Gay immigration to Belgium and rights

[stefflo]

Hello, me and my partner are a same-sex couple.

My partner is German and I'm a non EU citizen. Unfortunately, he is now moving to Belgium because of work and we were wondering about my rights, since he is not a citizen of Belgium. I guess I cannot apply for the Belgian citizenship, because he's not from this country. And I guess his being German makes it a bit complicated. At least to me. Will I be able to work there and/or study just as other EU citizens? Will I have the same rights and covered health insurance, if he's the only one working? Will I seek university scholarships just as other EU citizens do, since I suppose I could be granted a permanent (or some other kind of) residency visa.

I don't need a visa to enter Belgium, but I'm not allowed to stay for more than 90 days in the country.

Also, if somebody has some kind of recommendation on how to look for a university scholarship, and whom to address, it would be highly appreciated!

Best regards!

[acme4242]

If you have a registered partnership, it may be treated equal to marriage
in Belgium. Then you would have a right to live and work based upon
the relationship.
Otherwise you need need to apply for residency upon your own merits.

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/doc_centre/ ... udy_en.pdf

Article 40 bis, §2, al 3 LAT indicates that a Royal Decree will establish « les cas dans lesquels un
partenariat enregistré sur la base d'une loi étrangère doit être considéré comme équivalent à un
mariage en Belgique ». To implement Article 40bis§, al. 1 1o
, a Royal Decree was adopted in 2008.
Article 4 of AR 08/1 lists the Member States for which registered partnerships will be considered as
equivalent to marriage in Belgium. These countries are:

ƒ Denmark
ƒ Germany
ƒ Finland
ƒ Island
ƒ Norway
ƒ United Kingdom, and
ƒ Sweden.

Registered partnerships concluded in these countries must be considered as equivalent to marriage for
the purpose of Article 40 bis, § 2, al 1 1° LAT.

Neither LAT nor AR 08/1 explicitly state that registered partnerships from other Member States (i.e.,
not listed in the AR 08/1) cannot be considered as equivalent to Belgian marriage. Therefore, for these
registered partnerships it can - and must - still be assessed whether these are equivalent to marriage in
Belgium.

EDIT: oh sorry, I forgot long term common-law relationships count as
well, thanks "Directive/2004/38/EC"

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

If you are legally married to each other, or have a registered same-sex partnership then you are treated as a direct family member. This should be very straight forward. (See http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2011/09 ... -marriage/ for a discussion of some of the issues regarding marriage).

If have a long term common-law relationship, then you can also move with your partner. You have to provide more evidence of the ongoing nature of the relationship. See information about "other family members"

Where are you presently living? Tell me about your relationship, with respect to the previous two paragraphs!

In general it should be pretty straight forward.

[stefflo]

We´ve been together for the past 2 years, so I guess that is a long-term relationship.

My native country doesn´t recognize any gay partnership-marriage at all, so I don´t know what could serve as a proof that we have a long term relationship.

Also, if I get the permanent residence... do I also get the right to study for free at public universities, or am I still considered a foreign student? That is a bit confusing to me...

Thanks so much for your replies!

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

We´ve been together for the past 2 years, so I guess that is a long-term relationship.

My native country doesn´t recognize any gay partnership-marriage at all, so I don´t know what could serve as a proof that we have a long term relationship.

Also, if I get the permanent residence... do I also get the right to study for free at public universities, or am I still considered a foreign student? That is a bit confusing to me...

You did not answer my question: Are you married or do you have a registered partnership (which was done in an EU member state)?

Two years is generally considered a long term relationship. You will need evidence of an ongoing relationship over the last two years if you go this route. Rental contracts together, shared bank accounts, travel together, ....

It does not matter if your home country recognizes your relationship or not. Even if you are living there...

Once you are considered a family member (that depends on whether you have a registered partnership or are married), then you have the right to treatment equal to any EU citizen or local Belgian citizen for education. You pay exactly the same fees, if any.

[stefflo]

We don´t have a registered partnership nor marriage anywhere!

Thanks for your clarification anyway. I guess the easiest way is definitely to get married in Belgium then. I guess we could do that, because I read that couples can get married there if one of them has a permission to stay in the country for more than three months (which is de facto and de iure has, since he´s German).

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

In which country are you presently?

If you really want to take the serious step of marrying, there are quite a few options these days.

But you do not need to get married if, as you describe, you have been living together as a couple for two years.

[flyboy]

have a look at the following link:

http://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/service ... ohabiting/