Temporary protection

Directive 2001/55/EC on the rules for granting temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and measures facilitating a balance of efforts between EU Member States contains provisions for dealing with a mass arrival in the European Union of foreigners who cannot return to their own country, in particular as a result of war, violence or human rights violations.

The Directive provides immediate and temporary protection for these displaced persons.

Following the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Council adopted an implementing decision, Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382, establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine within the meaning of Directive 2001/55/EC, and introducing temporary protection in response. This decision is the first to be adopted under Directive 2001/55/EC.

Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 applies to:

  • Ukrainian nationals who were residing in Ukraine before 24 February 2022;
  • stateless persons and nationals of non-EU countries other than Ukraine who were enjoying international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022; and
  • family members of the above-mentioned persons.

Please note: a distinction must be made between family members needing temporary protection and those who do not.

Currently, this temporary protection status is granted until 4 March 2027.

 

The Act of 18 July 2025, published in the Belgian Monitor of 8 August 2025 and which came into force on 18 August 2025, amends the provisions of the Act of 15 December 1980. This Act provides for transitional provisions allowing old and new provisions to coexist for a specified duration.

The provisions that applied before 18 August 2025 (referred to as old provisions) will continue to apply to family reunification applications :

  • that were submitted before 18 August 2025 and are still pending on that date;
  • that are submitted during the two-year period following 18 August 2025 (i.e. until 18 August 2027), if the foreign national being joined was granted permission to stay in Belgium for more than three months before 18 August 2025. For all applications submitted between 18 August 2025 and 18 August 2027, it is therefore crucial to verify the date on which the foreign national being joined received permission to stay in Belgium for over three months.

The new provisions of the Act of 18 July 2025:

  • apply to family reunification applications submitted during a period of two years from 18 August 2025 (i.e. until 18 August 2027), if the foreign national being reunited was not authorised or admitted to stay in Belgium for more than three months before 18 August 2025;
  • will fully apply for family reunification applications submitted from 18 August 2027 onwards.

Provisions applicable before 18 August 2025 (old provisions):
[Article 57/34 of the Act of 15 December 1980]

To benefit from family reunification, family members of a foreign national who has been granted temporary protection status and who themselves require temporary protection must meet the following cumulative conditions:

  • the family was already formed in the country of origin at the time of the events that led to a mass influx of displaced persons;
  • the separation of the family is the result of the events that led to a mass influx of displaced persons;
  • they personally meet the conditions for the granting of temporary protection status;
  • they are outside the territory of the Member States of the European Union.

The family member must be outside the territory of the Member States of the European Union. Consequently, the family member must submit the application for family reunification to the Belgian diplomatic or consular post responsible for the place where the applicant is staying abroad.

The following persons are considered to be family members of a foreign national who enjoys temporary protection:

  • their spouse;
  • the foreign national with whom the applicant is linked by a registered partnership equivalent to marriage in Belgium, provided that the partners have a lasting and stable relationship and that they are both over 18 years of age;
  • the foreign national with whom the applicant is linked by a partnership registered in accordance with a law, provided that the partners cumulatively meet the following additional conditions:

o have a stable long-term relationship. The stable and lasting nature of the relationship is established if the partners prove (a) that they have cohabited legally and continuously for at least one year prior to the application, or (b) if the partners prove that they have known each other for at least 2 years prior to the application and provide evidence that they have maintained regular contact by telephone, by ordinary mail or e-mail and that they have met 3 times in the 2 years prior to the application and that these meetings lasted for a total of 45 days or more, or (c) if the partners have a child in common.
o come live together;
o both be over 18 years of age;
o be unmarried and not be in a stable long-term relationship with another person;
o not be in case of impediment to marriage (sections 161-163 of the former Civil Code);
o not have been subject to refusal of marriage

  • their minor children and those of their spouse or partner, provided that they cumulatively meet the following additional conditions:

o be unmarried ;
o come to live with the foreign national joined before reaching the age of 18 ;
o the foreign national joined, his/her spouse or partner must exercise parental authority, including custody rights. If parental authority is shared, the other holder of parental authority must agree to family reunification.

  • their direct relatives in the ascending line (father and mother) provided that the foreign national joined is a minor and is not married and that his/her direct relatives in the ascending line cumulatively meet the following additional conditions:

o exercise parental authority, including custody rights;
o come to live with the foreign national joined before he/she reaches the age of 18.

The Immigration Office may also grant a residence permit to another close relative of a beneficiary of temporary protection status, provided that the family relationship has been proven and provided that this other close relative, was living with the foreign national enjoying temporary protection status at the time of the events that led to a mass influx of displaced persons and was wholly or mainly dependent on them.

In addition to the documents proving that the applicant meets the conditions for family reunification set out above, another family member must submit the following:

  • a medical certificate showing that the applicant does not suffer from any of the diseases listed in the annex to the Act of 15 December 1980;
  • an extract from the criminal record or an equivalent document, if the applicant is over 18 years of age.

