Search Q&A
Belgian citizenship
My husband is Belgian. We are married for more than 10 years and we are living together in Belgium for more than 10 years.
I have the possibility to apply for Belgian citizenship - as spouse of a Belgian or alone because of living in Belgium for 10 years.
* Which option/category should I opt for? Is there a difference in terms of procedure (easy/difficult/long/...) or advantages or anything else?
* Can I file 2 applications; 1 in each category?
* If we get separated in future or my husband dies, will I lose citizenship if I got the citizenship as the spouse of a Belgian (one of the 2 categories mentioned above)?
* Is there a forum for such questions?
Thanks.
1. Living here for 10 years = you apply in your own right
2. No. Just 1 application
3. No. If you are generally a law abiding citizen, there is no risk of losing your Belgianness.
4. Ask at your local commune. They will give you a list of hoops to jump through. It's just a matter of jumping through all of them + time and you will become Belgian, based on the time you've lived here. The commune process is the simple one.
When I decided to apply for Belgian citizenship, like you, I qualified under 2 headings.
I discussed it with the commune and they explained what I would need to do under each option. They left me to choose but I was not allowed to submit 2 applications.
My wife, who was Belgian as a result of her first marriage, did not lose her citizenship when that marriage ended.
I definitely recommend a visit to your commune as a first step.
I became a citizen under the old regime, but like you qualified both ways. We choose the direction (more than 7 years in the country) as it required less documents to translate officially. Therefore, it was cheaper :-)
I would recommend you apply as the spouse of a Belgian. It would make more sense you did that. (art. 12bis. §1, 3°-Huwelijk Met een Belg/du mariage avec un(e) Belge).
No, you will not lose your citizenship if your husband died or if you two separated.
Only one application is allowed, not two.
Definitely go to your commune as soon as you would like to do this as the laws are getting more and more strict in regards to obtaining Belgian citizenship.
Good luck.
