Moroccan Immigrants Lead in Gaining Belgian Citizenship, Report Shows

Of the 48,482 people who obtained Belgian nationality in 2022, an increase of 24% compared to 2021, 10% (4,842) are Moroccans, according to Myria, the federal migration center, in its latest report. Moroccans outpace Syrians (3,615), Iraqis (2,001) and Afghans (1,979). As for the Turks, their number has almost doubled compared to 2021 and has never been so high since the reform of the Belgian Nationality Code, the federal center points out. 1,797 Turks obtained Belgian nationality in 2022. On the European side, the number of foreigners who acquired Belgian nationality last year stands at 12,249. Romanian nationality (2,791) tops the top 5 of foreign nationalities in Belgium. It is followed by Poland (1,727), Italy (1,536) and the Netherlands (1,433).

Starting from the observation that the rights of the child are not always sufficiently taken into account in the procedures for the acquisition and loss of nationality, in particular in the (refusal) decisions taken by the public prosecutor’s offices, Myria recommends providing for a provision in the Belgian Nationality Code (CNB) in this regard. Recalling moreover that, according to the Constitutional Court, it is discriminatory to impose on certain illiterate people the written mastery of one of the national languages in order to claim to become Belgian, the federal migration center recommends that the Parliament and the government quickly insert an adaptation for illiterate people in the CNB, reports La Dernière Heure.