Residence permit for the family members of a Belgian citizen

Route status

Active as of 2026-08-13^[3]

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Residency route facts

Identity

Identity
Official name (local)	Gezinshereniging met een Belg / Regroupement familial avec un Belge as of 2026-06-24^[1]
Official name (English)	Residence permit for the family members of a Belgian citizen as of 2026-08-13^[2] The Immigration Office's own wording on the fee schedule for art. 40ter applications.
Legal basis	Loi du 15 decembre 1980, art. 40ter, read with art. 40bis, para 2 and art. 42 as of 2026-06-24^[1] Art. 40ter splits in two. Para 1 covers the family of a Belgian who has exercised free movement – effective residence in another member state, family life developed or consolidated there – and applies the Union-citizen regime of Chapter I to them, with no national means test. Para 2 covers the family of a Belgian who has not, and imposes the national conditions recorded here. The distinction is the whole of the route: the same relationship faces very different conditions depending on which limb it falls in.
Instrument type	residence card as of 2026-08-13^[3] An F card is issued to a third-country family member of a Belgian or a Union citizen; the Immigration Office lists cards A, B, C/K, D/L, F, F+, H, M and M+ across its residence statuses.

Who can apply

Who can apply
Nationals not served by this route	Not established from a qualifying source as of 2026-06-24^[1] None: the route is defined by the sponsor's Belgian nationality, not by the applicant's. A Union-citizen family member of a Belgian would ordinarily rely on free movement instead, but nothing in art. 40ter excludes them.
Minimum age	21 as of 2026-06-24^[1] By reference to art. 40bis, para 2, al. 1, 1 and 2: the spouse or registered partner and the sponsor must both be over 21, reduced to 18 where at least one year's prior cohabitation is proved.
Criminal-record condition	Not established from a qualifying source

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial duration	Not established from a qualifying source
Renewable	Yes as of 2026-08-13^[3]
Work rights	Not established from a qualifying source

Permanent residence and citizenship

Permanent residence and citizenship
Counts toward permanent residence	Yes as of 2026-08-13^[3] The Immigration Office states that after a certain period the family member can apply for settlement or permanent residence.

Requirements

Requirements
Who can sponsor	citizen as of 2026-06-24^[1]
Eligible relations	spouse, registered partner, minor child, adult dependent child, parent as of 2026-06-24^[1] Art. 40ter, para 2: the spouse and the registered partner as defined in art. 40bis, para 2, al. 1, 1 and 2; direct descendants of the Belgian or of the spouse or registered partner who are under 18 or dependent in the country of origin; and first-degree direct ascendants exercising parental authority including custody over a minor Belgian, where they accompany or join the minor and actually care for him. The parent limb is narrow – it exists for the parent of a Belgian child, not for the parent of an adult Belgian.
Sponsor income requirement	1.10 × guaranteed average minimum monthly income per month as of 2026-06-24^[1]^[4]
Sponsor accommodation requirement	Yes as of 2026-06-24^[1] Art. 40ter, para 2, al. 2, 2: sufficient housing considered normal for a family of comparable size and meeting the legal safety and health criteria.
Sponsor waiting period	0 months as of 2026-06-24^[1]
Pre-entry language test	No as of 2026-06-24^[1] None appears in art. 40ter.
Sponsor and relation matrix	Sponsor status: citizen Relation: spouse Resulting condition: Belgian who has NOT exercised free movement: both over 21 (18 with a year of prior cohabitation), sponsor means at 110% of the guaranteed average minimum monthly income plus 10% per additional dependant, sufficient housing. Belgian who HAS exercised free movement, with family life developed or consolidated in the other member state: the Union-citizen regime applies instead and none of these national conditions does. Sponsor status: citizen Relation: minor child Resulting condition: Direct descendant of the Belgian or of the spouse or partner, under 18, with parental authority including custody shown and the other holder's consent where shared. The means condition falls away where the Belgian is joined only by minor descendants. Sponsor status: citizen Relation: adult dependent child Resulting condition: Direct descendant over 18 who is dependent on the sponsor in the country of origin or provenance. Sponsor status: citizen Relation: parent Resulting condition: First-degree ascendant exercising parental authority including custody over a MINOR Belgian, accompanying or joining that child and actually caring for him, on proof of identity by a valid identity document. Not available to the parent of an adult Belgian.

Process

Process
Where to apply from	either as of 2026-08-13^[3] As a rule abroad; in certain situations in Belgium.
Statutory processing time	6 months as of 2026-06-24^[1] Art. 42, para 1: the right of residence of more than three months is recognised as quickly as possible and at the latest six months after the date of the application. The clock is shorter than the nine months that applies to art. 10 and art. 10bis family reunification – a materially different figure for the same underlying situation, turning on the sponsor's nationality.
Fees	Kind: application Amount: EUR 218 as of 2026-08-13^[2]^[5] Federal contribution fee (redevance / bijdrage) under Aliens Act art. 1/1, indexed on 1 January each year to the consumer price index. Payable per person; one fee only for a family applying jointly on the same legal basis where the partners are married or legal cohabitants. Non-payment makes the application inadmissible, and the fee is not refunded on refusal or abandonment. Children under 18 are exempt. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: federal contribution fee for art. 40ter applications; EUR 213 in 2025. Free of charge where the Belgian sponsor has exercised free movement under the EU Treaties, and for applicants under 18
Quota	Quota exists: No as of 2026-08-13^[3]

Physical presence

Physical presence
none stated	to keep the permit as of 2026-08-13^[3] No day-count rule was found.

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be included	No as of 2026-06-24^[1] This route is itself the family route.
Eligible relations	Not established from a qualifying source as of 2026-06-24^[1] Empty by construction.
Family may apply at the same time	Not established from a qualifying source
Family members' work rights	Not established from a qualifying source Not applicable; see above.

Your next step

Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.

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Verification

Verification
Sources cited	5
of which official (tier 1)	5
Oldest as-of date	2026-06-24
Newest as-of date	2026-08-13
Reviewed on	2026-08-17
Schema version	1.1

Sources

[1] Loi du 15 décembre 1980 sur l'accès au territoire, le séjour, l'établissement et l'éloignement des étrangers — consolidated text (Justel), updated to 24 June 2026
Service public fédéral Justice (Moniteur belge / Justel) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-24 · Accessed 2026-08-13
[2] Contribution fee
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13
[3] Family reunification
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13
[4] Stable, regular and adequate means of subsistence
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13
[5] Contribution fee indexation
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13