With the establishment of a new government, Belgium is ready to introduce a few migration reforms. Belgium’s new Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt aims to take some actions which will impact all the migrants in the country. The foreigners impacted by this change will be all sorts of migrants, asylum seekers and people planning to reunite with their family in Belgium.
She further mentioned “We must not only limit the inflow but also increase the outflow. That is why we are doubling the capacity in closed centres and making it possible to enter homes for people who are staying here illegally and who pose a threat to public order.”
IMMIGRATION CONTROL FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS
The Migration Minister expressed her concerns about human trafficking and how demand for asylum has been increasing in recent years. She further mentioned that half of the applicants have been granted asylum in another country.
She said “Human trafficking has become a business model for some. Reception costs one billion euros. Our society can no longer absorb this. It has to be different. More controlled, but also fairer and more humane. And for that, we have to be stricter. “
Thus, Belgium is planning to introduce stricter rules to date.
STRICTER RULES FOR FAMILY REUNION CASES
In 2024, Belgium granted family reunification visas to almost 21,000 people. According to the Minister, the situation is forcing authorities to take stricter action by setting stricter income limits.
Another course of action in the new government’s list is to introduce more rigorous requirements for people who apply for Social Assistance. Applicants have to go through language and integration tests in their country of origin. Apart from this, social assistance waiting time will be extended.
There will be exceptions for recognised refugees, who can lose or increase their benefits depending upon how well they integrate into the community.
Minister said “European rules prevent us from making them wait five years. So they receive a living wage, but that can be reduced if they do not make sufficient efforts to integrate and learn the language. Subsidiarily protected people – people fleeing war – receive a lower amount, but can earn bonuses by integrating.”
The Dublin Agreement, which points out to having an equal number of asylum seekers throughout Europe will no longer be practised in Belgium. Given the condition that, people applying for asylum have been granted shelter somewhere else or in an EU member state.
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