Which docs I need for nationality to proof financial integration

Hi,

Even if you have an L card, you still need to prove financial participation when applying for Belgian nationality. You can demonstrate this in one of two ways:

1.Continuous Employment for 5 Years:

If you have worked non-stop for at least five years in the five years preceding your citizenship application, you don’t need to prove language skills or integration. In this case, you must provide individuele rekeningen (pay slips) covering the entire five-year period.

Key Points:

1. Parental leave does not interrupt your work history.
2. If you changed jobs, as long as there was no gap between employment, it won’t count as a break.

However, even a single month without work could be considered an interruption, though there are cases where such gaps were accepted.

2.Alternative Proof:

If you cannot show five years of continuous employment, you must meet the following requirements:

1. Proof of at least 468 working days (approx. 18 months of work).
2. A document proving knowledge of Dutch, French, or German at level A2.
3. A certificate of completion for an integration course (inburgering or equivalent).

Good luck!

Hi @MiaRose,

To get 5 years payslip it would be difficult because in my case i switched my job to new company and there is no gap. Is there an another way to get thisfinancial proof for5 years? Could you please help me? Also help me, how to translate Birth Certificate to local language? Whom can I contact?

Thanks

RKSI

@RKSI

Hello,

You don’t need monthly payslips; what you need are the annual individuele rekeningen. These are typically provided by your employer every year, often sent via email or in hard copy. If you’ve lost them, don’t worry—it’s not a problem. Simply contact the HR department of your former employer and request these documents. You can call them, send an email, or, for added reliability, I recommend sending a registered letter with your request.

If the company where you worked no longer exists, has gone bankrupt, or does not respond to your requests, you can obtain these statements from the Social Security Office. Use this link to submit your request.

For translating your birth certificate, you’ll need a sworn translation. You can find a sworn translator on the official Belgium Ministry of Justice website

Here’s how to use the search tool:

1. In the first column, select the language in which your birth certificate is written.
2. In the second column, select the local language of the municipality where you live (Dutch, French, or German).

You’ll see a list of sworn translators with their contact details. I recommend reaching out to a few of them to compare prices.

Good luck with your application!

@Mia0210

What if birth certificate is bilingual and contains French translation on it and document will be used in Vlaanderen.

Isnt there any necessary to Apostil and legalize the document?

If yes should document translated before legalize?

@maharaji1984

Hi,

By law, any official language of Belgium is generally acceptable. However, authorities in Flanders often apply regional language preferences, which means they may force you to provide documents translated into Dutch. To avoid issues, I recommend contacting your gemeente for confirmation—this simple question can be asked over the phone without appointment.

Yes, the document must be legalized. The type of legalization depends on the country where the document was issued:

1. No legalization: If the issuing country has a bilateral agreement with Belgium.
2. Apostille: If the issuing country is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. The Apostille must be obtained in the country where the document originates. It is impossible to obtain Apostille in Belgium
3. Consular legalization: If the issuing country is not part of the Hague Convention, the document must be legalized through Belgian consulate in your country.

Use this link to check whether you need legalization or not

.

@Mia0210

Thank you very much for your valuable inquiry.

Hi @Mia0210,

How do the Belgium will issue Passport after their nationality got approved?

Incase if there are corrections in dependent name in NON EU passport, will they give it as existing non EU passport? What is the process here?

Could you please let me know your answer ?if any of you faced this issue?

@RKSI

Hi,

I’m not  sure I understand your question. Could you clarify what you mean by "dependent"? Are you referring to a minor child or another family member? Also, what kind of changes have been made to their details?

If you're talking about your minor child, note that during the nationality application process, you were required to submit their birth certificate. This is the primary document used for reference, and details like names in the future Belgian passport will align with the information provided in the birth certificate.

If you meant something else, please provide more details

Hi @Mia0210,

Sorry for not being clear in the question, my spouse name is incorrect in the non-EU passport, I cannot correct it from here now, so as I have to do it in the home country only. Here I need your help.

@RKSI

Hi,

I’m still unclear about your question. Could you specify exactly (without personal details of course) what is incorrect and which document doesn’t match with another?

If you’re describing a common situation, such as when people from Russia have only their first name listed in their passport but also have a patronymic included in their birth certificate, or when Pakistani passports include only the given name while birth certificate lists the father’s and grandfather’s names, this is a standard case of discrepancies between documents. In these cases, the birth certificate takes precedence in the context of nationality applications. Gemeente staff can amend the DABS (National Registry Database) accordingly to match the birth certificate, as such inconsistencies are considered "minor errors."

