Acquisition of Belgian nationality (over 18 years old)

1. Age: you must be 18 years of age or older
2. Residence: your main residence must be located in the City of Brussels
3. Residence permit: you must have an unlimited residence permit at the time of application
4. Legal residence in Belgium: you must have been legally resident in Belgium for at least 5 years without interruption

Remarks: the length of your legal stay in Belgium, your family and employment situation, any disability or invalidity status and your pensioner status will all have an impact on your application and the documents you need to bring with you.  

There are several stages to this procedure: 

Determine your personal situation and put together your application

There are several possibilities:

• Send us the completed questionnaire together with a copy of both sides of your residence permit by e-mail to: nationalitebelge@brucity.be
• By appointment, at the counter of the Brucity Administrative Centre, to be made online

Submit your complete application

Your application must include all required documents and be approved by the local authorities. Once approved, you can make the payment to the FPS Finance and make an appointment to submit your application for nationality.

1. Belgian residence card
2. Birth certificate
   External siteLegalised or apostille (if required) in the country of issue and translated by a sworn translator if the certificate was not issued in French or Dutch
3. Proof of payment of the registration fee (payment to be made once the application has been reviewed and approved)

Depending on your situation, you may be asked to provide other specific documents:

If you have been legally resident in Belgium for 5 years without interruption

1. Proof of your knowledge of one of the three national languages
2. Evidence of your social integration
3. Proof of your economic contribution

If you have been legally resident in Belgium for 10 years without interruption

1. Proof of your knowledge of one of the three national languages
2. Proof of your involvement in the economic and/or socio-cultural life of your host community

If you are married to a Belgian national or the parent of a Belgian minor child

1. Marriage certificate or birth certificate of the Belgian minor child
   External siteLegalised or apostille (if required) in the country of issue and translated by a sworn translator if the certificate was not issued in French or Dutch
2. Proof of your knowledge of one of the three national languages
3. Evidence of your social integration

If you are disabled (66%) or have reached pensionable age

1. Proof of recognition of disability or permanent invalidity

Do you have any questions about the type of evidence you need to provide? You may find the answers in the 'Frequently asked questions' section.

Acquiring Belgian nationality involves the following costs:

• Submission of the application: 50 euros
• External siteRegistration fee to SPF Finance: 1030 euros (the local authorities will tell you when to make the payment)

Submission of the complete application: the local authorities send it to the public prosecutor's office, which then has four months to issue an opinion.

Administrative processing: if the public prosecutor's office gives a favourable opinion, the local authorities will then finalise your application, which may take one to two months.

Finalising the application: as soon as the administrative processing is complete, you will receive an invitation to order your Belgian identity card.

External siteFrequently asked questions (FAQ)