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Permission to live in Brussels by Marriage
Hello, I am U.S.A. citizen by naturalization and Brazilian citizen by born. My boyfriend is Belgian and wants me to move to Belgium.
I read in the Belgium immigration website if I am going to get marriage in Belgium I need a Visa C, I believe is the same fiancee visa who comes to U.S. to get married.
My question is: Will I be in trouble if I come to Belgium without a visa since I have American Passport) get married in Brussels and request a resident permanent to stay living there indefinitely?
This was the easy way the American Consulate told us to do in 2005 and just request "visa change of status" tourist to perm resident, but i don't know if works in Belgium and i could not find no info.
I came without a Visa C, just a normal visa (American citizen), and once I got here applied for marriage to my French (now) husband who was a Brussels resident. I did hire an immigration lawyer which certainly facilitated things.
Lawyer: Emmanuelle Halabi (friendly person, efficient, and not expensive).
Hi, Martha!
Marriage option: getting married in Belgium is quite a hassle in terms of papers and bureaucracy + in case if you decide to divorce it is even more complicated, an option would be civil parntership, which is much easier to conclude and it has the same effects in terms of family reunification and migration procedure. in case if feel like marriga is the best option, you could consider getting married in US - much easier and it is recognized in Belgium with the same effect in terms of family reunification.
Residence: as an American citizen you probably can come and apply here on the spot because applying for family reunification visa is a real nightmare and will last forever, so just buy your ticket and come here and apply for your residence but be prepared to provide proofs that your marriage is a real one.
Good Luck,
D
"getting married in Belgium is quite a hassle in terms of papers and bureaucracy"
I did it.
It's really not that hard.
Getting your American wedding officially recognized by the borough will probably take as much time as getting the borough to approve your wedding in Belgium. Plus, at least in the 1000 Brussels wedding office, the personnel is really friendly and enjoying their jobs.
Civil partnership might also help your husband escape the clutches of the IRS and help you do the same if investments are put in his name.
I didn't have any problems as R. Harris either and it went fairly quickly. The only benefit I can see to civil partnership is you can get out of the relationship quicker and go your separate ways if things sour, but if he decides to move on or end things and you aren't established here fully then that's problems for you. You don't need a visa. I came here with my passport and my bags and that was it.
""The only benefit I can see to civil partnership is you can get out of the relationship quicker and go your separate ways if things sour""
Then you have no idea of the problems caused by marrying a US passport holder. With the advent of FATCA, Americans who had a vague notion that they probably should be reporting to the IRS are finding out the hard way about the vicious tax code applied to Americans overseas, including all they touch. That includes their family, their businesses, their banks. Hell, you can't even get paid as much as colleagues because the increasingly popular option of paying a bonus in to a SICAV is not an option for the American, closed to him as are many other financial options. There is a reason for the lines at embassies renouncing US citizenship.
Yes, I am aware of the tax issues, but the question wasn't in regards to paying taxes as an American living in Belgium; it was in regards to permission to stay here in Belgium legally. I am not even going to give anyone any advice in regards to what he/she must do in reference to taxes, and he/she shouldn't be getting any advice from this site in regards to paying taxes as situations can vary. Martha, I would suggest you and/or your boyfriend consult someone in your commune to get the answers you need. I got married here 9 years ago, so what applied then may not apply now.
