Asylum in Belgium: Procedure, Rights and Appeals

Protection is granted to people with a well-founded fear of persecution because of nationality, race, religion, political opinion or membership of a particular social group (refugee status under the Geneva Convention), and to people facing a real risk of serious harm, such as the death penalty, torture or indiscriminate violence in an armed conflict (subsidiary protection).

Register at the Immigration Office registration centre (Rue Belliard 68, 1000 Brussels; from 8:30 on weekdays), at the border, or from a closed centre or prison. The Immigration Office checks identity, takes fingerprints and a photo, decides the language of the procedure (Dutch or French) and checks whether another EU state is responsible. Fedasil then examines your right to reception and organises a medical check.

Next comes a first interview at the Immigration Office (Boulevard Pachéco 44, Brussels) on identity, family, journey and reasons. The file then goes to the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS), which invites you to a personal interview at least eight days in advance. Since 12 June 2026 these interviews are audio recorded.

The Asylum Procedures Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 and the Qualification Regulation 2024/1347 apply to applications filed from 12 June 2026. The former Dublin system is replaced by new responsibility rules under Regulation 2024/1351. The accelerated procedure, with a decision within three months, must be used where one of ten grounds applies, including nationalities with an EU-wide recognition rate of 20% or less. A binding EU list of safe countries of origin now applies, and EU candidate countries are treated as safe unless there is armed conflict, EU sanctions for rights violations, or an EU protection rate above 20% for their nationals.

Applicants can be housed in the Fedasil reception network, are entitled to free legal aid if they lack means, and may bring a lawyer or an approved trusted person to the CGRS interview. If the CGRS has not decided within four months of the application, they may work in any profession; the orange card then states unlimited labour market access. Those who work keep reception rights but contribute to its cost.

The CGRS can grant refugee status, grant subsidiary protection, refuse both, or exclude the applicant. A refusal can be appealed to the Council for Alien Law Litigation (CALL), which reviews the case in full and can confirm, annul or reverse it. The standard deadline is 30 days, but it is 10 days or 5 days in certain procedures, and under the Pact some appeals no longer suspend removal automatically.

The Belgian asylum authorities publish guidance in nine languages on asyluminbelgium.be, Fedasil runs fedasilinfo.be for reception questions in 14 languages, and the CGRS website carries procedure details and forms. Free legal aid (pro deo lawyer) can be requested from the start of the procedure.