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L Card – Time Calculation for student/ search year

ashiseverywhere

Start Date for Counting:

Your Annex 15 issue date marks the official start of your 5-year residency count — not your actual physical arrival in Belgium nor your first A-card.


  1. Why do many city halls use the A-card date?

Many city halls in Belgium calculate the 5-year period for an L card (long-term resident card) starting from the date your first A card was issued. This is likely because they follow the same logic applied to the B card, which is explained clearly on the under "Verblijfsrecht onbeperkte duur (B kaart)".


For example, for arbeidsmigranten (economic migrants) under national law


De periode van vijf jaar begint te lopen vanaf de afgifte van de eerste verblijfskaart (bijv. A kaart). Volgens DVZ gaat het in dit geval niet om een recht op een B kaart na 5 jaar, maar om een gebonden bevoegdheid om in het kader van een verlengingsaanvraag na meer dan 5 jaar een B kaart af te leveren. Daardoor kan het in in dit geval in de praktijk meer dan vijf jaar kan duren voordat je een B kaart krijgt.


However, this logic does NOT or should not apply to the EU Long-Term Residence (L card), which is based on EU Directive 2003/109/EC — a completely different legal framework.


If you want to argue it with your city hall, please see my comment #12 for detail explanation. Good luck with the Belgian bureaucracy!


Student Status = Half Time

If you were under student status (even if you were a paid PhD researcher), your residency only counts as 50% of that period.


Example:

1 years 28 days as a student = 0.5 years and 14 days counted towards PR.


Search Year (Zoekjaar) = Full Time

But

Time before your zoekjaar is officially approved = still student status (you probably held an annex15)  → counts 50%

Time after approval date = now officially on zoekjaar → counts 100%


Only when your search year permit is officially approved and you are no longer under student status, that time counts fully (100%). However, most people don’t know the exact approval date of their search year. Your A-card issue date is not the approval date — there’s usually a delay of several weeks between when the search year is approved and when you receive your card. Ask your gemeente (city hall) for the official approval date of your zoekjaar — that's the date when 100% counting really begins.


Can I apply for a L-card during mt search year?

Yes!!! You can apply for the L card during your search year if you meet all other legal requirements, and DVZ should not refuse the application solely because the person is on a search year permit.  However, if you do not have a permanent job, or if your job is considered not "stable" enough, your application can be refused :(


To know more, please check or


5 Years are 1825 or 1826 Days?

Under EU Directive 2003/109/EC, it’s 5 continuous years of legal residence — not 5x365 exactly. Most city halls (and DVZ) accept 1825 days but in leap years, 5 years can equal 1826 calendar days.


So it would be better to aim for 5 full calendar years from your start date (e.g., 01/11/2021 to 01/11/2026).

See also

Work permit in BelgiumThe Working Holiday Visa for BelgiumVisas for BelgiumFamily reunificationL card - 5 years requirement
ashiseverywhere

Example 1: Master's + PhD (Switched to Single Permit)


Timeline:

01/09/2022 – Arrived in Belgium to start Master’s


20/09/2022 – Received Annex 15 (official start of counting)


31/10/2024 – Completed Master


02/11/2024 – Received Annex 15 for your Paid PhD (but still on student status, no single permit)


11/12/2024 - Received A-card for your PhD


You decided to change to signal permit for you PhD and you prof agreed.

April 2025 – Applied for single permit


24/05/2025 – Work permit part of the Single permit  approved → Switch to full-count residence

(= only from this date onward, your time counts 100%)


Counted Time:

Student Period (20/09/2022 to 23/05/2025) = 977 days

→ Student status → counts 50% → 488.5 days


Worker Status (24/05/2025 → future):

→ Since you already have 488.5 days

→ Need 1,336.5 more days


You reach 5 years (1825 days) on 19 January 2029.

ashiseverywhere

Example 2: Master + Search year (Zoekjaar) + Single Permit


Timeline:

18/07/2022 – Arrived in Belgium for Master


08/08/2022 – received Annex 15 (official start of counting)


08/09/2023 – Finished Master


02/11/2023 – Received Annex 15 for your search year


16/12/2023 – Search year approved (= from this date onward, your time counts 100%)


12/01/2024 – A-card received (zoekjaar)


06/06/2024 – Employer applied for single permit


01/08/2024 – Work permit granted


Counted Time:

Student Period (08/08/2022 → 15/12/2023) = 495 days

→ Student time → counts 50% = 247.5 days


Search Year (16/12/2023 → 31/07/2024) = 228 days

→ Fully counted (it is a worker status) = 228 days


Single Permit (from 01/08/2024 → future):

→ Fully counted

→ still need 1,349.5 days


You reach 5 years on 12 March 2028.

Mu Jaycee

@ashiseverywhere

Thank you for this informative post. I’d like to highlight the ongoing confusion around how the zoekjaar (search year) is counted toward the five-year legal residence requirement for the L card.


In my experience, Most gemeente staff assume it counts as 50%, and DVZ declined to clarify, referring applicants back to local authorities who often lack detailed guidance.


I have recently submitted the L CARD application, I based my calculation on the date I applied for the zoekjaar, not knowing that the 100% counting only begins from the official approval__ this the information that I have just acquired from your post. If the issue date of the A-card is considered the start of the 100% counting period, I would fall short of the five-year requirement by just 4 days, which could result in a denial of the L card application. I can only hope that the actual approval date — which likely came before the card was issued — will be taken into account, and that those 4 days won’t be decisive.


I strongly advise to carefully verify that the full five years of legal residence are completed before submitting the L card application. It may save you from an unfair rejection.

maharaji1984

@Mu Jaycee


May i ask your L Card processing timeline included from where application has made please?

Mu Jaycee

@maharaji1984

Thanks for your question!


I submitted my L Card application in early MAY 2025, based on the following legal residence durations in Belgium:


920 days of employment

299 days during the orientation period

1,200 days as a student, counted as half = 600 days

This brings the total to approximately 1,821 days ( around 4 to 5 days short)  of legal residence, calculated according to the guidelines from this post.


Please note:

My calculation considered the issue date of my search year A card as the start of the orientation period, and the last day counted was the day before I submitted my application.


I currently live in Flanders, in a small town with a population of around 30k people. Here there is not waiting time to get an appointment as it is the case in Bigger cities.

maharaji1984

@Mu Jaycee

Hi, thanks.

Did they really counted the days one by one?

Did you recieved any feedback after application?


Good luck

Mu Jaycee

@maharaji1984

No one helped me count the days, so I bet on myself and pushed for my application to be accepted.

maharaji1984

@Mu Jaycee

Lucky you.

Wish you good luck with IBZ. Hopefully your calculation is correct and get your L card soon.

ashiseverywhere

@Mu Jaycee

I noticed that the you might not count the time you held Annex 15 as part of the search year. It is count as student status so it counts as half. As long as you held the Annex 15 while applying search year for more than 10 days, you are fine :)

If you want, you can send me your exact dates, and I can help you recalculate everything to be sure.