An application for admission to stay on the grounds of statelessness is submitted directly to the Immigration Office (IO) by registered mail. The application is then assessed by the IO according to the conditions for consideration as set out in the law of 15 December 1980. If the IO decides to take the application into consideration, an opinion is then requested from the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS).
https://www.cgrs.be/en/stateless-persons
On the basis of this opinion (communicated only to the IO), the IO will take a decision on the stay:
- in the event of a positive decision, admission to stay for a limited period is granted. After a period of 5 years, the foreigner is in principle admitted to stay for an unlimited period.
- in the event of a negative decision, an appeal can be lodged with the Council for Alien Law Litigation (CALL)
If you have any questions about this procedure, please contact the International Protection Follow-up Unit at the following e-mail address: stateless [at] ibz.be
Submitting an application
An application for admission to stay on the grounds of statelessness is submitted directly to the Immigration Office (IO) by registered mail:
Immigration Office
Cellule Suivi Protection Internationale
Boulevard Pacheco 44 - 1000 Brussels
The application includes all relevant elements supporting the application, as well as the address of effective residence in Belgium.
It is up to the applicant to demonstrate :
- his/her identity and origin,
- that he/she has no nationality,
- that he/she involuntarily lost it,
- that he/she cannot acquire or regain a nationality in another State,
- and is unable to obtain a legal and permanent residence permit in another State with which he or she has links.
To this end, they must include in their application all the necessary information, in particular their declarations and any documents or records in their possession concerning their identity, origin, previous nationality or nationalities, age, background, including that of the family members to be taken into account, the country or countries and place or places of previous residence or with which they have a connection, their itineraries, identity and travel documents, and the reasons that led to their statelessness.
The applicant must enable the IO and the CGRS to form as detailed and complete a picture of his/her individual situation as possible.
Documents must be submitted in one of the national languages or in English, or at least be accompanied by a translation into one of these languages. If necessary, the foreigner is responsible for translating the documents.
The IO and the CGRS have the possibility to hear the applicant at any stage of the procedure. The application should therefore specify whether an interpreter is required and, if so, in which language.
If you have any questions about this procedure, please contact the International Protection Follow-up Unit at the following e-mail address: stateless [at] ibz.be