Moving to Belgium

Emigration to Belgium is a good option for those who want to live in the heart of the European Union. Let us remind you that Brussels is the capital of the EU.

A little about Belgium

The Kingdom of Belgium is a Western European state, which speaks several languages:

• Dutch;
• French;
• German.

The Netherlands, France and Germany, as well as Luxembourg and Belgium share common borders, making it easy for their residents to travel from one country to another. You can cross Belgian territory in just a few hours. Its dimensions do not exceed 30 528 sq. km, and the population reaches 11 million. The country has access to the North Sea, on the coast of which the city of Antwerp is located - a world famous port and at the same time a naval base of the state.

The maritime temperate climate prevails on the territory of the country, westerly and southwestern winds blow. It often rains and thunderstorms, the average temperature in summer is approaching + 18C, and in winter - to + 3C. Such a climate can hardly be called heavenly, but it suits the Flemings and Walloons, who make up the bulk of the population. Some of them work on agricultural land, which occupies more than half of the kingdom. But most of it is 96% - lives in cities.

Belgium is divided into 9 provinces. The country's economy is developing due to:

• Trade;
• Agriculture;
• Industry;
• Tourism.

The kingdom's waterways, including the large river Scheldt, do not freeze even in winter, so shipping is thriving here all year round. The abundance of products, including those of sea origin, makes it possible to successfully diversify the national cuisine, in which the French influence is felt. Belgium is especially famous for its own waffles, chocolate, beer and French fries.

According to experts, the standard of living in the Kingdom of Belgium is higher than the European average. Here:

• Sustainable economy;
• Low crime;
• Developed service;
• High salaries.

At the same time, the country occupies one of the leading places in Europe in terms of tax, which is about 45-50% from monthly earnings. However, this does not bother the majority of those wishing to move to this country for permanent residence. The flow of emigrants to Belgium does not dry out, and for this the country provides citizens of other states with a number of opportunities.

Emigration policy

In order to finally decide to move to Belgium, it is worth learning more about this country. A good way is to watch a video about life in the kingdom, or better yet, to go there for a while. When you have received the most complete picture of your new place of residence, you can start preparing for the move. Much attention is paid to paperwork.

To draw up documents for emigration, you need to be patient and spend time. A significant part of the documents must be submitted to the representative offices of a foreign state on the territory of the Russian Federation. The Embassy and Visa Application Center of the Kingdom of Belgium is located in Moscow. The country's consulate is located in St. Petersburg.

After submitting the required documents for registration of the right to leave Russia and enter Belgium, the applicant must have:

• International passport;

• Insurance;

• Visa;

• Other documents permitting the export of children, proving family relations, confirming an agreement with a foreign employer or educational institution.

For those leaving Russia, not only for permanent residence, but also on tourist routes, there are restrictions determined by the law:

• There should be no outstanding debts, including bank loans;
• Difficulties can arise if there were problems with the law. Foreign states do not welcome the appearance on their territory of people with a criminal past;
• It will not be easy to travel outside Russia for citizens related to the security forces and especially to state secrets.

The travel time to Belgium is due to two factors:

1. Start time of work, study or other activity;
2. The validity period of the required documents.

A medical certificate issued in Russia will be valid in the kingdom for three months. It is better to take it as close as possible to the time of departure: it is necessary to start work on an already signed contract. When it comes to education, the academic year in Belgium begins on September 1. And if a foreigner entered a local university, then it is better to move to the country by the end of August.

Immigration methods

To make it easier to move to the kingdom, it's best to set a goal for yourself. Landmarks such as the following significantly increase the chances of settling in the country:

• Obtaining a specialty;
• Professional contract;
• Family reunification;
• Starting a business.

The option of buying real estate is not very suitable here, since it does not automatically give the status of a permanent resident. Until the moment when permanent residence is received, it will take several years, so you need to be patient and systematically move in the chosen direction.

