Belgium naturalisations drop with new law in 2013

It appears as though Belgium will finish the year without having naturalised any newly arrived foreigners. Due to a law that came into effect 1 January of this year, applicants face much stricter rules making it more difficult to become a citizen if they aren't long-term residents. 

The new rules apply to those who have not resided for at least five years in Belgium, a change over the previous conditions that allowed naturalisation after three years of recidency. Under the law, exceptions are allowed for aspiring Belgians who can show significant contributions to the state, in areas such as science, sport or culture. 

Lawmakers changed the conditions after agreeing that the old rules were too vague for those without permanent ties to the country. So far, the rules have seen none of this year's 508 applicants granted naturalisation. This marks a major change in naturalisations from 2012 figures, which saw thousands approved.

Politicians would like to see only a couple of applications approved monthly under the new rules after the year’s backlog has been dealt with.