Moving to Belgium as an EU citizen : registration formalities for EU workers, self-employed persons, jobseekers and their family members in Belgium, with a comparative outlook

The study 'Moving to Belgium as an EU citizen' points out a number of shortcomings in the registration formalities of EU citizens in the municipality. It contains recommendations to guarantee the free movement of EU workers, self-employed persons and jobseekers and their families. The researchers believe that a revision of the registration formalities appears necessary and opportune with the new migration code in prospect. They also regret that although the citizenship directive has generally been transposed into Belgian law, there are still problems that should be addressed. The study results... Mehr ...

Verfasser: van den Bogaard, Roos-Marie
Antoons, Jo
Chomel, Pauline
Correia Horta, Ana
Ghimis, Andreia
Van Doren, Wout
Schepel, Harm
Valcke, Anthony
Desmet, Ellen
Dokumenttyp: misc
Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
Verlag/Hrsg.: Myria
Schlagwörter: Law and Political Science / Social Sciences / Free movement / EU citizens / Municipal registration / EU workers / Family members / MIGR / HRC
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26992051
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/01GJFEREHPPZX3WKGFJWRR61RS

The study 'Moving to Belgium as an EU citizen' points out a number of shortcomings in the registration formalities of EU citizens in the municipality. It contains recommendations to guarantee the free movement of EU workers, self-employed persons and jobseekers and their families. The researchers believe that a revision of the registration formalities appears necessary and opportune with the new migration code in prospect. They also regret that although the citizenship directive has generally been transposed into Belgian law, there are still problems that should be addressed. The study results show that the registration process sometimes works differently in different municipalities and regions. As a result, applicants have to submit different documents depending on where they are applying to register. The study also showed that not all municipalities surveyed allow all categories of family members of EU citizens to register. The researchers therefore recommend that the GEMCOM instructions (instructions the Immigration Office gives to the municipalities) be adapted so that they are uniform and fully compliant with current legislation and case law. Making these instructions public would also contribute to transparency and legal certainty. Training for administrative staff in the registration of family members of EU citizens is a must. It was also found that the municipalities do not disseminate enough information about the registration process on their websites. The researchers recommend the development of a central website with complete and accurate information on the registration procedure for EU citizens and their family members in several languages. The website of the Immigration Office could serve this purpose. The study also showed that municipalities want more support from the Immigration Office. It is recommended to invest in digital communication between the municipalities and the Immigration Office to facilitate such exchange. Myria was appointed as the monitoring body for Directive 2014/54. This ...