Immigration through employment

One of the ways to immigrate to the Belgian state is to get a job in the kingdom. To do this, you need to have an employment contract with one of the companies in the country. To start working on its territory, you must submit documents collected in Russia, which have been translated into French, German or Dutch. Among them is a medical certificate, which is valid for 3 months from the date of issue.

Attention! Some of the documents issued for employment in Belgium have a limited validity period, so it is best to get them as close to departure as possible so that they remain valid as long as possible.

Adult citizens, specialists, in whose services Belgian companies are interested, can immigrate through employment. Along with them, seasonal workers who have also signed a contract can go to work in the Belgian kingdom.

Requirements for them:

• Compliance with the position held;
• Availability of the required set of documents.

The conditions for selecting specialists from Russia are strict. They can be hired if a Belgian citizen or resident of the European Union does not apply for the job. The top of the demanded professions are builders and programmers. They can be given a work permit of type A - with the right to change the company, and B - without such a right.

For the self-employed, especially outstanding creative professions, a separate “professional card” is provided.

Business immigration and investment

For business immigration to Belgium, you need to open your own business on the territory of the state. For this reason, it is better to go there with such a goal for those who have experience in entrepreneurial activity and who have carefully calculated the risks for their business. If the company becomes successful and will regularly pay taxes, the entrepreneur and his family can count on permanent residence in the future.

An important requirement is the transparency of the company. When trying to hide taxes, a businessman may lose the right to work in the country.

From the point of view of investment, the laws of the kingdom do not establish any fixed amounts for investment in the economy of the state. Since it is quite stable, the creation of jobs is an important condition for doing business. If you invest in an enterprise taking this factor into account, you can increase your chances of obtaining a residence permit, permanent residence, and then citizenship.

You can even more endear the regulatory authorities by hiring Belgian citizens.Caring for a person is highly valued here and creates a positive reputation for an entrepreneur.

Immigration through the acquisition of real estate

In some European countries - Latvia is an example - it is possible to move to a permanent place of residence after purchasing real estate. In the Belgian kingdom, this option is not available as a "springboard" for moving.

A plus in this case will only be a demonstration of the availability of sufficient funds to live, work or study in the country. Having your own home will greatly facilitate the task of staying on the territory of the state at the stage of formalizing working relations or studying at an educational institution.

Immigration through education

Immigrating through higher education is a promising option for boys and girls who graduate from high school. The education that Russia provides is enough to enter Belgian universities. Moreover, in most cases they do not require entrance exams, and this is a plus.

The only exceptions are engineering, medical and art-related specialties.

For admission, you must apply to the university or college on the dates set for admission with the appropriate application. How to arrange it, and what documents are needed for a particular educational institution, is described on its website. You also need to know foreign languages ​​- English, French or German, since the training is conducted in them.

Higher education in the kingdom is based on the Bologna system. A bachelor's degree can be completed in 3 years, a master's degree in 1-2 years (in medicine in 3) and a doctorate also in 3 years. Already during their studies, students are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week.

The downside is that even after graduating from a Belgian university, a foreigner needs to get an invitation to work. Therefore, even during your studies, it is better to establish contacts in advance with companies and institutions where you would like to work.

Immigration through family reunification and marriage

The advantages of kinship immigration are the quick access to the opportunity for permanent residence in the kingdom. Disadvantages - dependence on the status of a relative: having ceased to be one, one has to look for other reasons to stay in the country.

Family reunification means the movement of residents of one state to another on the basis of family relations with citizens of Belgium already living there.

Such relationships are divided into 1st and 2nd categories:

• The first group includes the official spouses, children and parents;
• 2nd - sisters and brothers, grandparents, granddaughters and grandchildren;
• There is another group - in-laws of the 1st category, which include the parents of the husband or wife, as well as the sisters or brothers of the spouse.

Attention! Those who move to Belgium with distant relatives will not be able to take part in the family reunification program.

Getting married is another way to get permanent residence in Belgian territory. It allows you to obtain a residence permit. However, the regulatory authorities are closely monitoring whether the marriage is fictitious. If this is the case, then the person will not be allowed to use the family reunification program and subsequently the possibilities of his stay in the kingdom will be limited.

