Guides
Practical guides
Step-by-step guides for your administrative procedures in Belgium
Start with the right situation
Not every guide answers the same problem
Some visitors need to regularise a marriage, others need diploma recognition or need to repair a refused file. Starting blind with the first card is silly.
Marriage and legal cohabitation
5 guidesFrom the marriage visa to residence after the union, with the right records at the right time.
Divorce and civil status
5 guidesRecognition, record updates, remarriage and files involving children.
Diplomas and equivalence
6 guidesStudies, work, regulated professions and equivalence routes.
Residence, visas and reunification
6 guidesThe angles that actually block files: student visas, sponsors, the single permit and refusals.
Nationality and parentage
5 guidesBelgian nationality, criminal records, proof of the link and recognition of a child born abroad.
Succession and foreign records
6 guidesDeath abroad, powers of attorney, wills, undivided property and assets in several countries.
5 guides
Marriage and legal cohabitation
From the marriage visa to residence after the union, with the right records at the right time.
Visa D for marriage or legal cohabitation in Belgium
Which documents to prepare for a Belgium visa D for marriage or legal cohabitation, including relationship evidence, apostille and sworn translation.
Read the guideForeign marriage and then family reunification in Belgium
After a marriage celebrated abroad, how to prepare family reunification in Belgium with the right record, the right proof of the link and the right translation.
Read the guideResidence in Belgium after marriage or legal cohabitation
After a visa D for marriage or legal cohabitation, how to switch cleanly into residence in Belgium with the right records and translations.
Read the guideTranscribe a foreign marriage certificate in Belgium
When and how to transcribe a foreign marriage certificate in Belgium, with apostille, legalisation and sworn translation if needed.
Read the guideFamily reunification with a Belgian
Documents, translations and filing order for family reunification with a Belgian in Belgium.
Read the guide5 guides
Divorce and civil status
Recognition, record updates, remarriage and files involving children.
Divorce granted in the EU: recognition in Belgium
How to have a divorce granted in another EU member state recognised in Belgium, without nonsense about exequatur.
Read the guideDivorce granted outside the EU: recognition in Belgium
Non-EU divorce in Belgium: recognition, possible refusal grounds, translation and when exequatur actually matters.
Read the guideForeign divorce with a child: custody, residence and parental responsibility in Belgium
After a foreign divorce with a child, what Belgium actually checks: parental responsibility, the child's residence, parental agreements, the judgment and translation.
Read the guideUpdate Belgian civil status after a foreign divorce
Municipality, BAEC, marginal note, proof that the divorce is final and translation: how to update your Belgian civil status after a foreign divorce.
Read the guideRemarry in Belgium after a foreign divorce
How to remarry in Belgium after a foreign divorce: civil-status update, proof of the divorce, sworn translation and the records to prepare.
Read the guide6 guides
Diplomas and equivalence
Studies, work, regulated professions and equivalence routes.
Diploma equivalence in Belgium
Complete guide to getting a foreign diploma recognised in Belgium: NARIC procedure, required documents, certified translation and deadlines.
Read the guideDiploma equivalence: FWB, NARIC Vlaanderen or German-speaking Community?
How to choose between the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, NARIC Vlaanderen and the German-speaking Community to have a foreign diploma recognised.
Read the guideStudy in Belgium with a foreign diploma
Diploma, transcript, possible equivalence, admission and visa D: how to prepare a study file for Belgium with foreign documents.
Read the guideWork in Belgium with a foreign diploma
Single permit, regulated profession, employer, diploma, criminal record and translations: how to structure a work file for Belgium with foreign documents.
Read the guideRegulated profession in Belgium with a foreign diploma
How to access a regulated profession in Belgium with a foreign diploma: Be-Assist, the competent authority, possible equivalence and useful translation.
Read the guideForeign diploma for a healthcare profession in Belgium
What to check to have a foreign diploma recognised for a healthcare profession in Belgium, including useful translations.
Read the guide6 guides
Residence, visas and reunification
The angles that actually block files: student visas, sponsors, the single permit and refusals.
Belgium student visa: documents and translations
Practical guide to a student visa in Belgium: admission, means of subsistence, sworn translations and municipal registration on arrival.
Read the guideSponsor for a Belgium student visa (Annex 32)
How to prepare a sponsor file for a Belgium student visa: Annex 32, income records, useful evidence and translations.
Read the guideBelgium single permit: documents and translations
Practical guide to the single permit in Belgium: employer role, records to prepare, sworn translations and residence-card logic.
Read the guideFamily reunification with a foreign national in limited stay
Practical guide to family reunification with a foreign national in limited stay in Belgium: correct regime, evidence, translations and filing route.
Read the guideSpouse or child of a foreign student or worker in Belgium
Which records, family-link evidence and translations to prepare when the sponsor in Belgium is a foreign student or worker.
Read the guideFamily reunification refusal in Belgium
How to read a family reunification refusal in Belgium, identify what is really blocking the file and fix it or prepare a useful appeal.
