Family reunification with a citizen of the EU or of a country associated with the EU
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Gezinshereniging met een burger van de Unie / Regroupement familial avec un citoyen de l'Union as of 2026-06-24[1] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Family reunification with a citizen of the EU or of a country associated with the EU as of 2026-08-13[2] The Immigration Office's own English page title for this regime. |
| Legal basis | Loi du 15 decembre 1980, art. 40bis and art. 42 (Titre II, Chapitre I), transposing Directive 2004/38/EC; art. 47/2 for other family members as of 2026-06-24[1][2] |
| Instrument type | residence card as of 2026-08-13[2] An F card for a third-country family member of a Union citizen. |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | Not established from a qualifying source as of 2026-06-24[1] None. Art. 40bis, para 3 distinguishes family members who are themselves Union citizens from those who are not, and applies different conditions of art. 41, but excludes neither. |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | 21 as of 2026-06-24[1] Art. 40bis, para 2, al. 1, 2, c): both partners over 21, reduced to 18 where at least one year's cohabitation before the sponsor's arrival in Belgium is proved. The limb at 1 – spouse, or partner in a registered partnership treated as equivalent to marriage in Belgium – carries no separate age condition in that provision. |
| Criminal-record condition | Not established from a qualifying source |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|---|
| Renewable | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Work rights | Not established from a qualifying source |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|
Requirements
| Who can sponsor | citizen as of 2026-06-24[1] |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, unmarried partner, minor child, adult dependent child, parent as of 2026-06-24[1] Art. 40bis, para 2: the spouse or a partner in a registered partnership treated as equivalent to marriage in Belgium; a partner in a registered partnership under a law who meets the durable-and-stable-relationship test; direct descendants of the Union citizen or of the spouse or partner who are under 21 or dependent in the country of origin; direct ascendants of either who are dependent in the country of origin; and first-degree ascendants exercising parental authority including custody over a minor Union citizen. unmarried_partner and registered_partner are both listed because Belgian law distinguishes the two partnership limbs and attaches different tests to them. The descendant limb runs to 21, not 18 as on the art. 10 routes. |
| Sponsor income requirement | Not established from a qualifying source[1] |
| Sponsor accommodation requirement | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Pre-entry language test | No as of 2026-06-24[1] None; a pre-entry test would be incompatible with Directive 2004/38/EC and none appears in art. 40bis. |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-08-13[2] As a rule abroad; in certain situations in Belgium. |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | 6 months as of 2026-06-24[1] Art. 42, para 1: recognition as quickly as possible and at the latest six months after the date of the application. |
| Quota |
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Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-06-24[1] No day-count rule was found in art. 40bis; the free-movement regime conditions the right on the Union citizen's own continued residence and status rather than on the family member's presence. |
|---|
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.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
- A 30-minute call with our consultant, who reads your profile first.
- An offer for legal support built around your case, covering the whole process.
Verification
| Sources cited | 2 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 2 |
| 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] Family reunification
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13