The draft bill translates commitments from the January 2025 federal coalition agreement, which foresees deprivation of nationality for persons convicted of serious crimes—such as organised crime, homicide or sexual offences—under specified conditions. It also envisions mandatory deprivation of nationality in cases of terrorism.

The draft bill introduces three key changes:

1. It expands the grounds for deprivation by broadening the list of criminal offences. This includes organised crime where the person has played a decisive or leading role, homicide, and sexual offences.
    

2. It extends the statute of limitations for initiating deprivation proceedings to 15 years.
    

3. It requires judges to automatically consider deprivation of nationality in cases involving convictions for terrorism, without the need for a prosecution request.

Importantly, the proposal reiterates that deprivation of nationality cannot render a person stateless, maintaining protection against statelessness.

Minister of Justice Annelies Verlinden, who submitted the bill, highlighted its significance in strengthening justice and security. Vice-Prime Minister David Clarinval welcomed the proposal, describing it as a concrete move towards a firmer and more credible justice system. He stressed that Belgium will not tolerate criminal networks exploiting young people or threatening public safety and noted that facilitating withdrawal of nationality in certain cases could make it easier to ensure convicted individuals serve their sentences in their countries of origin, in line with bilateral agreements.

The draft bill is currently at a preliminary stage and will be submitted to the Council of State for advice before proceeding further through the legislative process.

For further information, please refer to the press release from the Council of Ministers, available in French or Dutch.