New provisions of the Act of 18 July 2025:
[Article 57/34, of the Act of 15 December 1980, amended by the Act of 18 July 2025 – Entered into force on 18 August 2025]

Application for a residence permit

Family members who are not yet in the territory of the European Union and who need temporary protection may apply for a residence permit for more than three months to join a foreign national who has been granted temporary protection status and has been admitted to stay in Belgium for more than three months.

However, the family must have already been formed in the country of origin at the time of the events that led to the mass influx of displaced persons, and the family’s separation must be the result of those events.

Age of spouse or partner

The spouse or registered partner of the foreign national being joined, and the foreign national being joined, must be over 21 years of age.

Partnership

The Act of 18 July 2025 abolishes the distinction between a “registered partnership equivalent to marriage” and a “legally registered partnership”. Foreign nationals connected to a foreign national in a registered partnership equivalent to marriage must now fulfill the same requirements as those linked to a foreign national in a legally registered partnership. 

 

The Act of 18 July 2025, which entered into force on 18 August 2025, does not provide for transitional measures.

Consequently, applications submitted before 18 August 2025 based on the former Article 57/34/1 of the Act and still pending on that date have become void, as the Act of 18 July 2025 repeals this article. Since then, family reunification with a beneficiary of temporary protection has been governed by Article 57/34 (family members who are themselves eligible for temporary protection) and Article 10bis, § 2/1 (family members who are not themselves eligible for temporary protection) of the Act of 15 December 1980.

These two new articles also apply to residence applications submitted from 18 August 2025 onwards.

Changes introduced by the Act of 18 July 2025 and applicable to applications submitted from abroad from 18 August 2025 onwards (visa applications):

Waiting period

The foreign national being joined must have been authorised to reside in Belgium for at least two years. However, this period does not apply if the foreign national is only being joined by a minor child or an unmarried disabled child over the age of 18.

Family ties must exist before the arrival of the foreign national who is being joined

It is required that family ties existed before the foreign national being joined arrived in Belgium. Consequently, the provisions on family reunification do not apply to families formed after the foreign national arrives in Belgium.

Important: family ties after the arrival of the foreign national who is being joined (new family unit)

The family members of a beneficiary of temporary protection are explicitly excluded from the scope of Article 10bis, §2, of the Act (family reunification with a foreign national with limited residence). They can only invoke Article 10bis, §2/1, of the Act of 15 December 1980.

Exclusion of parents of minors

The parents of a minor foreign national who has been granted subsidiary protection status are no longer entitled to family reunification.

Age of spouses and partners

The spouse/registered partner and the foreign national joining them must be over 21 years of age.

Partnership

The Act of July 18, 2025, removes the distinction between a "registered partnership equivalent to marriage" and a "legally registered partnership." Foreign nationals who are connected to another foreign national in a registered partnership equivalent to marriage must now meet the same requirements as those linked to a foreign national in a legally registered partnership.

Residence conditions

The spouse and partner of the foreign national being joined, as well as their children and those of their spouse or partner, must demonstrate that the foreign national being joined has health insurance, adequate housing and stable, regular and sufficient means of support.

Exception: a minor child of the foreign national who is being joined or of their spouse does not have to provide proof that the foreign national who is being joined has stable, regular and sufficient means of support, provided that the child is unmarried, comes to live with the foreign national who is being joined before the age of 18 and is the only one joining this foreign national. (i.e. the other parent is not applying for family reunification at the same time).

Sufficient accommodation

The foreign national being joined must have decent accommodation that is considered normal for a comparable family and meets the legally applicable safety and hygiene criteria. The criteria that the property must meet, as well as the manner in which the foreign national proves that the property meets the conditions, are determined by royal decree.

For more information: Adequate housing

Adequate means of subsistence

The foreign national who is being joined must have stable, regular and adequate means of subsistence to provide for their own needs and those of their family members and to prevent them from becoming a burden on the public authorities.

The net amount of the means of subsistence must be at least 110% of the guaranteed average monthly minimum income as stated in Article 3 of the collective labour agreement No. 43 of 2 May 1988 on the guarantee of an average minimum monthly income (GGMMI). This amount is €2,325.079 net per month. Additionally, this amount is increased by 10% for each additional dependent family member of the foreign national who is being joined.

Example 1: the family sponsor is alone in Belgium and wishes to be accompanied or reunited with their partner and two children: the amount is 110% (partner applying for family reunification) + 20% (10% per child applying for family reunification): 2,787.69 euros.
Example 2: same situation, but the sponsor is already residing in Belgium with another child: the amount is 110% (partner applying for family reunification) + 20% (10% per child applying for family reunification) + 10% (child already residing in Belgium): 3,020 euros.

If the reference amount is not met, the Immigration Office must assess how much money the foreign national being joined needs to ensure they can support themselves and their family members without relying on government assistance.

This provision already existed. However, the legislator now requires the applicant to submit all documents and information enabling the Immigration Office to determine the resources required when applying for family reunification.

There is no change in the nature and regularity of the means of subsistence that can be taken into account.

For more information: Stable, regular and sufficient means of subsistence