Read the guide5 guides
Nationality and parentage
Belgian nationality, criminal records, proof of the link and recognition of a child born abroad.
Criminal record for Belgian nationality
Which criminal record extract to prepare for a declaration of nationality or similar file, including issuing country, freshness of the document, legalisation and sworn translation.
Read the guideBelgian nationality as the spouse of a Belgian
Conditions, records, translations and filing order to obtain Belgian nationality as the spouse of a Belgian through declaration.
Read the guideBelgian nationality as the parent of a Belgian child
Conditions, records and filing order to obtain Belgian nationality as the parent or adoptive parent of a minor Belgian child.
Read the guideProving kinship or partnership
Which records to provide, how to handle missing documents and when a sworn translation is useful to prove kinship or partnership.
Read the guideRecognition of a child in Belgium with foreign records
How to prepare child recognition in Belgium when parentage or civil-status records come from abroad.
Read the guide6 guides
Succession and foreign records
Death abroad, powers of attorney, wills, undivided property and assets in several countries.
Foreign death certificate: steps in Belgium
What to do with a foreign death certificate in Belgium: declaration, recognition, transcription, apostille and sworn translation.
Read the guideBelgian inheritance after a death abroad
How to use a foreign death certificate for an inheritance in Belgium, including notary work, family records, powers of attorney, apostille and sworn translation.
Read the guideForeign will and mandate in a Belgian inheritance
How to use a foreign will, mandate or power of attorney in a Belgian inheritance, with the notary, wills registry and sworn translations.
Read the guideForeign heir and power of attorney in a Belgian inheritance
What to do when an heir lives abroad: power of attorney, signatures, notary, useful records and translations for an inheritance in Belgium.
Read the guideSale of undivided inheritance property in Belgium
What to do when inherited property remains undivided: heirs' agreement, power of attorney, judicial partition and useful translations.
Read the guideInheritance with real estate in two countries
How to handle an inheritance involving real estate in Belgium and abroad, with the notary, title records, wills and sworn translations.
Read the guideFull catalog
All remaining guides
Below you will find the rest of the catalog: narrower pages, legal edge cases and procedural details.
Exchange a foreign driving licence in Belgium
Complete guide to exchanging a foreign driving licence in Belgium: conditions, certified translation, municipal procedure and deadlines.
Read the guideDocuments for family reunification in Belgium
Complete guide to documents needed for family reunification in Belgium: list, certified translations, apostille and submission to the Immigration Office.
Read the guideFamily reunification with an EU/EEA citizen
Practical guide to documents, evidence and translations for family reunification with an EU/EEA citizen in Belgium.
Read the guideFamily reunification after international protection
Guide to evidence, translations and key checks for family reunification after obtaining international protection in Belgium.
Read the guideFamily reunification Visa D
Where to lodge a family reunification D visa, which documents to prepare and when to translate foreign records.
Read the guideMinor child joining a student or worker parent in Belgium
Documents, filiation, parental authority, timelines and translations for a minor child joining in Belgium a parent who is a student, worker or researcher.
Read the guideMinor child joining a Belgian parent
Records, filiation, parental authority, apostille and translation for a minor child joining a Belgian parent in Belgium.
Read the guideRecognition of a foreign adoption in Belgium
Which records, translations and sequence matter when asking Belgium to recognise an adoption granted abroad.
Read the guideWork as a nurse in Belgium with a foreign diploma
What a nurse with a foreign diploma must check in Belgium: visa, approval, academic records, practice certificates and useful translations.
Read the guideTranscription of a foreign birth certificate in Belgium
What to check before having a foreign birth certificate transcribed in Belgium: record, apostille, translation and competent municipality.
Read the guideEU public documents: when an apostille is no longer required
What the EU regulation on public documents changes: no apostille in certain cases, the limits of the system and the role of multilingual forms.
Read the guideHow to verify a sworn translator in Belgium
Where to check that a sworn translator is actually authorised and for which languages they are registered in Belgium.
Read the guideWhen does a sworn translation need legalisation in Belgium?
Understand the difference between a sworn translation and the legalisation of that translation depending on use in Belgium or abroad.
Read the guideMaintenance after a foreign divorce in Belgium
What must be readable in Belgium when a foreign divorce includes child or spousal maintenance: the decision, enforcement angle and useful translation.
Read the guideBelgian naturalisation: documents and translations
Complete guide to Belgian naturalisation: which documents to gather, which need sworn translation, apostille requirements and municipal submission.
Read the guideApostille and legalisation of foreign documents in Belgium
Practical guide to apostille and legalisation of foreign documents in Belgium: differences, procedure, Hague Convention countries and certified translation.
Read the guideRecognition of a foreign marriage in Belgium
Complete guide to getting a marriage celebrated abroad recognised in Belgium: transcription, required documents, apostille and certified translation.
Read the guideExequatur of a foreign judgment in Belgium
Complete guide to exequatur of a foreign judgment in Belgium: when required, full certified translation, court procedure and timelines.
Read the guide