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1. I know there’s a way to appeal, but in this case is it really valid to do so?

It’s a law that secondment period does not count towards residency. So no point in appeal.

I do know people who got away with it. But we cannot put forward that point at commune.

2. Is it possible to reapply successfully after a few months, maybe through another commune or something?

Its like buying a lottery ticket.

I feel for you. The rejection hurts, take it slowly. Looking forward for next years is the only option I see.

Thank you for sharing your inputs. Yeah it’s hard to digest when people in same state getting their approved but getting a rejecting for me😣

@krish2190

Sorry, but you broke the rules and got caught. The only person to blame is yourself.

@SimCityAT

He didnt break any rules. He is talking about the commune having different standards towards different people. This is a prevalent condition in different communes across Belgium.

it is not the issue with the commune but with the immigration. As you pointed out, the ministry gave the answer that your secondment years are not counted, while the commune had no issue in accepting your application and forwarding it to IBZ. So, in your case, the commune did its part.

As for rejection is concerned, it is a fact that a lot of people got away with it because there has been a loophole where an applicant's file was not scrutinised properly at the ministry level in the past. I think they have patched this issue due to a lot of people getting Permanent residences while they were not eligible.

I believe this is because there are certain applications on which the ministry is supposed to provide an answer within a given time limit, and you get automatically awarded that card if there is no response. This loophole is something IBZ is not letting go of from now onwards and is more vigilant about it.

As far as your number of years is concerned, getting rejected does not mean that your counter resets. You just have to wait till your local contract-based residency reaches 5 years.

I have somehow a similar ongoing story:

-came to Belgium July 2020 as a researcher, then promoted in my job under CDI.

-suddenly my employer decided to terminate my contract in December 2023,

-was searching for a job everywhere did volunteer..etc. I also made sure it is ok to stay in Belgium because I was in a single permit. Never heard of a 90 days rule and didn’t receive any call about it, I went to BAJ lawyer and told me it is ok to stay.

-found a job in June 2024 but by the time I received the new single permit it was mid November.

-july 2025 I completed 5 years of uninterrupted residency in Belgium so I applied for PR

it was rejected because the gap between the two jobs doesn’t count. Nobody told me and did not get any warning that I have to leave. My single permit was valid during this time also.

the difference in your case is that I got the rejection quickly in few weeks only, they also gave me 30 days to appeal. I am discussing the case with many lawyers and they are not optimistic about my case.

i am now deeply thinking whether it is worth it to appeal and pay all this money to reverse this decision.

@nyamani77

Out of curiosity - when they rejected and pointed out the gap, did they ask to work additional just the number of days that the gap lasted or they reset the clock back to start from 0 when you found the new job ?

@Elena Igor

They reset the clock back to start from 0 when I found the new job in November 2024, meaning that in the system I worked for 9 months in Belgium, everything before does not count, even if you paid the tax and participated in social security...etc!!!! I know it is crazy.

I spoked with 3 lawyers and one of them told me that since October 2024 they activate a law here where it is very strict that if you loss your job while on carde-A, you only have 90 days to find another job. Otherwise, your ID will be officially taken from you by the Commune I guess and that you are not considered a legal to stay here and should quite the country.

@nyamani77

That is unfortunate that it went back to 0, but also very fortunate that you were able to stay as indeed as far as I’ve read for years in this platform -  there has always been the 90 days rule when losing job on single permit