If the marriage is real and divorce will follow, then everything depends on the status of the divorced. If a residence permit is obtained on the basis of marriage, there is a possibility of losing it in case of divorce.

If both spouses are citizens of Belgium at the time of the divorce, then both of them have every right to remain in the country.

Immigration for refugees

Refugees are people who are forced to leave their country due to extraordinary circumstances. The most common reasons for obtaining refugee status are military conflicts and discrimination due to belonging to a particular social group.

To obtain refugee status in Belgium, you must contact the Office for Foreigners (Office des Etrangers, OE). It is best to have as many documents as possible to prove your identity and show your life history.

These include:

• Internal passport;
• Diploma;
• Health certificate and others.

At the time of consideration of the application, the applicant for refugee status is provided with the minimum conditions for accommodation and meals.

If approved, he will be provided with:

• Limited ability to work;
• Place to stay;
• Minimum social guarantees.

If a refusal is received, it can be appealed within three days to the General Commission for Refugees and Stateless Persons (Commissariat General aux Refugies et Apatrides, CGRA). The prospects for obtaining refugee status depend on whether the need for such status is temporary (with a return to the homeland after some time) or permanent. In the latter case, Belgium has a special adaptation program for a long-term stay in the kingdom.

Life in Belgium after immigration

After moving to Belgium, you can use the rights that a temporary residence permit provides. A residence permit opens up opportunities for getting an education, getting a job and creating a family. After three years, if there are no offenses on the account, you can apply for a permanent residence permit - permanent residence.

The term for naturalization of foreign citizens in the kingdom is 10 years. If a child is born in a family on the territory of Belgium, he receives the status of a citizen automatically.

The pluses of life in the kingdom include:

• A stable economy;
• High salaries;
• Developed social structure;
• Possibility to travel and work in the EU countries.

On the other hand, there is a different mentality that you need to get used to, and high taxes - up to 50% of the salary. You can get an idea of ​​the life of emigrants from their reviews.

Ekaterina, Brussels:I like the weather here because it's warm all the time. Once we went to Russia for the New Year and it was very cold, and when we returned, we were delighted with the warm weather. There are also parks at every step with a large number of flowers - daffodils, tulips, magnolias. My child claps his hands with joy when he sees a rabbit running through the park. Everything is done here to make people feel as comfortable as possible, including foreigners. There are even cinemas where films are shown in Russian.

Anastasia, Ghent:I watched men and women here - it's an interesting picture. Women are completely calm no matter what happens. On the contrary, men are emotional - they can cry and not be ashamed of their tears. Emancipation is characteristic of Belgian women: in a cafe or restaurant, they pay for the order themselves, even if they are invited on a date. Men, on the other hand, help them a lot to take care of children, so that family relationships develop harmoniously.

Andrew, Antwerp:It is not difficult to rent an apartment in a city like Antwerp. It will cost you about 500 euros per month. The set of furniture in the apartment is practically zero, so you yourself have to furnish it with Ikeev's furniture. A washing machine in such a house is a luxury, and one has to go to a public laundry. The Belgians themselves strive to live in small towns, thousands of 20 inhabitants, where there is peace and quiet. And in large, with a population of up to 500 thousand, they only work.

To summarize the reviews, the emigrants who left Russia for Belgium are happy with their lives in this country. According to their stories in social networks and forums, the main difficulty is the stage of moving and initial adaptation. And then life gets better. Having become EU citizens, they not only travel to other EU countries on vacation, but also enjoy benefits when getting an education and getting a job in the European Union.

Conclusion

According to statistics, today more than 50 thousand Russian-speaking citizens live in the Kingdom of Belgium. Most Russians are in Antwerp, where the country's largest Orthodox parish is also located. Moving to Belgium for permanent residence, you should pay attention to cities such as Brussels, Ghent, Louvain, Liege and Bruges.

After moving to the kingdom, it is difficult to get a job here in your specialty, so you often have to master other professions. However, this does not stop many, since life in the very center of the European Union has more advantages than disadvantages.