Nationality

Yes, you can apply from the next day when you continue your 5th year. though I recommend to count from your first Plastic card release date .. otherwise you might experience a rejection..

and yes, after nationality you can move to other countries .. eventhough .,. this is not aligned with the nationality application rules.. "your nationality application is based on you feeling Belge and would stay all your life here .. so I would say if you mention your move to the police or the cityhall.. and that is in your file . then you might experience also a rejection."

And yes, it might take several months to a year .. depending on the cityhall .. in Antwerp the waiting time to apply is +1 year ahead.

@Vanessa PSantos

Hi Vanessa,

First of all you should have an unlimited residence permit in order to apply citizenship by naturalisation.

If you are planning to apply for citizenship in Belgium  when your 5 years completed in Belgium and if you don't have unlimited residence permit , you can not apply for citizenship.

On the other hand first day term is starting from your first register day in municipality not from the date  physical card given.

Whish you good luck

Adding to what people wrote above, after 5 years you can apply to become a permanent resident, which is essential for applying for nationality. This usually takes ~6 months until you get the physical card.

Then nationality takes ~5 months to get the ID and passport.

So even if you do everything on the first day you can without any wait, expect around a year after you've completed 5 years to get the ID and passport.

Maybe you can apply to have the permanent residency before and then by the time they check your file the 5 years would already pass, but I'm not sure.

So a bit of patience and good luck.

@maharaji1984 First registration day didn't work in my case, and got rejected .. and day of residence card was the reference. and indeed many of my case, and little exceptions from your case.

@ItaloBelg

Sorry to hear that. What i have seen in a few years in Belgium, cases may differ than each other which normally shouldn't.

Which municipality was yours?

@maharaji1984 Charleroi/Gilly

@maharaji1984

I have a friend who started the process holding F card (5 years residency). She got the nationality in 4 months.

    @maharaji1984
I have a friend who started the process holding F card (5 years residency). She got the nationality in 4 months.
   

    -@Vanessa PSantos

Hi Vanessa

Your sentence also contains the answer of the question you asked.

Most probably her document was admissible and authorites apporved her case.

But in your case it will not be possible.

On the other hand :

I  wonder if you are not going to live in Belgium why do you want to be a citizen? For voting?

When you get your L card you can move anywhere you want.

        @maharaji1984I have a friend who started the process holding F card (5 years residency). She got the nationality in 4 months.        -@Vanessa PSantos

Hi Vanessa
Your sentence also contains the answer of the question you asked.
Most probably her document was admissible and authorites apporved her case.

But in your case it will not be possible.

On the other hand :

I  wonder if you are not going to live in Belgium why do you want to be a citizen? For voting?
When you get your L card you can move anywhere you want.
   

    -@maharaji1984

While you can move anywhere you want with an L card, it does not automatically provide the right to work. Many countries would still require a work permit, so nationality provides much more flexiblity around living and working.

@masstonsils0e

I am working with EU citizens who still need to wait for work due to bureaucracy, so being an EU citizen is not a guarantee to start working immediately.

If the purpose of the L card wasn't to provide that flexibility, it wouldn't have been created, right?

While waiting for citizenship, OP could use their L card and begin the necessary procedures at their final destination.

    @masstonsils0eI am working with EU citizens who still need to wait for work due to bureaucracy, so being an EU citizen is not a guarantee to start working immediately.If the purpose of the L card wasn't to provide that flexibility, it wouldn't have been created, right?While waiting for citizenship, OP could use their L card and begin the necessary procedures at their final destination.        -@maharaji1984

There are some countries where the EU long term residency permit allows you to directly move and work without a work permit (e.g., Germany and Czech Republic). Others require you to obtain a work permit. For example, the Netherlands allows you to move there and get a residency permit, but you woud have to apply for the work permit for the first year. After 12 months you would have a permanent work permit. My understanding is that Italy always requires that holders of EU long term residency cards issued outside of Italy apply for a work permit.

With nationality, there is no longer a requirement for a work permit. One would still need to register their residence in the new country, but there would be no need to request a work permit in any other EU country.

No it takes around 6 years counting PR and all timing