People convicted of terrorism or hate preaching while residing illegally in Belgium may face lifetime bans from entering the country following a new draft law approved by the Belgian Council of Ministers.
The measure, proposed by Anneleen Van Bossuyt, Minister of Asylum and Migration, seeks to permanently close Belgium’s borders to those who radicalise others or support terrorism.
A decision on such bans will require analysis from Ocam, Belgium’s Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis. According to the draft law, affected individuals must be listed in the 'Terrorism, Extremism, Radicalisation Processes' database.
Under the proposed system, once an entry ban is issued, the person will be flagged and registered in the Schengen Information System (SIS) and Belgium’s National General Database (BNG). During the ban period, the individual will be barred from entering the Schengen Zone and Belgium, and any visa or residency applications will be denied by the Immigration Office.
Minister Van Bossuyt also revealed that expulsions of irregular detainees have risen recently, with 1,300 deportations carried out in the first ten months of 2025 compared to 1,035 during the same period in 2024.
She plans to increase the capacity of closed centres, hire more staff to assist with deportations, and negotiate more favourable repatriation agreements with countries of origin to strengthen these efforts further.
