Population figures
Total country population
11,715,774
Forcibly displaced population
Refugees (under UNHCR's mandate):
172,442
Asylum-seekers:
49,519
IDPs (of concern to UNHCR):
0
Other people in need of international protection:
0
Other
Statelessness persons
0
Host community
0
Others of concern to UNHCR
628
Country context
Belgium is a Western European country bordered by France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the North Sea. Major population centres include Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Liège, with the highest densities in the Flemish and Brussels-Capital regions. Belgium ratified the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees in 1953—while entering a reservation to its Article 15—and the 1967 Protocol in 1969. It also ratified the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in 1960 and acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in 2014.
The two principal national laws governing the asylum procedure and the reception of asylum seekers are, on the one hand, the Law of 15 December 1980 on Access to the Territory, Stay, Establishment and Removal of Foreigners (the “Aliens Law”), and, on the other hand, the Law of 12 January 2007 on the Reception of Asylum Seekers and Certain Other Categories of Foreigners. The main countries of origin for asylum seekers are Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Turkiye, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The largest groups of refugees are from Ukraine and Syria.
...In response to the mass influx of Ukrainian refugees, Belgium has structured a fast-track procedure granting immediate legal status, basic services and rights to temporary protection beneficiaries. Temporary protection is initially granted for one year and renewable twice for six-month periods. To qualify, applicants must demonstrate they fall within the scope defined by the EU implementing decision—primarily Ukrainian nationals, stateless persons or third-country nationals who held protection or equivalent status in Ukraine before 24 February 2022, and their family members—and must register in person at the designated Brussels centre. Beneficiaries have the right to health insurance and medical care, legal assistance, and access to the labour market and the education system. They receive social benefits if they need financial aid and have the option to follow integration courses.
In 2023, the Belgian Council of Ministers approved the structure for a comprehensive Migration Code, intended to consolidate and streamline migration and asylum legislation. Procedural innovations include the authorization of remote (videoconference) interviews and expedited appeal timelines, aimed at reducing backlogs and enhancing efficiency. The proposed Migration Code brings together Belgium’s immigration, asylum and return legislation into a single legal framework organized in sixteen thematic parts and guided by nineteen overarching principles. Although the Council of Ministers approved this structural blueprint in 2023, the Migration Code has not yet been formally enacted and remains under parliamentary consideration.
Belgium ratified the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in 1960 and acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in 2014. On 31 December 2022, some changes were made to the Code of Belgian Nationality. Among other things, the formulation of article 10 is altered in the sense that a child born in Belgium who does not have another nationality automatically has the Belgian nationality without first having to be recognised as stateless and a Central Authority for nationality is constituted within the Federal Public Service (FPS) Justice charged with the task of giving non-binding advice to local officers with doubts about the application of the Code. On 29 September 2023, the federal government submitted to the Chamber of Representatives a draft bill amending the Law of 15 December 1980 on access to the territory, stay, establishment and removal of foreigners, specifically concerning applications for admission to stay on the grounds of statelessness. The draft law would insert into the 1980 Aliens Act a specific procedure allowing stateless persons to obtain a residence permit.
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