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Belgium is advancing plans to consolidate its asylum and migration services under a single Federal Public Service (FPS) Migration. The initiative aims to create a unified administrative framework for managing asylum and migration processes. The governance model for the new service was approved by the Council of Ministers to structure its internal organisation.
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Hoofdthema: Cross-sectional, Asylum, Migration
Trefwoorden: Federal Public Service Migration, Belgium, coordination, centralisation
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Op 27 maart 2026 nam EMN België deel aan de studiedag van Myria en het Nationaal Instituut voor Criminalistiek en Criminologie (NICC) getiteld "Het smokkelstatuut onder de loep", waar de resultaten werden voorgesteld van het onderzoeksrapport over de toepassing van het smokkelstatuut in de praktijk.
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Hoofdthema: Irreguliere migratie
Trefwoorden: mensensmokkel, statuut, verblijfsvergunning, België
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Belgian judicial and law enforcement authorities contributed to an operation targeting a criminal network supplying small boats for migrant crossings. Four high-level suspects were arrested in Germany and are expected to be extradited to Belgium for prosecution in Bruges. Searches in Germany and Belgium resulted in the seizure of boats, engines, life jackets, cash, and other equipment used in the smuggling activities.
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Hoofdthema: Smuggling & Trafficking
Trefwoorden: smuggling network, small boat, English channel, crossing, transit country, Belgium
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Belgium plans to progressively return several defence sites used for the reception of applicants for international protection to military use as part of a broader plan to expand defence infrastructure towards 2040. The measure concerns around 4.000 reception places located on military premises across the country. Authorities state that the reduction in capacity can be absorbed within the existing reception network. The transition will take place gradually, with closures scheduled at different times depending on the site.
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Hoofdthema: Reception
Trefwoorden: reception place, reception capacity, defence, military site
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On 20 March 2026, the Belgian Council of Ministers approved a draft law that would link the level of social assistance granted to beneficiaries of subsidiary and temporary protection to their participation in integration efforts through the Individual Social Integration Project (ISIP). Under the proposal, the amount of social assistance could be adjusted depending on the efforts made by the beneficiary to integrate.
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The Netherlands has decided to resume Dublin transfers of single, non-vulnerable male asylum seekers to Belgium, following a period in which such transfers were suspended after a Dutch court ruling. In April 2025, the District Court of The Hague, sitting in Groningen, found that single male asylum seekers risked being deprived of adequate reception conditions in Belgium, which could expose them to inhumane or degrading treatment. The ruling led to a halt in transfers under the EU Dublin system.
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Hoofdthema: Reception, International Protection
Trefwoorden: Dublin Regulation, Dublin transfer, Belgium, reception condition
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The Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) has announced that it will resume processing cases from applicants originating from the West Bank who are not registered with UNRWA. The decision follows a temporary suspension in March 2025 due to the unstable situation in the region. The CGRS now has sufficient up-to-date and objective information to assess the need for international protection.
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Hoofdthema: International Protection
Trefwoorden: West Bank, application for international protection, processing
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Authorities in Belgium have reported a notable increase in migrant smuggling attempts along the country’s North Sea coast in recent weeks, prompting enhanced law enforcement action and efforts to strengthen international cooperation. Federal and local police forces have stepped up patrols and arrests as part of a broader response to the phenomenon, while Belgium and the United Kingdom are exploring closer collaboration to address the cross-border dimension.
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Hoofdthema: Smuggling & Trafficking
Trefwoorden: Belgian coast, migrant smuggling, police operation, international cooperation
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The Council of Ministers approved, at second reading, two draft bills aimed at implementing the European Pact on Migration and Asylum in Belgian law. The texts were adopted with a view to their submission to the Chamber of Representatives of Belgium under an urgent procedure. The first draft bill aims to apply or transpose eight legislative instruments of the Pact into Belgian law, while the second concerns procedures before the Council for Alien Law Litigation.
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Hoofdthema: Cross-sectional, Asylum, Migration
Trefwoorden: New Pact on Migration and Asylum, implementation, transposition, Belgian law
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According to Belgian Minister for Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt, the minimum proof of sufficient means of subsistance for non-EU students wishing to study in Belgium has been increased. She said the measure aims to strengthen study migration as a gateway for international talent while preventing financial abuse and protecting students from precarious situations.
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Hoofdthema: Study § Training
Trefwoorden: student migration, sufficient financial resources, sufficient means of subsistance, guarantor
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The Antwerp Family Court has annulled the decisions of local civil registry officials that sought to revoke the Belgian nationality of children born in Belgium to Palestinian parents. In five rulings issued on 27 February 2026, the court emphasised that depriving these children of nationality would be contrary to their best interests.
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Hoofdthema: Statelessness, Citizenship & Nationality
Trefwoorden: Belgian nationality, misuse, withdrawal, Palestinian, child, best interests of the child
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Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Belgium has granted more than 101.500 temporary protection certificates to people fleeing the conflict. Today, around 70.600 of these displaced Ukrainians remain in the country. While the temporary protection scheme has been extended until March 2027, uncertainty remains over what will happen afterwards, raising questions for both the authorities and Ukrainian beneficiaries.
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Hoofdthema: Temporary protection
Trefwoorden: beneficiary of temporary protection, accommodation, transition, legal status, voluntary return, reintegration
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Flanders granted around 21.460 work permits to non-EU nationals in 2025, the highest level in recent years. Seasonal work and medium- to high-skilled positions accounted for a large share of the permits. New rules introduced in January 2026 give priority to domestic and EU labour before non-EU recruitment. Stakeholders, including employer organisations and political parties, have expressed differing perspectives on these developments.
