Law
www.altea.be
+32 2 894 45 70