The foreign office of the City of Brussels is facing criticism over the standard of service it provides. On average 225 people are seen every day at the service desks, meaning that tensions can quickly rise as waiting times push towards several hours, reports RTL.
To beat this, some prefer to queue up at dawn in front of the Foreign Office of the City of Brussels, located on Anspach Boulevard, to ensure quick service once inside.
The doors open at 8:30, the numbered tickets have already been distributed. People come to declare their arrival on the Belgian territory, to register as non-European foreigners, or for a residence card, only to be faced with an unmotivated workforce, according to the testimonies taken by RTL.
"The staff does not even work. They talk to colleagues, drink coffee," one person told RTL. Others complained of waiting for hours without ever being received. Some even complain of being sent away after waiting all day, told to come back tomorrow.
To try and speed thing up an online appointment system has been set up for the citizens of the European Union, a service that does not yet exist for non-EU citizens.
The Brussels Times
