Immigrants are an irreplaceable part of their “people”

Jan Hertogen, a sociologist and former researcher at KU Leuven, published an overview of how many people became Belgian in 2021 on June 27, 2022. His report shows that only 0.3 percent of “new Belgians” grew up through naturalization. The other 99.7 percent is done by other means. Hertogen based this on his own research and information from Chamber Management and Figures from Statbel.

Being Belgian

There are three different ways to become Belgian. When a minor – read: under 18 – acquires Belgian citizenship, the legislator speaks of an “automatic grant”. After all, Belgian citizenship “automatically” under certain conditions. a promise†

The usual procedure for an adult is a “declaration of citizenship”, in which the Belgian candidate declares this and thus acquires Belgian citizenship. This is only possible in a limited number cases† In addition, the candidate must have a Procedure And it’s not free, by the way. For example, consider the obligation to pay registration, roll, and stamp fees.

The exception to the general rule for declaring citizenship is “naturalization”, which is regulated by the Michel government – but it is more stringent – which offered naturalization to those who had “provided exceptional services to Belgium”. Naturalization is only possible in a limited number casesthrough a special and costly procedure.

You qualify if you:

– or demonstrates advantages unusual for Belgium;

– or a recognized stateless person.

Anyone who obtains Belgian citizenship enjoys many advantages. For example, a Belgian has the right to vote and better social protection.

naturalization

Those who do not yet have Belgian citizenship, but want to, can thus become Belgian through naturalization under certain conditions. However, this is the exception to the general rule. The candidate must have had his main residence in Belgium since January 1, 2013. naturalization application It is handled by the Federal Chamber of Deputies and the procedure takes at least two years, but in practice it can sometimes take up to ten years.

Jan Hertogen notes in his report that the number of applications for naturalization has fallen sharply (from 2,573 in 2013 to 113 in 2014; see table) due to a change in the law in 2013. Since then, the number of applications has been very low compared to the past, but Somewhat fixed.

Significantly fewer decisions on applications were made in 2021 (from 1,333 to 234 compared to the previous year; see table). However, at the end of 2020, there were enough people waiting (more than 3,400; see table). Hertogen wonders why, because the simple explanation isn’t straightforward.

Increase after more stringent residency requirements

Likes above Mentioned, the Michel government has turned naturalization into an exceptional procedure for people who have rendered exceptional services to our Belgian country. Fewer naturalizations were approved due to the introduction of stricter rules. In addition, fewer applications were submitted.

Remarkably, the “other” – read: lack of naturalization – Belgians rose again after a decline in 2014. That year the number of other Belgians fell from 26,679 to 15,372 compared to the previous year. Other Belgians usually number between 25,000 and 35,000 per year. According to Hertogen, this decline was due to Di Rupo’s government.

And what in the future?

In 2022, more than 4,000 Belgian events took place in the first four months. According to Hertogen, there is a correlation between the number of foreigners who are in Belgium and the number of people who become Belgian. If foreigners stay in Belgium for a longer period of time, they will tend to feel at home and feel part of their “people”. This makes them stay.

Foreigners who become Belgians are no longer included in the foreigners’ accounts. If the number of Belgians stabilizes, the increase in the number of foreigners will also slow. Belgians will be on the rise in the future. According to Hertogen, the increased immigration of foreigners will speed up the process of becoming Belgians in the near future. And this, he says, is necessary.

Re-population after the migration of the population

Proponents of the resettlement theory argue that Western indigenous peoples are being replaced by immigrants by a non-Western culture. According to Herogen, this is not the case. He explains that becoming Belgian is one of the most important factors for promoting the integration of people of immigrant background, and that it is necessary to save dying large cities (and later also small municipalities and towns) from destruction. Hertogen speaks of “repopulation after the migration of the population”.

According to the sociologist, it is necessary to become Belgian to turn the post-1970 population decline in the megacities into a population increase, which was only achieved with the second and third generations of the Belgian population with an immigrant background. Labor migration, materialized by migrants doing hard work in mines or heavy industries, was a way to start the flow of migrants, according to Herogen, thus saving the “dying cities” from destruction.

Initially, this story took place mainly in major cities. According to Hertogen, that is no longer the case today. Even in smaller cities and municipalities, school offices are increasingly filled with descendants of people with immigrant backgrounds† He says that “whosoever opposes immigration is against its interests” special people which was already in danger of extinction, immigration was not introduced as an essential factor by a visionary government in the 1960s.

Unavoidable, necessary and desirable

on the chart Infrastructure It shows how many foreigners and how many became Belgians from 1945 to the present. According to Hertogen, the chart shows “the inevitability, necessity and desirability of an increasing number of Belgians”. Today there is an increased demand for labor. According to the sociologist, this means that a new immigration is necessary, and that there is also a need to become a Belgian. This would lead to integration.

According to Hertogen, it is remarkable that there is an increased political participation of residents with immigrant backgrounds. According to him, this is the case not only in large cities, but also in small cities and even in rural municipalities. According to the sociologist, this is the result of resettlement, new immigration and the increasing number of vacant homes being renovated. According to Herogen, all these factors together lead to the fact that immigrants become an integral and irreplaceable part of their “people”.