You might have missed it, but Belgium has now officially increased the cost of the application procedure from €150 to €1,000. The law was published and came into effect at the start of this week.
The Federal Government approved the 'Programme Law' in Parliament two weeks ago. The law was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on Tuesday 29 July, and while a law normally only takes effect ten days after publication, the government decided to implement these measures right away.
One of the measures that is part of the socio-economic reforms in this law is the increase in the cost to obtain Belgian citizenship. From now on, the cost of the 'declaration of nationality' procedure to become a Belgian citizen is €1,000 (subject to inflation), instead of the €150 it was before.
Seven-fold increase
Obtaining Belgian citizenship is "an important milestone" in people's integration process, Federal Minister for Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA) told The Brussels Times when this increased cost first made headlines in April.
"Belgian nationality – and with it, EU citizenship – offers newcomers many rights and opportunities. That is why it is important that this step does not just follow automatically, but is accompanied by responsibilities. Also on a financial level," she added.
The higher cost means that there has now been a nearly seven-fold increase in the amount to be paid – making the process one of the costliest in the EU, only behind Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands. Should the application be refused, applicants will not be refunded (the current €150 fee is not refunded either).
Paying the registration fee is possible via MyMinfin and must be done before submitting your application. More information can be found on the website of the Federal Finance Ministry.
Lots of people waving Belgian flags in Brussels' Grand Place, Monday 30 June 2025. Credit: Belga/Eric Lalmand
The increase in cost has been criticised by migration and integration experts, who believe that "taxing Belgian citizenship is a terrible idea for the economy and integration."
"While raising the cost of naturalisation sounds like something that is going to help the economy and integration, it actually does the exact opposite," Thomas Huddleston (University of Liège) told The Brussels Times.
"Setting such an artificially high cost tells most immigrants, including expats and high-income ones, that citizenship is not for them."
Numerous economists have demonstrated that there is a 'citizenship premium' for new arrivals. "Immigrants who are encouraged to become citizens are more likely to put down roots in society, make big life decisions, and invest in their skills. When they then become citizens, more job and life opportunities open up to them."
'More than migration policy'
As a result, employers recognise their skills much better, are more likely to invest in their on-the-job training and hire or promote them. "So they get higher employment rates, but also higher wages, more secure jobs, more public sector jobs."
"So if the overall goal of the new Federal Government is to raise employment rates in Belgium – which ostensibly is the reason that all these measures are being adopted – this is contradicted by the idea of taxing Belgian citizenship," Huddleston said. "Citizenship is more than migration policy. This idea of a strict migration policy is in conflict with their goal of promoting employment and labour market integration."
In 2023 (the latest available figures), a record of almost 55,000 newcomers – ranging from asylum seekers to expats – were granted Belgian citizenship.
Want to know more about how to get Belgian citizenship? Click here.
