Cohabitation Belgium

Hello

As long as you're both 21 years old or older, yes you can start the process at your commune IF he got his certificate of marital status legalized/apostille + less than 6/7 months old.


1. Yes
2. Certificate of birth + certificate of marital status (single/widow/divorced) + criminal record + passport still valid for at least 1 year
All Turkish papers MUST have the Apostille + sworn translation in FR/NL/EN! ==> from the foreigner ministry in Turkey
Health Insurance +/- 6 months to 1 year, until he gets his F card, then switch to the mutuelle/ziekenfond
Proof of adequate accomodation (my rent / certificate of owning)
Certificate from your mutuelle/ziekenfond that you're affiliated

and... million of proofs that you know each other (from day 1 until now) AND proof that you've lived together for 1 year (electricity bill with both name, loan contract, ...)
--> Visa / immigration stamps / flight tickets / booking.com - agoda... / +/- 50-100 pictures together / gifts (money/flowers/chocolate/...) phone history / mails / ......


if you can't provide a proof that you've lived together for 1 year, you'll need to wait 2 years of relationship / know each other, to be eligible to sign the cohabitation.


3. Yes it is obviously mandatory as the goal of a cohabitation is to have a civil status in order to live together.
You'll need to prove it while doing the family reunion after the cohabitation is stated and signed. (unless you don't want to live together now)


4. Any (permanent) resident in Belgium + 1505€ per month after tax + 150€ per people already in its care.
The annex 3bis has to be done at the commune.
Just remember if your boyfriend do something bad, it might cost you a lot. Annex 3bis can be a dangerous paper!

Hello,

Thanks so much for your reply! Very helpfull :-)
Do the documents need to be translated in French, dutch and english or just one of these languages?

Thanks again

Only one of these.
Prefer the language of your commune.

But you've to understand that the legal cohabitation is just a declaration to modify your family composition + visit of police at your accommodation.

After the cohabitation is validated by the mayor, you'll have to start the family reunion. That's the big job that awaits you.

https://dofi.ibz.be/sites/dvzoe/NL/Gids … elgie.aspx

Hi, i have another question.

Is he able to stay in Belgium after we start the cohabitation process? Even when his tourist visa finishes?

Thanks again,

AlexFromBelgium wrote:

After the cohabitation is validated by the mayor, you'll have to start the family reunion. That's the big job that awaits you.

Sorry i dont understand..

Im talking about the time it will take to get the family reunion (visa d) while they are processing everything, wich i heard can take multiple months..

Can he stay here during these times?

Ok, it seems you don't understand the laws and the immigration topic at all.
So, in order to make it clear:

You can do a family reunion from
* Belgium (temporary resident permit - orange card) - you can live in Belgium together during the process
* Outside Belgium (visa D - long stay) - you're far away from each other during the process

with different conditions that can vary depending on the context (nationalities, permanent resident, temporary...)


Everything that I will say in the next explanation is based on the fact that you're Belgian AND living in Belgium.

Cohabitation:
Once he arrives in Belgium, you must immediately go to the commune to declare its arrival + start the cohabitation process. Don't wait for the end of its Schengen Visa, do it ASAP! The sooner, the best!

He'll need its passport and a certificate confirming that he's unmarried (legalized/apostile from the foreign ministry in Turkey + sworn translation in FR/NL/DE/EN + legalized by the embassy/consulate of Belgium in Turkey).
They also may request its certificate of birth / criminal record (legalized/apostile too).
You'll have to pay +/- 20€ at the commune (admin + police visit).

Within 2 weeks (officially, it really depends on your commune), police will come into your accommodation to verify that he's living with you at your address. (They might want to enter and verify its clothes are inside your wardrobe, toothbrush, ...)
If the police check is positive, you'll both be invited to go back to the commune few days later to sign the cohabitation in front of the mayor.
The cohabitation is done.

Meaning:
You both stay officially single (or widow/divorced depending on your case). Your civil status won't change with a legal cohabitation.
BUT your population registry will be modified and you'll be linked to your boyfriend.
==> your family composition will be changed ==> Your boyfriend will be officially a member of your family.


Family Reunion:
Now, being a family member, he's eligible to request a family reunion, and so, a residence permit.
Note: I say he's eligible to request a family reunion, NOT that he will receive it. Immigration will decide if you both respect the laws and the resident permit can be granted.