However, if your spouse’s situation involves a significant error—for example, their passport states "Maria" while the birth certificate says "Elizabeth"—this would not fall under minor errors and could potentially suggest fraud or a substantive issue. In such cases, the commune cannot assist, and you would need to go through the Belgian court system to prove that Maria and Elizabeth are the same person.

I won’t be able to respond further if you don’t clearly outline the full context of your situation. We’re cluttering the forum with unnecessarily lengthy exchanges instead of providing precise answers to concrete questions.

Hi @Mia0210,

I have received the documents from my previous employer about the individual account statements, but there is a problem that I have seen it in the documents about national number, it was different to the original national ID.

When I checked with the employer they said that it was temporary national number issued before the regular one issued. ALL the 5 years statements it was reflected same. Name and further details are perfectly matched except the national number.

So, I don't know whether I can proceed with those documents or can I ask to regenerate the statements with correct national ID.

Please share me your feedback

@RKSI

Unfortunately, I must again say that I don’t fully understand what exactly you are referring to.

If you are talking about the ID card number (carton, paper, plastic, or electronic), this is completely normal. Over your stay in Belgium, like any other immigrant, you may have had several identification documents, starting with the orange card and paper certificates, and eventually receiving an electronic chip card. There are no issues with this situation.

However, if you mean the Rijksregisternummer (national register number), someone in this situation is clearly mistaken: this number is assigned once and remains unchanged for life. There are only two situations where it might change:

1. You changed your gender.
2. Your date of birth was initially recorded incorrectly during registration (e.g., based on verbal information), and you later provided official documentation confirming your actual birth date.

In these two cases, the Rijksregisternummer will be updated.

In all other cases, it remains the same for life. Therefore, if the documents reflect a temporary number, they won’t be accepted for calculating your working days. More precisely, they may initially be accepted, but when the public prosecutor reviews the data in the computer system, they will quickly establish that the person who worked at that job was registered under a different Rijksregisternummer.

If your employer claims there was a "temporary national number," you should ask them to provide a document verifying this, or you can contact the relevant support service through the link I provided earlier. After that, either the employer or the Sociale Zekerheid database must correct the information in the system, and you will receive updated statements from your employer with the correct number.

Rest assured, the situation will be resolved in your favor, provided there’s no fraud or misuse of another person’s documents.

@Mia0210

You certainly seem much more informed than I am in these topics, however, just wanted to add based on experience that it is common for employers to issue a temporary national ID number until registration in the commune is complete and receiving the initial ID card.

@ChandlerBing

You’re probably referring to the so-called BIS-nummer, which serves as an alternative for the Rijksregisternummer. However, this is extremely unlikely in the case of the topicstarter. The BIS-nummer is only issued to individuals who have no Belgian address or documents, such as cross-border workers, temporary workers, etc.

The topicstarter, as stated, is a non-EU citizen, meaning they would have needed a residence permit or visa to work in Belgium, which would automatically lead to the creation of a Rijksregisternummer. Furthermore, they worked for that company for several years, clearly residing in Belgium. Thus, they must have a Belgian residence permit.

I don’t want to speculate or make assumptions, but considering the topicstarter also wrote about discrepancies in their name on the passport and is now mentioning same with the Rijksregisternummer, only one conclusion comes to mind. Unfortunately, this kind of situation happens often in Belgian immigration cases. I won’t say it outright, but I think it’s clear what I mean.

P.S. Your comment made me realize that when I see similar questions, I shouldn’t respond at all—I should just ignore them. I understood everything perfectly well from the very first their question, but for some reason, I keep trying to give answers like a fool. This is clearly not helping our beloved country.

@Mia0210

I find your comments quite helpful and insightful, and I’m sure there is many more that feel the same but don’t comment.

In terms of the actual topic, once again, you seem to be much more versed than I am so if I was the original poster I’d take that. I am now just myself confused if I will face the issue as I recall that my HR also mentioned to me that they assigned me a “temporary national ID” number (I moved with a Visa D based on single permit)  until my registration in the commune was complete at which point I received the permanent national ID number and had to let HR know of it once it was assigned to me along with the first ID card.

Hi @ChandlerBing,

Thanks for your insights. My employer also mentioned same that it is temporary national register number until the original ID issued. I am planning to apply for a nationality so, in relevant to it need to submit my individual account statements for all the 5 years, in all my 5 years statements I could see temporary natio anal I'd only which I am thinking that, commune may raise the question here. I am bit concerned here.

Do you or any of your friends  experienced the same? Kindly share your feedback

@RKSI

Sorry, I am not sure. Since I received the permanent national ID, my payslips reflect that number