legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

Statistics
Asylum seekers are not entitled to family reunification, except for Kosovo Albanians (see above).
The same applies to the aliens whose deportation has been suspended.
Procedure: a request for a visa for family reunification must be submitted to the Belgian consulate
located in their country of residence by those members of the family wishing to come to Belgium.
The file is forwarded to the Aliens Office. If the Aliens Office accepts the application, the
consulate is instructed to issue a visa to the relatives. The Belgian government does not provide
any material assistance for the travel to Belgium, but the Red Cross as well as some NGOs do.
Number of asylum seekers
Number of asylum seekers in Belgium
1997 11,824
1998 21,964
1999 35,778
Source: Minister of Interior, Aliens Office
Number of statuses granted
Convention statuses granted in Belgium
No. of statuses granted % total decisions
1997 1,870 19.4%
1998 1,697 12.8%
1999 1,473 8.1%
Source: Minister of Interior, Aliens Office and the General Commissioner for Refugees and
Stateless Persons
Main national groups
Main national groups to seek asylum in Belgium in 1999
Former Yugoslavia 13,067
Romania 1,703
Armenia 1,472
Democratic Republic of Congo 1,402
Russia 1,376
Ukraine 1,343
Slovakia 1,175
Albania 1,010
Rwanda 1,007
Georgia 887
Total 35,778
Source: Minister of Interior, Aliens Office
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Belgium