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All communication in French
Hi,
I have been living in Belgium for almost 3 years and despite the fact that I several times clearly communicated that I am a Dutch speaker and prefer to get all the communication in Dutch, all state institutions keep on sending me letters in French. Is it possible to change somehow? It is really frustrating as it always takes extra energy&time to understand what do they want from me.
thanks,
D.
you might try asking here http://brussel.vlaanderen.be/home.html
Where do you live?
Do you live in Wallonia?
If you live in Flanders you will get your official communications in Dutch.
If you live in Brussels or in a facility commune in Wallonia (except in the handful of Germanophone communes in the east) you can ask to receive official communications in Dutch. You may have to change your E or E+ card (or whatever you have) to Dutch as well. You can also ask suppliers, e.g. Electrabel and Proximus, to communicate with you in Dutch.
If you live in a non-facility francophone commune in Wallonia you have no choice but to receive official communications in French. If you are lucky, you may find officials, at the commune for example, who are prepared to speak to you in Dutch, or even English, but they are no obligation to do so. In my commune, none of the staff speak Dutch or English, but they would find someone to speak to you in Wallon if necessary.
As Becasse notes, unless you live in Brussels or in a facility commune, you have no choice.
If you live in Flanders, you'll get stuff in Dutch, in Wallonia, in French.
OK, two possibilities then:
1) Your "ID" card is in French, not Dutch, so you need to go to the commune to get it changed and your National Register entry SHOULD be changed automatically. There will almost certainly be a charge for the new ID card.
2) Your "ID" card is in Dutch, but for some reason your National Register entry indicates French. This shouldn't happen, but it can, so you again you need to visit the commune to get the record altered. This time there shouldn't be a charge.
