The Belgian law on regularization for medical reasons is being amended
Today, the International Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, adopted a draft law amending provisions relating to the regularization for medical reasons, in order to avoid abuse of this procedure and in particular to discourage manifestly unfounded claims.
The regularization procedure for medical reasons (known as procedure '9 ter') allows the granting of a temporary residence permit to foreign persons who are seriously ill and whose removal would have unacceptable humanitarian consequences. The procedure involves an admissibility stage, and if the application is admissible, a "merits" stage where the substance is evaluated by the Immigration Department.
The main change provided by the above mentioned draft bill is the introduction of a "filter" at the admissibility stage of the application. This "filter" takes the form of an opinion from a medical officer of the Immigration Department who assesses whether the illness can ben seen as "manifestly serious or not".
More information can be obtained in the draft bill (in French and Dutch) adopted on 28 November 2011.