Bringing Your Family to Belgium (Family Reunification)

Getting your spouse, partner or children to Belgium runs through a process called family reunification (regroupement familial in French, gezinshereniging in Dutch). It is entirely doable, but the rules tightened significantly with the Law of 18 July 2025, and the conditions depend heavily on whether the family member in Belgium — the "sponsor" — is a Belgian, an EU citizen, or a non-EU resident. This guide walks through who qualifies, what the sponsor must prove, and the visa-to-card path, with the 2026 figures verified against the Immigration Office (IBZ).

Who counts as family

Belgian family reunification is deliberately narrow. In most cases it covers only:

• Your spouse — a legally recognised marriage.
• A registered partner — but only if the partnership is treated as equivalent to marriage. That means a partnership registered in Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden or the UK, or a durable, proven relationship that meets the IBZ criteria.
• Minor children under 18 — your children, your spouse's children, or joint children, provided you hold parental authority/custody.

For a spouse or partner, both people must normally be at least 21 years old. This drops to 18 if you can prove the marriage or partnership already existed before the sponsor arrived in Belgium. Adult children, parents and other relatives generally do not qualify when the sponsor is a non-EU resident — the rules are more generous only for EU-citizen sponsors (see below).

The three big conditions for a non-EU sponsor

If you are a non-EU national with a Belgian residence permit (card A, B, C, D, F, F+, H, K, L, M or M+) sponsoring your family, you must prove three things.

1. Stable, regular and adequate income

This is the condition that stops most applications. Since 18 August 2025, the sponsor must generally show net monthly income of at least 110% of the guaranteed average minimum monthly income (GAMMI) — €2,408.79 net/month, indexed on 1 April 2026. Add 10% for each additional dependent family member.

Applications submitted before 18 August 2025 (and certain transitional cases within two years of that date) are still judged against the old rule: 120% of the social-integration income, €2,173.88 net/month (indexed 1 March 2026). The new rule applies to all applications from 18 August 2027.

Two things worth knowing: income from certain welfare benefits (social integration income, guaranteed family benefits, etc.) is not counted, and falling slightly under the threshold is not an automatic refusal — the Immigration Office must weigh your overall financial situation. Verify the current figure at the official IBZ page before you rely on it.

2. Adequate housing

You must have accommodation that meets the standards Belgian law sets for a home rented as a principal residence (the health, safety and habitability norms in the Civil Code). In practice the commune may check this against your lease and the number of people who will live there. There is no single national square-metre number published by IBZ, so check with your commune for the exact standard applied in your municipality.

3. Health insurance

The sponsor must hold health insurance covering risks in Belgium for themselves and the arriving family members. In practice this means being affiliated to a Belgian health fund. If you are still setting yours up, our mutuelle / ziekenfonds guide explains how to register.

There is also a waiting period for some sponsors: if you hold an unlimited-stay permit, you can generally only be joined after 12 months of prior legal residence (time on a limited-stay permit counts towards this).

EU-citizen sponsor vs non-EU sponsor

The single most important distinction is the sponsor's nationality. An EU citizen exercising free movement (Article 40bis, EU Directive 2004/38) enjoys a far lighter regime than a non-EU resident.

A Belgian citizen who has never used EU free-movement rights (Article 40ter) sits closer to the non-EU regime on income and housing, but benefits from a shorter 6-month decision limit.

The procedure: from visa D to the F card

As a rule, the family member applies from abroad for a visa D (long-stay national visa) at the Belgian embassy or consulate for their place of residence.

1. Create an account and complete the online form at visaonweb.diplomatie.be, clearly stating "family reunification".
2. Book an appointment with the visa centre operator — usually VFS Global or TLS Contact.
3. Submit in person with: a passport valid 12+ months, the signed form, proof of fee payment, and the documents proving the relationship (marriage/birth certificates, legalised or apostilled, with sworn translations if not in DE/EN/FR/NL) plus the sponsor's income, housing and insurance evidence.
4. The Immigration Office decides — 6 months for a Belgian sponsor; 9 months, extendable twice by 3 months, for a non-EU sponsor.
5. On arrival in Belgium, register at your commune within 8 days. After a residence check, the family member receives a carte F (or carte A for some limited-stay sponsors). See our commune registration guide for that step.

The stay is conditional at first. After roughly five years of reunification residence, your family member can obtain the permanent, unconditional carte F+.

Fees

The contribution fee (redevance) for a family reunification application is €218 in 2026, adjusted each 1 January. A married couple or legal cohabitants applying together on the same basis pay one fee, not one per person. Family of an EU citizen who exercised free movement are exempt, as are children of refugees/beneficiaries of protection and certain others. Separate visa handling and consular fees also apply at the embassy — confirm the current amounts on the visa D application page, as these change.

Common problems and fixes

• Income counted wrong. Only stable, lawful income counts, and several benefits are excluded. If you are self-employed or freelance, expect to show tax assessments and accounts, not just bank statements.
• Documents rejected for legalisation. Foreign civil-status documents almost always need an apostille or legalisation plus a sworn translation. Do this before your appointment — it is the most common cause of delay.
• Applying against the wrong income threshold. Whether the old (120%) or new (110% GAMMI) rule applies depends on your application date and prior residence. If in doubt, check the transitional rules on the IBZ page rather than guessing.
• Missing the 8-day registration. The visa gets your family member into Belgium; the commune registration within 8 days is what starts the card. Book the commune appointment before they fly.
• Assuming parents qualify. With a non-EU sponsor they usually do not. Only EU-citizen sponsors can bring dependent ascendants.

Your next step

Work out which regime applies to you first — Belgian, EU-citizen, or non-EU sponsor — because it decides the income rule, the fee and the eligible relatives. Then open the official conditions page for your exact situation at dofi.ibz.be/en/themes/third-country-nationals/family-reunification and start assembling your income, housing and insurance evidence, since gathering and legalising those documents is what takes the longest.