Nationality

You can have Belgian nationality legally or voluntarily. You can also lose your Belgian nationality. This section will provide you with further information.

Retaining Belgian nationality

Information about retaining the Belgian nationality.
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If you have another nationality besides Belgian nationality, you may lose your Belgian nationality on your 28th birthday, according to Article 22 §1 5° of the Belgian Nationality Code. 

Indeed, if you satisfy all the conditions listed below, you must submit a declaration stating your intention to retain Belgian nationality before your twenty-eighth birthday: 

  • You were born abroad after 1 January 1967;
  • You hold one or multiple other nationalities (it does not matter whether you have automatically or voluntarily acquired another nationality); 
  • You did not have your principal residence in Belgium during the period between the age of eighteen and twenty-eight; 
  • You do not work abroad either for the Belgian government or for a Belgian company or association; 
  • You did not apply for and obtain a Belgian passport or identity card between your 18th and 28th birthday. 


To retain your Belgian nationality, you have two options:


First option – Sign a “Declaration of Retention of Belgian Nationality” at the Consulate General of Belgium in Montreal between your 18th and 28th birthdays. 

If you cannot come to Montreal to sign the declaration, you can give a friend or family member a notarized power of attorney. 

Please send an email to nat.montreal@diplobel.fed.be to know the complete procedure: 

Please include the following information in your email:

  • Title/subject: "Retention of Belgian nationality";
  • Your full name(s);
  • Your date and place of birth (city + country);
  • Your address and telephone number. 


Second option – Apply for a passport or identity card which must be issued between your 18th and 28th birthday. 

If you live in the Montreal area this second option is the easiest and fastest. 


IMPORTANT: Information on the issuance of identity cards


According to European regulations, all identity cards issued by EU member states must contain the fingerprints of the index finger of each hand by mid-2021. 

Therefore, from now on, you have to go in person, by appointment, to the Consulate General of Belgium in Montreal to obtain an identity card.