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Hoofdthema: Data & Statistics, Economic migration
Trefwoorden: Flanders, work permit, single permit, third-country nationals, seasonal work, shortage occupation
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Fedasil has released its management plan for 2025–2030. Approved in December 2025 and submitted by Director General Pieter Spinnewijn to the Minister for Asylum and Migration, the plan sets out the Agency’s priorities, including restoring the core functioning of the reception system, strengthening its capacity to respond to fluctuations in the number of applicants to be accommodated, and improving the quality, resilience, and effectiveness of services.
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Hoofdthema: Reception
Trefwoorden: Fedasil, management plan, reception policy
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On 1 February 2026, Belgian Ministers Anneleen Van Bossuyt (Asylum and Migration) and Bernard Quintin (Interior) announced the extension of targeted internal checks, in place since July 2025, until at least 31 July 2026. The measures aim to curb irregular migration and secondary movements into Belgium while enforcing residence requirements and enhancing security. Targeted checks are conducted on major roads, long‑distance buses, selected trains, and intra‑Schengen flights.
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Hoofdthema: Borders & Visa, Irregular Migration
Trefwoorden: Schengen borders code, checks, Belgian territory, irregularly staying third-country national, secondary movement
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On 3 February 2026, Fedasil published its statistics on voluntary returns for 2025. A total of 3.122 people chose to return to their country of origin. The number is slightly lower than in 2024 but higher than in 2023. The top destination countries include Brazil, Moldova, Syria, Colombia, and Turkey.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: voluntary return, reintegration assistance
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In 2025, Belgium received 34.439 applications for international protection, a decline compared with 2024. The Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) took decisions on 31.457 people, with a protection rate falling to its lowest level in over a decade. Key factors behind this trend include the suspension of the processing of Syrian cases in the first ten months of 2025 and prioritisation of applications from individuals already protected in other EU Member States.
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Hoofdthema: International Protection
Trefwoorden: application for international protection, asylum decisions, protection rate
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Belgium has confirmed its participation in an exploratory administrative mission to Afghanistan, representing 20 European Union Member States. The announcement was made by Minister of Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt. The mission, organised by the European Commission, aimed to establish technical administrative contacts with Afghan authorities. The initiative has drawn attention from refugee organisations, which have expressed concern about engagement with the Taliban regime.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: voluntary return, forced return, illegally staying person, Afghanistan, identification, criminal foreigner
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During the informal European Justice and Home Affairs Council in Cyprus on 22 January 2026, Minister of Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt announced targeted measures to encourage the voluntary return of Syrian nationals. The plan includes enhanced reintegration assistance for Syrians choosing to return to their country, while continuing to implement forced returns for non-cooperating individuals in general, prioritising those irregularly staying in Belgium with criminal convictions.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: voluntary return, reintegration assistance, Syria
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The Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGVS) announced on 15 January 2026 that it is temporarily suspending the processing of applications for international protection from Iranian nationals. The CGVS stated that, given the current situation in Iran and the difficulty in obtaining sufficiently reliable and up-to-date information, it is currently unable to assess the need for protection accurately.
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Hoofdthema: International Protection
Trefwoorden: application for international protection, Iran, suspension, asylum decisions
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On 23 December 2025, the Belgian Council of Ministers approved a draft law linking social assistance to integration efforts. For recognised refugees, the draft law foresees that the Individual Social Integration Project (ISIP) should include, at a minimum, participation in an integration path. Other newcomers, including third-country students and economically inactive EU citizens, would now need to have legally resided in Belgium for five years before becoming eligible for social assistance.
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Hoofdthema: Integration
Trefwoorden: integration income, Integration path, integration programme, requirement, efforts to integrate
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The Belgian Council of Ministers has taken note of a strategic vision for the reorganisation and centralisation of the federal administrative landscape. The plan foresees the regrouping of asylum and migration services under a dedicated Federal Public Service (FPS) Migration. The Council of Ministers has approved a timeline for the reorganisation and centralisation and has tasked the Minister for Public Administration with overseeing its implementation.
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Hoofdthema: Cross-sectional, Asylum, Migration
Trefwoorden: federal administration, Belgium, Federal Public Service Migration
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According to Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, 5.925 persons obtained Belgian nationality in September 2025. The main countries of origin of people who acquired Belgian nationality in September are Morocco, Romania, Syria, Poland and Italy.
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Hoofdthema: Data & Statistics, Citizenship & Nationality
Trefwoorden: Belgian nationality, access to nationality
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During a session of the Chamber of Representatives’ Interior Committee on 2 December 2025, Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt outlined the government’s decision regarding the list of safe countries of origin. She specified which countries are included in the 2025 list and explained that Morocco was added due to improvements in its human rights situation and the low recognition rate for asylum applications from Moroccan nationals.
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Hoofdthema: International Protection
Trefwoorden: list of safe countries of origin
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The Federal Ombudsman has highlighted persistent challenges for individuals required to submit visa applications in person at Belgian diplomatic or consular posts. These requirements can create significant financial, administrative, and security burdens, particularly for applicants living far from a competent post or in conflict-affected regions. The Ombudsman recommends reviewing visa submission procedures to improve accessibility and consistency.