Residency applications generate EUR 30 million

The foreigners’ Fee A fee is remuneration requested by the government for a specific service that it provides. The difference between a fee and taxes is that there is an immediate service provided in return for a fee. An example is the parking charges that the municipalities can enforce. They can carry out the collection thereof themselves, or contract this out. fee has already raised EUR 30 million, says Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Theo Francken. Since 1 March 2015, foreigners submitting a residency application have to pay a fee to do so. Currently, a regularisation application costs EUR 350 per person, incidentally without any guarantee that the applicant will actually receive the right of residence.

A good thing

Last week, the total amount paid in foreigners’ fees passed the threshold of EUR 30 million. Secretary of State Theo Francken calls it a good thing: “In the past, all residence applications were free of charge for foreigners, resulting in a huge number of poor applications and drawn-out proceedings. Now they have to pay.”