Defence Minister Theo Francken (N-VA) said he expects the number of recruits to increase as the medical criteria become less restrictive.
Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, Francken explained that starting 1 September, joining the Belgian armed forces or serving as a reservist will be much easier as the medical requirement for it will be relaxed.
This will allow 10% to 20% of Belgians who applied to join but got rejected first-hand to begin military training.
"For certain roles, it makes sense to be more flexible," Francken said, while stressing candidates must still be fit for the job.
"Not every soldier has to meet the same extremely strict standards. If, for example, your eyesight is not perfect, that is not necessarily a problem unless you want to become an F-35 pilot."
Around a year ago, the Defence Ministry announced plans to double the size of the armed forces by 2035. The long-term target is 34,500 military personnel, 12,800 reservists and 8,500 civilian staff.
The relaxation of the medical requirements forms part of that recruitment drive.
While Francken requested that the medical examinations be made less stringent, the revised criteria were drawn up by the Defence Medical Service.
