At a meeting on Friday the Federal Cabinet decided that convicted terrorists and hate preachers that are residing in Belgium illegally may soon be subject to a lifetime ban on entering the country. Currently, bans on entering the country can only be imposed for a set period.
Federal Government wants lifetime ban on entry to Belgium for convicted terrorists and hate preachers
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Speaking after Friday morning’s cabinet meeting, the Federal Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt (Flemish nationalist) said that “The door will be permanently closed to those that radicalise or support terrorism”.
Ms Van Bossuyt cited convicted terrorists, potentially violent extremists, and hate preachers as examples of those that would be affected by the ban. In order to ensure an objective assessment of the security risk, any decision to ban an individual from the country will always be preceded by an analysis by the terror threat level assessment body OCAD, Ms Van Bossuyt added.
People banned from entering Belgium will be flagged in both the Schengen Information System and the national police database.
Prison overcrowding
Meanwhile, the Asylum and Migration Minister also says that the number of undocumented migrants that were serving time in Belgians prisons but have been sent back to their countries of origin has increased in recent months. In the first 10 months of this year 1,300 were sent back. This compares to 1,035 in the same period last year.
Ms Van Bossuyt says that she intends to build on this trend by increasing the number of places available in secure asylum centres. More repatriation escorts will be taken on and more effective readmission agreements made with countries of origin.
"Anyone who commits criminal offences or poses a threat to our society must leave the country. By focusing more on returning those serving custodial sentences we are protecting our society and giving our overburdened prison system more breathing space."
Prison overcrowding has been an issue in Belgium for a number of years. Around a third of prisoners in Belgian jails are undocumented.