Hello everyone, I have a question regarding obtaining Belgian citizenship. I am a non-EU citizen married to a Belgian citizen. Because of my job, we both live however in Austria, where I have permanent residency. However, we are thinking of moving to Belgium in the distant future.
My question is, can the years that we spend in Austria count towards the Belgian citizenship? We spend a lot of time in Belgium, about 2-3 months a year, but our main place of residence is in Austria.
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On the Inernet, I could find some information about similar situations. For example, here ([https://www.slate.fr/story/61629/affaire-arnault-nationalite-belge-procedure](https://www.slate.fr/story/61629/affaire-arnault-nationalite-belge-procedure)) it says the following:
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>Vous vivez à l’étranger avec votre âme sœur? Pas de probleme, vous pouvez devenir Belge en prouvant que vous avez des “attaches véritables avec la Belgique” (formule entourée d’un flou juridique qui recouvre des séjours réguliers au pays, de la famille, la langue…).
I also found similar information here ([https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/how-to-get-belgian-citizenship-21126](https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/how-to-get-belgian-citizenship-21126)):
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>For the couples staying abroad, the foreign spouse should file an application for the marriage abroad to be assimilated to a marriage in Belgium. A marriage abroad can be assimilated to the living together in Belgium when the foreign national demonstrates that there are true links between him/her and Belgium (frequent travels or stays, professional activities exercised for the government, incorporation of a company, possession of a property, regular contacts with the family or friends, etc.)
I realize that my question is rather uncommon, but maybe someone has similar experiences and could tell me if in my situation the years we spent in Austria can count towards the time I need to apply for citizenship in Belgium?
Thanks for any help!
2 comments
Is the wedding already recognised by Belgium? Did your spouse register it at the consulate?
You might want to get in touch with ADDE for this question. (www.adde.be)
They’re a French-speaking legal organization that fight for the rights of foreigners in Belgium, and citizenship is one of their areas.
It seems to me that “a true link” is hard to quantify/define – so they may have some previous examples of people in similar situations, or they might give you some better guidance.
I *think* (and I could be wrong) that you need to be married to a Belgian citizen for 5 years before you get a passport, but I’m not sure if those 5 years need to be physically living in Belgium, or if being abroad with “true links” counts. Something to check.
Good luck!