Family reunification - Brussels

Hello,

well as you don't have a resident permit of another EU country, you should make sure that you can stay at least 60 or 90 days legally in Belgium before starting the process for yourself.

Indeed she'll get her E card first and based on that you'll "join" her + family reunion in Belgium.

@AlexFromBelgium

Thanks for answering me, Alex.

How long does it usually take for EU citizens to get E-card in Brussels? On the internet, I read that it can take up to 6 months, is this timeframe close to reality?

Also, if I get a residence permit through family reunification in another EU country and then we move to Brussels, then we can register at the comune time?

It's fast if everything is perfect, if you forget any document you're dead with the timeline.

My wife came in Belgium 3 years ago with a visa to do a legal cohabitation, so the file was already perfect for the commune, as the immigration said yes and it's exactly the same documents we had to give to the commune for her stay and request for the family reunion.

In my """small""" commune, Braine-l'Alleud, the police check was done withing 7 days, so it tooks her +/- 3/4 weeks to have the orange card.

Now, if you do it in Brussels or any big cities in Belgium, police check can take up to 15 calendar days officially, but in reality it can take up to 1 month in big cities...

So, it really depends on your future commune of residence and that's also the reason why I did asked you if you can stay legally for 2 or 3 months in Belgium with your visa / visa-free (3 months max per period of 6 months)

Once you have the orange card, you'll do the family reunion from Belgium and it will take few months before you get the F card (family member of EU).

You can stay legally here with your temporary resident permit (orange card) until the immigration grant you the E card.

But the first step is for your partner to have the "E" / european citizen card!

From that date you must have at least 2 months of "free/legal" stay in Belgium to start the process + have all your file legalized/apostile (birth certificate, marriage certificate, ...) + she must have a job to cover the finance and your stay!

Tip: your partner will physically have her E card in +/- 3 weeks in most of the Belgian commune.

@AlexFromBelgium

Thank you for sharing your experience and tips with me, I really appreciate it.

Since the timeline is really taught and the process can get really complex maybe it doesn't worth risking going there with just a tourist visa. I did a bit of research and understood that I can obtain a temporary residence permit through a family reunion in Latvia (the country of origin of my spouse) and it can only take 2 weeks. Probably worth first taking a residence permit here and then moving to Brussels.

In that case, if I already have a job offer from a Belgian company, can I go to a commune and register the same way an EU citizen would do? or we will need to start the family reunion process again in Belgium by first my spouse registering at the commune and then me doing family reunification?

Hello,

I have no idea about the timeline to have a resident permit as a family member of an EU in Latvia, that you'll need to search information or go on the Latvia part of the forum.

If you can have it "fast", then it's a god idea before moving to Belgium.

Because a family member of an EU, you could register at the commune at the same time, because you're joining an EU in the move + you already have a resident permit from EU