What is at Stake with Family Reunification in Belgium?
The Think-Tank Itinera Institute analyses in its publication the new legal rules on family reunification in Belgium
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In 2009, 23% of the total migration flow to Belgium used family reunification as migration channel.
Laurent Hanseeuw, fellow of the Itinera Institute and author of the study, analyses the new Belgian law on family reunification based on the effects of the corresponding recent Dutch law, which formed its point of reference. According to the data of Hanseeuw, the number of family reunifications to the Netherlands was reduced by 30% within one year of the implementation of the law. However, the law did not change the insufficient and problematic integration of immigrants on the Dutch labour market. In Belgium, one out of four non-European immigrants, who arrived via family reunification are unemployed. Therefore, also in Belgium, a main issue remains the weak labor market integration of non-European immigrants. Again, Hanseeuw stated that the new Belgian law will probably only have an impact on the size of the immigration flows and will not offer a solution to increase the integration of immigrants.
The study is available in French only.