The United Kingdom became the third country with the most Belgians living abroad between 2021 and 2023, according to figures presented on Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The country has overtaken Spain, which came third in the rankings between 2017 and 2021, Belga News Agency reports. It is clear Belgians do not like straying away too far from home, with neighbouring countries still being the top preference.
France has topped the ranking for the last five years (2017-2023), followed each time by the Netherlands in second.
In 2023, 34,887 Belgian migrants registered in the United Kingdom, compared to 26,315 in 2017. France, far ahead of the Netherlands, accounted for 145,118 Belgian expatriates last year.
This significant increase can be explained in particular by Brexit, the United Kingdom's exit the European Union following a referendum in 2016, which became official in 2021.
"Many Belgians who didn't necessarily apply for a visa because they didn't need one now have to obtain a visa and a passport to enter (the UK, editor's note), so the figures are bound to rise," explains UFBE expatriation adviser Diego Angelini to Belga News Agency.
"There are also people with dual Belgian-British nationality who didn't ask for the opportunity to live in the UK and who are now doing so," he adds.
Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon on the London Underground with British schoolchildren during a diplomatic mission to the United Kingdom, in London, Monday 05 June 2023. Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
The top five countries with the most Belgian expatriates, however, has remained unchanged over the last five years, with Germany following the above-mentioned countries. The United States of America ranks sixth every year. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Switzerland and Canada also feature in the top 10.
The vast majority of expatriates are therefore based in countries bordering Belgium, explained by the language and cultural similarities in France and the Netherlands, as well as by the lower risk of expatriating nearby.
A total of 532,421 Belgians are registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as residing outside Belgium, according to the Director General of Consular Affairs, Joris Salden. This number represents an increase of 82,000 compared to 2017, he said.
"There is a difference in profile depending on the destination country," said Diego Angelini. "By definition, there are more development workers going to help in the Democratic Republic of Congo or Rwanda than in developed countries," he asserts.
Evolution of Belgian migration. Top 10 countries they selected. Credit: Belga
Countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia "select" profiles through a system of selective immigration. "I remember that at one point they were looking for crane operators, so hundreds of Belgians went to Canada to work", explains the expatriation adviser. Spain, on the other hand, mainly welcomes retired Belgian expatriates, particularly in the south of the country.
Research has also shown that some Belgians have decided to emigrate because of the discrimination they suffer in Belgium, says Jean-Michel Lafleur, associate professor and deputy director of the Centre d'Études de l'Ethnicité et des Migrations at the University of Liège.
"The desire to leave on the part of Belgians of foreign origin who had suffered discrimination led them to emigrate to the Gulf States, where their diplomas and cultural origins would not be a problem for their integration into society", he added.
