禁漫天堂

@Srizzy

No, it doesn鈥檛 mean any of what you mentioned.

As usual, the new government is full of populists. They love to make big announcements and act like as if they鈥檙e changing everything, but in reality, they rarely do.

You should know that what they put into their program is not the same as what actually becomes law.

Yes, they say they want to reduce migration, but it鈥檚 mostly about illegal migrants and family reunification cases.

And most importantly: any real changes would only apply to newcomers 鈥� people who arrive after the new law comes into force.

Here鈥檚 the fun part: they haven't even started discussing the law yet!

First there will be debates, then amendments, then more debates in parliament, more bla bla... and even if they manage to pass something, there will still be a transition period.

And again 鈥� it will only affect new arrivals, not people who are already living here.

If you鈥檝e been in Belgium for a while and follow politics a little, you probably know: Belgian governments (especially populist ones like current) spend most of their term pretending to work, and if they do pass anything serious, it's usually right before elections.

TLDR: I wouldn't expect any real changes for the next couple of years.

And since you are already here (I guess you at least have an orange card, if not a plastic one), you don鈥檛 need to worry.

Of course, we can leave a 1% chance that the government will go crazy and start passing nonsense laws like a "mad printer" 鈥� but honestly, that's not very Belgian. It's mostly just bla bla bla.

i got this response from chatgpt

To enact new citizenship rules in Belgium鈥攕uch as increasing application fees, introducing mandatory integration exams, or modifying residency requirements鈥攁 simple majority in the Chamber of Representatives is sufficient. This means that more than half of the votes cast must be in favor of the proposed changes. The Senate does not participate in this process, as naturalization matters fall under the exclusive competence of the Chamber.

Given that the current 鈥淎rizona鈥� coalition government holds 82 out of 150 seats in the Chamber, it possesses a comfortable majority to pass such legislation, provided there is consensus among coalition partners.

Support for Stricter Citizenship Legislation:

聽 聽 鈥⒙� 聽 N-VA: Strongly supports stricter citizenship laws, including increased application fees and mandatory integration exams.

聽 聽 鈥⒙� 聽 MR: Generally favors more stringent migration and citizenship policies, aligning with N-VA on several points.

聽 聽 鈥⒙� 聽 CD&V: Traditionally centrist, CD&V may support certain stricter measures but often seeks balanced approaches.

聽 聽 鈥⒙� 聽 Les Engag茅s and Vooruit: These parties are more cautious. While they may agree on the need for integration, they have expressed reservations about overly stringent measures.

Given the coalition鈥檚 composition, any proposed changes to citizenship laws would require consensus among these parties. While there鈥檚 support for reform, the extent and nature of changes will likely be moderated to accommodate the diverse views within the coalition.

New Flemish Alliance (N-VA): 24 seats聽 聽 Mouvement R茅formateur (MR): 20 seats

Les Engag茅s: 14 seats

Vooruit: 13 seats

Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V): 11 seats

But those working continuously never required to follow the language / integration procedure. Does that also changes now?

@sanjaymd1984

Nothing is changing yet. Absolutely nothing.

Have any changes been brought to the nationality path in light of what was shared above?

@Srizzy

No, Nothing changed

@sanjaymd1984: I suggest you start with your R茅gion language from now. The things can be difficult & different after 6 months / 1 year. Then you will have to wait more in case you are not ready with the language certificate.

May be, you can check with 鈥淓xpat Helpdesk Brussels鈥� periodically for the update in the nationality process.

There is a latest Brussels times article that states that language requirement is a must.

@Srizzy

Language skills have always needed to be proven, except in cases where the applicant graduated from a Belgian university and/or worked continuously for 5 years.

I鈥檝e read the Brussels Times article you mentioned, and it does state quite definitively that the B1 language requirement is already in effect. However, the article includes a hyperlink to an earlier article from April, which only says that the government plans to raise the requirement to B1.

Just to be sure, I double-checked all official sources again, and I couldn鈥檛 find any confirmation that the change has already been implemented. As of now, the official requirement is still A2.

Why the Brussels Times published the article in this form, I don鈥檛 know 鈥� but I鈥檝e already sent them a request for correction, as this kind of information creates real confusion.

In my case I have been working for 4 years straight and expect to work for a few more years. My whole conundrum is that this language requirement applies to this case as well. So if someone has been working for 5 years straight this will not be impacted under new proposed changes as well?

The previous Brussels Times article states this: "consisting of a citizenship test (showing an understanding of the neutrality of the government and equality between men and women) and a language test" - Will this be applicable even if you 5 years of uninterrupted work?