Belgium’s federal government has quietly ushered in its most significant immigration-policy overhaul in a decade. A package of royal and ministerial decrees that entered into force on 17 February 2026 raises the administrative fee for naturalisation from €150 to €1,000 (indexed annually) and simultaneously amends several pillars of the Aliens Act that govern family reunification.
The citizenship surcharge is justified by the government as a way to discourage ‘transactional’ applications and to cover the real cost of processing increasingly complex files. Supporters point out that Belgium has long been an outlier among Western European countries for its low naturalisation costs; the new €1,000 fee is now broadly in line with the Netherlands (€945) and France (€630). Critics, including migrant-rights NGOs and Brussels-based business associations, fear the price jump will hit low-income third-country nationals hardest and could delay the integration of long-term residents who need a Belgian passport to take on travel-heavy roles.
For applicants who feel overwhelmed by these shifting requirements, VisaHQ’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) maintains real-time guidance, fee calculators, and concierge document services that simplify both naturalisation filings and family-reunification visa applications—helping employers and individuals navigate the new landscape with confidence.
![Belgium quadruples citizenship fee and tightens family-reunification rules]()
For employers, the bigger shock is a re-write of family-reunification eligibility. Sponsors must now show a net monthly income equal to at least 110 % of the guaranteed minimum wage—currently €1,960—plus 10 % per additional dependent. Recognised refugees keep a limited exemption but only for the first six months after status is granted (down from one year). Beneficiaries of subsidiary protection must now wait two full years before applying to bring over family members. In addition, the minimum age for spousal reunification rises from 18 to 21.
Global-mobility managers should plan for longer lead-times and higher budgeting. HR teams helping assignees transition to local contracts often synchronise permanent-residency or citizenship filings with promotion cycles; the four-figure fee may now require advance approval from cost-centre owners. Companies that rely on intra-EU family mobility—particularly those rotating specialists from neighbouring Luxembourg or the Netherlands—will need to test the new income threshold against gross-to-net differentials.
Looking ahead, the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs says it will monitor the impact of the higher fee on application volumes and may consider tapered reductions for vulnerable categories. In the meantime, relocation providers recommend that employees already eligible for naturalisation file before 30 April, when the first inflation indexation is expected to push the charge above €1,020.
The citizenship surcharge is justified by the government as a way to discourage ‘transactional’ applications and to cover the real cost of processing increasingly complex files. Supporters point out that Belgium has long been an outlier among Western European countries for its low naturalisation costs; the new €1,000 fee is now broadly in line with the Netherlands (€945) and France (€630). Critics, including migrant-rights NGOs and Brussels-based business associations, fear the price jump will hit low-income third-country nationals hardest and could delay the integration of long-term residents who need a Belgian passport to take on travel-heavy roles.
For applicants who feel overwhelmed by these shifting requirements, VisaHQ’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) maintains real-time guidance, fee calculators, and concierge document services that simplify both naturalisation filings and family-reunification visa applications—helping employers and individuals navigate the new landscape with confidence.
For employers, the bigger shock is a re-write of family-reunification eligibility. Sponsors must now show a net monthly income equal to at least 110 % of the guaranteed minimum wage—currently €1,960—plus 10 % per additional dependent. Recognised refugees keep a limited exemption but only for the first six months after status is granted (down from one year). Beneficiaries of subsidiary protection must now wait two full years before applying to bring over family members. In addition, the minimum age for spousal reunification rises from 18 to 21.
Global-mobility managers should plan for longer lead-times and higher budgeting. HR teams helping assignees transition to local contracts often synchronise permanent-residency or citizenship filings with promotion cycles; the four-figure fee may now require advance approval from cost-centre owners. Companies that rely on intra-EU family mobility—particularly those rotating specialists from neighbouring Luxembourg or the Netherlands—will need to test the new income threshold against gross-to-net differentials.
Looking ahead, the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs says it will monitor the impact of the higher fee on application volumes and may consider tapered reductions for vulnerable categories. In the meantime, relocation providers recommend that employees already eligible for naturalisation file before 30 April, when the first inflation indexation is expected to push the charge above €1,020.
