Granting of Belgian nationality (under 18 years old)

Residence: your main residence must be located in the City of Brussels

Age: your child must be under 18 years of age

Family situation: the law distinguishes between two different situations for your child

1. Child born abroad to a Belgian parent or adoptive parent born abroad

The declaration of attribution must meet the following conditions:

• The child must be aged under 5 years old or have been adopted less than 5 years ago
• The child must have been born abroad
• The child must have been born to a parent of Belgian nationality at the time of birth or adoption
• The child must have been born to or adopted by a parent born abroad

2. Child born in Belgium to a foreign parent or adoptive parent

The declaration of attribution must be submitted before the child reaches 12 years of age and must meet the following conditions:

• Children must be under 12
• The child must have been born in Belgium and have lived there since birth
• Both parents or adoptive parents must have had their main residence in Belgium for at least 10 years. If only one parent is mentioned on the birth certificate, this condition applies only to that parent.
• At least one of the parents or adoptive parents must be authorised to reside in Belgium for an unlimited period at the time the declaration is made

There are several stages to this procedure:

Determine your personal situation and put together your application

There are several possibilities:

• By e-mail to nationalitebelge@brucity.be with the following information:
  • Subject of email: Granting + surname
  • Surname, firstname, date of birth and national number
  • Copy of both sides of your proof of identity
  • Copy of your child's birth certificate if he or she was born abroad
• By appointment , at the counter of the Administrative Centre, to be made online.

Submission of your complete application

Once the documents have been validated, you can make an appointment to submit your full application.

• Proof of identity of the declarant(s)
• Your child's 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
• The list of documents varies according to your situation, and will be sent to you once your application has been reviewed

Submission of the application: 50 euros 

When submitting a complete application:

• Child born abroad to a Belgian parent or adoptive parent born abroad: directly at the counter
• Child born in Belgium to a foreign parent or adoptive parent: procedure of 6 months

External siteNationality (in French, FPS Justice)