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Nationality conditions for a study grant

The nationality condition is met if any one of the following situations applies to you. Separate conditions apply to candidate refugees and people with a temporary residence permit.

Eight possible situations which meet the nationality condition

You meet the nationality conditions for a study grant if you are in one of the situations below on 31 December of the academic year in question.

  • You are Belgian

  • You have a permanent residence permit

    • You have one of the following permanent residence permits:
      • electronic foreigner card B
      • electronic foreigner card C
      • electronic foreigner card D
      • electronic foreigner card E+
      • electronic foreigner card F+
      • electronic foreigner card EU+
      • electronic foreigner card M for permanent residence
      • electronic foreigner card K
      • electronic foreigner card L.
    • Or you have been in possession of one of the following for 5 years:
      • electronic foreigner’s card E
      • electronic foreigner’s card EU
      • electronic foreigner’s card M without permanent residence
      • combination of electronic foreigner’s card E and EU
      • combination of electronic foreigner’s card M and E.
  • You are an EU citizen and you have been living in Belgium continuously for 5 years

    You are a national of one of the countries of

  • You are an EEA national and ...

    You are an national

    and:

    • You have worked in Belgium for at least 12 months in the last 2 years on an employment contract of at least 32 hours per month.

    or

    • You have been registered as a self-employed person in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (‘Kruispuntbank voor Ondernemingen’ in Dutch) for 2 years.
  • Your (step-)parents are EEA nationals and

    Your parents or step-parents are nationals
    and at least one of your parents or step-parents works (or has worked) in Belgium:

    • as an employee, on an employment contract of at least 32 hours per month, for a period of at least 12 months (these 12 months do not necessarily have to be consecutive, but they must be within a period of 2 years)
    • as a self-employed person. In this case, one of the parents must be (or have been) registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises for 2 years.
  • You hold a special residence permit

    • Recognised refugee: you were a recognised refugee on 31 December of the current academic year. You do not have to hold this status for 12 months; proof of your residence status on 31 December is sufficient.
    • Victim of human trafficking: on 31 December of the current academic year, you have an immatriculation certificate (AI) or orange card and a certificate from a specialised reception service such as the non-profit organisations Payoke in Flanders, Pag-Asa in the Brussels-Capital Region or Sürya in the Walloon Region.
  • You are not an EEA national

    If you are from outside the EEA, you must have been lawfully resident in Belgium for at least 12 months to fulfil the nationality condition.

    • The study grants department will check the information about your residence permit in the National Register.
    • A residence permit granted to pursue higher education or to work does not count.
    • No asylum procedure must be pending.
    Examples
    • Unaccompanied minors (certificate of immatriculation or electronic foreigner’s card A)
    • Regularisation for humanitarian reasons (Article 9bis) or medical reasons (Article 9ter) (electronic foreigner’s card A)
    • Family formers (electronic foreigner’s card A)
    • Family reunification (electronic foreigner’s card A or F)
    • Visa D (code B17 in passport) - min.imum 12 months or 12 months in combination with another valid residence permit following it
    • Special identity card (diplomatic or consular identity card).
    Residence permits for Ukrainians

    Since the 2022-2023 academic year, the nationality requirements have been extended. Are you from Ukraine and do you have a residence permit for “temporary protection”? Then you fulfil the nationality conditions, so long as your residence permit for “temporary protection” is valid on 31 December of the current academic year.

    If you are a Russian student, the current conditions continue to apply. There is no impact on your allowance.

  • You reside in Belgium on the basis of family reunification ...

    … together with a person who meets one of the other nationality conditions. Or if family reunification took place with someone who has already been in Belgium for 12 months to work or pursue higher education.

    You only meet the nationality conditions if the person you reunite with:

    • has already been in Belgium for 12 months to study or work
    • meets one of the other nationality conditions.

Other residence permits: specific conditions

Conditions other than those listed above apply in these three situations:

  1. Students with an Annex 15 (document you receive when waiting for a decision on the extension of your right to residence): the period of the Annex is taken into account when calculating the required period of 12 months of continuous lawful residence in Belgium. However, the residence card following the Annex 15 must meet the conditions.
  2. Students with an Annex 35 (document you receive while waiting for a ruling from the Council for Alien Law Litigation): the period of the Annex is taken into account when calculating the required period of 12 months of continuous lawful residence in Belgium. However, the residence card following the Annex 35 must meet the conditions.
  3. Students with an Annex 19 fall under “family reunification” starting from the date of the Annex 19 (ter). This is a document you get when you want to settle in Belgium and declare your residence to your municipality. In the event of a review, the date of the Annex 19 (ter) counts, rather than the date of the E or F card for family reunification.
Candidate refugees

Candidate refugees whose asylum application was declared admissible by 31 May 2007 at the latest and whose procedure is still ongoing on the merits are also eligible for the nationality conditions. This situation is rare.