After modernising the residence permits/documents issued to foreign nationals legally residing in Belgium for long-term stay, the Immigration Office is now working on modernising another residence document: the registration certificate (“orange card”).
This modernisation project is progressing. However, it was not possible to align the phasing-out of the “orange card” with the introduction of the new model of the registration certificate. In order to ensure that foreign nationals entitled to receive a registration certificate are not deprived of it, the Immigration Office has been obliged to introduce a temporary/provisional model of the registration certificate (A4 format). This model is the one set out in the Royal Decree of 21 June 2025 published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 15 September 2025.
As a result, for a certain period (which we hope will be as short as possible), several models of the registration certificate will coexist. All these models of the registration certificate have the same legal value.
The introduction of this temporary/provisional model did not occur simultaneously in all municipalities. Indeed, municipalities are only required to begin using this temporary/provisional model once they have exhausted their stock of “orange cards”. Moreover, as long as the orange card still has space to extend its period of validity, municipalities must do so on the orange card and may not yet issue the person concerned a registration certificate in the temporary/provisional model.
Apart from this, the Immigration Office is not yet able to provide further information on the modernisation of the registration certificate. We will do so in due course.