Proposal for stricter nationality laws submitted to Council of State

The N-VA, Open Vld, CD&V and sp.a are in agreement on making conditions to become a Belgian (citizen) stricter. Nationality laws are linked to integration. With this proposal, Belgium puts itself in line with our neighbouring countries. All parties, including the PS, cdh and MR, have agreed to submit the proposal to the Council of State. The N-VA hopes to elicit a positive recommendation so that other parties can also endorse this new concept of Belgian citizenship. Integration will become the most important criterion for becoming a Belgian. “To obtain nationality, good citizenship is at last taking centre stage in our country too. To become a member of the club, you must be integrated, behave yourself and make an active contribution,” says the N-VA. In terms of the proposal, newcomers can only become Belgians after five years. They must possess permanent legal residence. Serious crimes and marriages of convenience are (adequate) reasons to refuse nationality. The current twelve procedures to become Belgian have been reduced to five. This increases efficiency and monitoring (feasibility).