Toughening up the procedure for obtaining residence permits for medical reasons doesn’t go far enough

The procedure for obtaining residence permits for medical reasons is often used improperly in Belgium: in 2010, over 56% of all the residence permit applications on medical grounds dealt with in the first case by the Immigration Service were declared inadmissible. Of the admissible applications sought for medical reasons in 2009, only 8% of all cases were ultimately considered valid; in 2011, this was less than 5% of all applications. “These figures show that this channel is being massively abused. A reform of this procedure is needed more urgently now than ever,” the N-VA stated. “Belgium is gradually becoming the world’s hospital, with the result that the procedure for obtaining residence permits for medical reasons is jamming up completely. A backlog is developing, the victims of which are the truly ill.” The fact that the N-VA’s points are now being considered in a bill is a step in the right direction, but there is still a great deal of work to be done. The improper use of the procedure for obtaining residence permits for medical reasons must be put to a stop so that it is reserved for truly ill immigrants. Furthermore, the N-VA wishes to make it impossible to combine the procedure for obtaining residence permits for medical reasons with another procedure.