Traveling with a Belgian Orange Card?

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MelanyaRice New member

Member since 28 February 2025

MelanyaRiceNew member28 February 2025 09:21:35

I am in a pretty complicated situation here, and was wondering if anyone could give me answers.

I have recently applied for regroupement familiale here in Belgium, and I received my orange card. My 90-day tourist visa still had about 20 days left when I received my orange card.

However, since we made the application, the woman at the commune basically told us that because my boyfriend lost his job right before we made the application, we would almost certainly be rejected. So we made a plan B - this summer I will return home to the USA and make a student visa application to do a master's degree in France. We are just waiting for the regroupement familiale to get rejected at this point - which we're fine with because we have new plans.

Here is the issue - we are planning to take a vacation in Croatia in June with my family and my boyfriend. I will still be on my Belgian orange card at this point. The plan is that we'll go to Croatia from Belgium, stay 15 days, then I will fly back home to the US from Croatia. Another consultant we had talked to said that this would be fine, because there are still days left on my tourist visa, and the only issue would be that I wouldn't be allowed back in Belgium and our visa case would be closed (which is fine because we are expecting that anyway). However, another consultant later told us that we wouldn't legally be allowed to do this, because my tourist visa is still active even when I'm on my orange card?? Now I'm confused and freaking out a bit. Has anyone been in a similar situation that can give me some advice?

brla15 Active member

Member since 04 April 2024

brla15Active member28 February 2025 11:17:17

Err on the safe side. That means go with your plan B and plan your Croatia trip only when you are already on student visa.

Bee BL New member

Member since 31 May 2024

Bee BLNew member28 February 2025 11:38:36

@MelanyaRice

1. Your Tourist Visa & the Orange Card

Your 90-day Schengen visa is typically considered overridden by the orange card once it is issued. This means that, in the eyes of immigration authorities, you are no longer a tourist but a resident applicant under family reunification.

However, the orange card is not a travel document and does not grant re-entry to Belgium or Schengen once you leave.

2. Leaving for Croatia and Then the U.S.

If your original 90-day visa is still technically valid and Croatia allows entry based on that, then you might be able to go to Croatia. However, Croatia is part of Schengen, and some border authorities may consider your orange card status rather than your old tourist visa.

Once you leave Belgium, you won’t be able to re-enter on the orange card or resume your regroupement familial process. This aligns with what the first consultant said.

3. Risk of Overstaying & Potential Issues

The second consultant’s concern seems to be that your Schengen tourist visa should not be considered "active" while you hold an orange card. If authorities interpret your status this way, they may view your presence in Belgium (past the original 90 days) as an overstay rather than a legal stay under regroupement familial. This could complicate future visa applications.

When you leave for Croatia, border control may check your time in Belgium and flag an issue if they believe your tourist visa expired while waiting for the regroupement familial decision.

Best Course of Action:

Confirm with the Immigration Office (Office des Étrangers).

Call or visit to clarify whether you can travel using the remaining days of your tourist visa.

Check with the Croatian embassy or border police.

They can confirm if they will let you enter based on your original tourist visa.

Be ready for questioning at exit control in Belgium.

They might ask why you are leaving with an orange card.

Prepare for future visa applications.

If Belgian authorities record this as an overstay, your student visa for France could be affected.

Since your goal is to apply for a student visa in France, it’s best to leave with the cleanest record possible.

If there’s any doubt, it may be safer to fly directly to the U.S. from Belgium instead of going through Croatia.

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