According to a report in the daily ‘De Standaard’, local authorities in Belgium have stripped dozens of children born to Palestinian parents of their Belgian nationality. Since 2023, at least 44 families have been plunged into what human rights groups describe as “complete legal uncertainty”.
Dozens of children born to Palestinian parents have been stripped of their Belgian nationality
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Belgian law stipulates that any child born here cannot be left stateless. If the child’s parents are stateless themselves, the registrar at the local Town Hall has the autonomy to grant him or her Belgian nationality at birth. The Federal Migration Centre Myria says before 2023, this was most commonly applied to children of Palestinian parents.
However, the Aliens Office (DVZ) says the rule has been abused. Some families reportedly sought Belgian nationality for their child in order to secure family reunification rights. As a result DVZ began writing to local authorities whenever family reunification of this nature were filed. This has prompted many municipalities to reassess previous decisions to grant nationality.
The Federal Ombudsman has repeatedly warned that the DVZ has no authority to influence such decisions.
Human rights groups, including Myria and the Flemish and Francophone children’s commissioners say that this has caused an sense of widespread uncertainty and has resulted in numerous court cases. In three court ruling made so far two orders to withdraw Belgian nationality have been annulled.