|Published on: 15th July 2026|Categories: News|
The updated AIDA Country Report on Belgium provides a detailed overview of legislative and practice-related developments in asylum procedures, reception conditions, detention of asylum applicants and content of international protection in 2025. It is accompanied by an annex providing an overview of temporary protection.
A number of key developments drawn from the overview of the main changes that have taken place since the publication of the update on 2024 are set out below.
(A) International protection
Asylum procedure
- National context: A new federal government led by the nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) was formed in January 2025. It introduced several measures that affected asylum procedures, reception conditions and family reunification.
- Key asylum statistics: There were 34,439 applications for international protection in 2025. This represented a 13% decrease from the previous year. There was a 45.5% decrease in the number of applicants who were beneficiaries of international protection in another EU member state (MS) (‘M-status applicants’). The overall protection rate fell from 47.2% to 28.5% while the in-merit protection rate fell from 62% to 44%.
- Resettlement suspended: The resettlement programme was suspended in March 2025 and only 44 refugees who had been selected prior to this date were resettled.
- Broader definition of subsequent applications: In July 2025, a new law expanded the concept of “subsequent application” to include applicants who had already received a final decision in another EU MS. The legislation, which enabled a restriction of applicants’ reception rights and labour market access, was suspended by the Constitutional Court in February 2026 and referred to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). The government’s subsequent efforts to continue the practice via alternative legal grounds promoted further litigation and opposition from employees of the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil).
- Safe countries of origin: In December 2025, Morocco was added to the list of safe countries of origin while both India and Moldova were removed from it.
- Support from EU agencies: Officers from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) began supporting return operations at Brussels Airport in September 2025. Separately, experts from the EU Agency for Asylum (EUAA) began assisting the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) with case processing. Concerns were raised regarding interviews and the impartiality of Greek EUAA experts handling admissibility assessments involving applicants who were beneficiaries of international protection in Greece.
- Legal aid: NGOs and lawyers reported increasing barriers to accessing legal aid in 2025, particularly for applicants outside the reception system. They also noted delays in legal aid payments to lawyers.
Reception conditions
- Access to reception denied: Fedasil continued to lack sufficient reception capacity in 2025 and systematically refused accommodation to most single male applicants. More than 7,000 applicants were denied reception during the course of the year.
- Reception capacity: Although some new collective reception places were created in 2025, the closure of temporary reception places resulted in a net reduction of reception capacity. Fedasil’s budget was also cut.
- Poor reception conditions: A five-year university study found that the rights of children could not be guaranteed in the Fedasil reception network due to the poor quality of available infrastructure. These findings were subsequently confirmed by the Flemish Children’s Rights Commissioner.
- Refusal of reception to ‘M-status’ applicants: In August 2025, a new law allowed Fedasil to refuse reception to M-status applicants. The legislation was challenged before the courts and ultimately suspended by the Constitutional Court in February 2026. The government sought to continue the practice via alternative legal grounds. However, this prompted further litigation and an additional suspension by the Council of State. Despite this, the government continued to instruct Fedasil to deny M-status applicants access to the reception system.
- Social assistance: A new law which removed applicants’ access to social assistance entered into force in August 2025 but was suspended by the Constitutional Court in February 2026.
Detention of asylum applicants
- Arrests at the Immigration Office: NGOs and lawyers have observed an increasing number of arrests at the premises of the Immigration Office in the context of appointments related to a subsequent asylum application. Courts have reached different conclusions regarding the lawfulness of this practice.
- Detention conditions: Concerns have persisted regarding detention conditions, including their impact on detainees’ mental health, particularly following a hunger strike by 164 detainees and a suicide in detention.
Content of international protection
- Nationality of children born to Palestinian parents: The Immigration Office continued to request that municipalities and public prosecutors withdraw Belgian nationality from children born to Palestinian parents, despite criticism from the Ombudsman and contrary court rulings.
- Increased nationality fees: The fee for acquiring Belgian nationality increased from EUR 150 to EUR 1,000 in 2025. This raised concerns about effective access to citizenship and prompted
- New law on family reunification: In August 2025, a new law introduced significant restrictions on family reunification, notably a two year waiting period for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. Several provisions were subsequently suspended by the Constitutional Court which also referred questions to the CJEU.
(B) Temporary protection
- Key statistics: As of December 2025, there were 70,636 temporary protection beneficiaries with a residence card in Belgium.
- Continued freeze in applications for international protection: Applications for international protection by Ukrainians (both with and without temporary protection) remained frozen and were not assessed on the merits in 2025. This was also the case for non-Ukrainians with temporary protection.
- Access to temporary protection: 3,286 decisions refusing temporary protection were issued in 2025. This represented a 272% increase from the previous year.
- Family reunification and children: A new law on family reunification that entered into force in August 2025 introduced additional restrictions for beneficiaries of temporary protection, notably a two year waiting period. Separately, children born outside Belgium after February 2022 continued to face difficulties obtaining residence status as they were not considered as being within the scope of the Temporary Protection Directive.
- Reception: Access to reception for temporary protection beneficiaries remained limited and was largely reserved for vulnerable applicants.
The full report is available here and the annex on temporary protection is available here.
For more information about the AIDA database or to read other AIDA reports, please visit the AIDA website.
