Application for non-Belgian citizens of the European Union

Attention !
The real form is in French and must be sent as such. But we have translated this one into English below to help you.
Therefore, the official form to send can be downloaded here.

 

Annex 1 – Model application for non-Belgian citizens of the European Union who have established their residence in Belgium

in Belgium must apply to the municipality of that principal residence if they wish to be registered on the voters’ list drawn up for the municipal elections.

  

I, the undersigned

  • Full name: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
  • Date of birth: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
  • Address: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
  • Nationality: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
  • National number :

hereby request[1] , in accordance with article 1er bis, § 2, of the communal electoral law, inserted by the law of January 27, 1999, my registration on the electoral roll which is drawn up every six years, in anticipation of the ordinary renewal of the communal councils, on August 1er of the year in which this renewal takes place.

I declare that I am aware of the following:

  • my application for registration on the electoral roll is approved[2] ,
    • If I have established my main residence in a municipality of the Flemish Region, I can stand for election;
    • If I have established my main residence in a commune of the Walloon Region or the Brussels-Capital Region, I am obliged to stand for election, failing which I will be subject to the penalties laid down by the Local Democracy and Decentralization Code in the Walloon Region and by the Brussels-Capital Region’s Communal Electoral Code.
    • I have not reached the age of eighteen by the date of the first communal elections following the signing of the present document;
    • that on that date, I will fall under the application of articles 6 to 8 of the Electoral Code on account of a conviction or decision handed down in Belgium;
  • that my application for registration on the electoral roll may be refused if it appears :
    • I have not reached the age of eighteen by the date of the first communal elections following the signing of the present document;
    • that on that date, I will fall under the application of articles 6 to 8 of the Electoral Code on account of a conviction or decision handed down in Belgium;
  • that even if my application for registration on the voters’ list is approved, this approval may be withdrawn if granted,
    • I am the subject of a conviction or decision handed down in Belgium which, in application of Articles 6 to 8 of the Electoral Code, entails either permanent exclusion from electoral rights or the suspension, on the date of the elections, of those same rights;
    • it appears that I have ceased to hold the nationality of a member state of the European Union or that I have been permanently struck off the population registers in Belgium, either because I have failed to declare my change of residence without my new residence having been discovered, or because I have transferred my residence abroad;
  • that if my application for registration is refused, I benefit from the complaints and appeals procedure provided for in article 1er bis, § 3, of the communal electoral law, as inserted by the law of January 27, 1999[3] .

…………………………………………………….., ………………………….. [4]

(Signature)

Acknowledgement of receipt (acknowledgement can be sent by e-mail if the application was submitted online).

The application for registration of ……………………… (full name) …………………………… was received by the Population Department on …………………. (date).

Municipality stamp Signature.

[1] Written applications can be submitted to the municipal administration or online using the form available at https://elections.fgov.be.

[2] The Collège des bourgmestre et échevins (read « Collège communal » in the Walloon Region) checks whether the applicant meets the electoral requirements and, if so, notifies the applicant by registered letter of its decision to register him or her on the electoral roll. This registration is also recorded in the population registers.

To be eligible to vote, a person must be a national of a member state of the European Union, have reached the age of eighteen, be registered in the population register of the municipality to which the application is submitted, and not be in one of the cases of exclusion or suspension of electoral rights provided for in articles 6 to 8 of the Electoral Code.

The conditions of age and non-suspension or non-exclusion of electoral rights must be met by election day at the latest.

[3] If the applicant does not meet one or other of the electoral conditions, the college of burgomasters and aldermen of the municipality of residence notifies the applicant by registered letter, stating the reasons, of its refusal to register the applicant on the electoral roll.

In this case, the applicant may, within ten days of this notification, raise any objections by registered letter addressed to the College of Burgomasters and Aldermen. The college will make its decision within eight days of receipt of the objection, and the interested party will be notified of its decision immediately by registered letter.

If the College of Burgomasters and Aldermen upholds its refusal, the applicant may appeal against this decision to the Court of Appeal within eight days of the notification referred to in the previous paragraph.

The appeal is lodged by means of a request submitted to the public prosecutor at the Court of Appeal. The latter immediately informs the college of burgomasters and aldermen of the commune concerned.

The parties have a period of ten days from the date of submission of the request to file new pleadings.  Once this period has expired, the Public Prosecutor sends the file, together with any new documents or submissions, to the Chief Clerk of the Court of Appeal within two days, who acknowledges receipt.

For the rest, the procedure before the Court of Appeal is governed by articles 28 to 39 of the Electoral Code.

The operative part of the judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal is notified without delay and by all means, by the Public Prosecutor, to the college of burgomasters and aldermen which handed down the decision under appeal and to the other parties.

The judgment is immediately enforceable if it recognizes the appellant as a qualified elector.

Appeals are decided both in the absence and presence of the parties. Decisions handed down by the Court of Appeal in this matter are deemed to be contradictory and are not subject to appeal.

[4] Applications for entry on the voters’ list drawn up for municipal elections may be submitted at any time, except during the period between the day on which the list is drawn up (August 1 of the year in which the ordinary renewal of municipal councils takes place) and the day of the election for which the list is drawn up. From the day after election day, they may again be submitted.

Similarly, at any time, except during the period referred to in the previous paragraph, any person who has been approved as a voter may declare in writing to the commune in which he or she has established his or her principal residence that he or she no longer wishes to vote.

Approval as a voter remains valid as long as the person concerned continues to meet the conditions for voting and has not renounced his or her status as a voter, regardless of the commune in which he or she resides in Belgium.

If, after having been approved as a voter, a non-Belgian citizen of the European Union declares in writing to the municipality of his or her main residence that he or she no longer wishes to vote, he or she may not reapply for approval as a voter until after the municipal elections for which he or she was registered as a voter.