In 2014, only 680 foreigners were legalized for humanitarian reasons. This is a sharp drop compared to previous years. According to the State Secretary for Asylum and Immigration, Theo Francken (New Flemish Alliance), “campaigns for collective legalizations like in 1999 and 2009 are no longer possible”. This information was reported in De Standaard on Wednesday. The number of legalizations for humanitarian reasons has fallen drastically. In 2014, only 680 people got a visa in Belgium on these grounds, compared to 2,973 in 2013. In 2011, there were as many as 6,058 legalizations.
According to De Standaard, the number of requests for legalization on humanitarian grounds has also gone down.
The figures for 2014 from the Foreigner’s Office are not yet complete. They could vary according to the number of requests on medical grounds.
(Source: Belga)