So you'll request a family reunion at your commune, they will give him an annex 19ter – AR 08/10/1981 (don't ever lose that paper until he gets its F card!).
They'll tell you which papers must be included into the file to send to the immigration in Brussels.
Basically:
* 3 pictures
* proof of adequate accommodation (my rent / certificate of owning)
* certificate from your mutuelle/ziekenfond that you're BOTH affiliated (you need to register him and show them a certificate of family composition + annex 19ter)
* payslip + work contract + financial guarantor + ...
* proof of payment of the royalty fee to the immigration (204€) (statement from your bank)
* proof that you have lived together one year together before
OR proof that you've a child together (certificate of birth)
OR proof that you know each other since 2 years and you keep in touch together (prefer daily)
+ write a letter to explain your relationship, when/where did you meet, how do you communicate since DAY 1, which language, different/same religion, trip together, visas/immigration stamps, pictures, phone call history, chat, ...) Explain your relationship, why a cohabitation together, why not a marriage, ... Defend yourselves!
* ... (it depends on the commune, most probably a medical certificate too)

You have 3 months to give the file to your commune.


As you've already been controlled by the police few days before, in order to declare the cohabitation, the police shouldn't check you again (that fast), but it really depends on the commune you're living...
If the check is positive / no need, your boyfriend will receive a temporary ID card (known as the "orange card"), valid for the next 6 months, extendable until the immigration decide on his case.
He's NOT allowed to travel inside Schengen Area with that temporary resident permit (only if its Schengen Visa is still valid), he can only stay in Belgium.
He's allowed to work as an employee without the need of a work permit (self-employed under strict conditions)
If he's leaving Belgium for any reason, immigration will consider he doesn't want to come in Belgium in order to do a family reunion, and so he'll be denied (unless force majeure (family death, ...) + declared at the commune + request a visa return)

Immigration will give an answer withing 6 months.
If no news after 6 months (date written in the annex 19ter), he'll receive its Family Member of a European citizen ID card (F card), with a validity of 5 years.
That F card can be canceled easily by the immigration within the first 3 years, in case you don't live together anymore / no more working / ...)



Note: the annex 19ter denied any official order from the immigration to leave the country within 30 days, that your boyfriend might have received if its Schengen Visa has expired during the process.

Administration is SLOW, (police check, time to be declared a family member, ...).
So do the math and the calculation! Check if you have enough time to be able to receive the annex 19ter in time or he'll be thrown away from Belgium and won't be able to come back before 2 or 3 years!!!

If it's not doable, get him back outside the Schengen Area before its visa expire and ask a new visa C in few months (maximum of 90 days of stay for a period of 180 days inside the Schengen Area) to do the full process correctly.

Just to make sure you understand, in general, it takes around 2 til 3 months for the cohabitation to be done + to get the orange card.
That's also the reason why you always request a 90 days visa C in view of a cohabitation.
Depending on your commune, the police might not come within the legal 15 days, even if it's illegal.
But in the end, its visa might expired before he can do the family reunion!


If your boyfriend has a valid visa for less than a month / 2 months, you should forget it and do it next time when you're better prepared and know the topic.
I strongly advice that he doesn't stay illegally in Belgium unless you exactly know what you're doing and with the help of an advocate (he'll probably ask you to do a "fake" 9bis etc... but that's for your advocate to tell you what to do. Sorry but, I decided a long time ago that I will not help any illegal stay on this forum).

Thanks for your help,

Dont worry, we are planning to do everything the correct way :-)

We just have another question regarding the documents that need to be legalised. His birth certificate etc has a stamp and been translated by the nitary in Turkey, do these documents need to be legalised by the embassy of belgium in turkey as well?

Dear Alex,

I have applied for Family Reunion with a Belgian spouse. She is Belgian currently in Belgium and im from and still in Sri Lanka.

We have applied for the VISA D on 2nd August 2019. The legal deadline to have an answer (6months) finishes on 2nd February 2020.

There is a clause that says: IF NO ANSWER IS RECEIVED WITH IN THE LEGAL TIME  (6MONTHS)  DOFI WILL HAVE TO ALLOW THE VISA)

Whats the process to follow if we don't have an answer before 2nd February 2020?

Please advice, thank you in advance!

@marthebries
I don't really remember. The country of my girlfriend has not signed the convention of La Haye (Apostile), so we had to do the full legalization (stamp from the administration in her town + stamp & sticker from the foreign ministry in Vietnam + stamp from the Belgian Embassy).
I'm 99% sure that the apostille done by the foreign ministry in Turkey is enough and that you don't need to show it to the Belgian Embassy.

By default, check on europa.eu or send a mail to the Belgian embassy


@sysarshad
Please, don't mix a family reunion with a cohabitation + family reunion, you should create another separate topic or, better, use the search function on this forum.
Yes, that question has already been replied a couple of time on this forum.
If she's Belgian, living in Belgium, the foreign office has to give an answer within 6 months.
After these 6 months, you should send a mail to the embassy (1-2 days after) and they'll tell you about your case, and most probably that the visa has been granted.