22 DECEMBER 1999. - Act respecting the regularization of residence of certain categories of foreigners residing in the territory of the Kingdom (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. Without prejudice to the application of section 9 of the Act of 15 December 1980 on access to territory, residence, establishment and removal of aliens, this Act applies to requests for regularization of residence filed by aliens who already lived in Belgium on 1 October 1999 and who, at the time of application:
1° or requested recognition of refugee status without having received an enforceable decision within four years, this period being reduced to three years for families with minor children staying in Belgium on 1 October 1999 and at the age of going to school;
2° may not, for reasons beyond their control, return to or from the country or countries where they have usually stayed before their arrival in Belgium, their country of origin, or to the country of which they are a national;
3° are seriously ill;
4° can claim humanitarian circumstances and have developed sustainable social attachments in the country.
Art. 3. It is established a Regulatory Committee which includes, on the one hand, chambers composed of a magistrate or a former magistrate or a member or a former member of an administrative court, a lawyer and a representative of a recognized non-governmental organization carrying on human rights activities and, on the other hand, a secretariat.
A royal decree deliberated in the Council of Ministers determines the method of designation of the members of the Regularization Commission, its procedural and operational rules, and the means of investigation available to it.
Art. 4. The application for regularization shall be filed with the town of the locality where the applicant stays within three weeks of the coming into force of this Act and shall be forwarded to the Regulatory Commission.
The Regulatory Commission shall give notice to the Minister who has access to the territory, residence, establishment and removal of aliens in his or her jurisdiction. The Minister or his delegate shall decide on the applications. where applicable, he shall issue a residence permit pursuant to section 13 of the Act of 15 December 1980 on access to territory, residence, establishment and removal of aliens.
Art. 5. Aliens referred to in section 2 who the Minister considers that they represent a danger to public order or national security are excluded from the benefit of this Act.
Art. 6. Aliens referred to in section 2, 1°, for whom the Minister, seized by the Supervisory Commission, considers that they have committed a manifest fraud in the proceedings of their asylum application are excluded from the benefit of this Act.
Art. 7. The mayor of the locality where the applicant stays shall issue an acknowledgement of receipt of the request and shall transmit it within eight days of receipt to the Regularization Commission.
Art. 8. The township of the locality where the applicant stays may transmit to the request no later than the month following receipt of the application, a social report containing all the useful elements that are relevant to the application and of which the applicant is aware.
When the aliens referred to in Article 2 have not, at the time of the introduction of their application, filed all the documents required by Article 9, they have a period of one month from the introduction of their application to complete their file. Upon receipt, the mayor must transmit the additional documents to the Regulatory Commission.
Art. 9. The file attached to the application must include:
1° a supporting document stating that the applicant is known:
(a) either by public administration or service, such as the Aliens Office, a police service, a municipal administration or a public welfare centre;
(b) an institution, such as a hospital or school;
2° a supporting document stating that the applicant was actually staying in Belgian territory on 1 October 1999;
3° the name, first name, place and date of birth, nationality, civil status and composition of the applicant ' s household;
4° a copy of the required identity and travel documents, i.e., the passport, if any, has a visa or default, any other documents to establish the identity of the applicant;
5° the indication of the applicant's residence and the indication of the address where the applicant must make an election of domicile for the purposes of the procedure;
6° for foreigners referred to in section 2, 1°, the file number of the Aliens Office;
7° for foreigners referred to in Article 2, 2°, a written statement motivating the reasons independent of their will to prevent their return to the country or countries where they usually stayed before their arrival in Belgium or in the country of which they are a national or in their country of origin;
8° for foreigners referred to in Article 2, 3°, a medical certificate that can only be transmitted to the practitioners of the art of cure who will attend the Regularization Commission;
9° for foreigners referred to in Article 2, 4°, proof that their presence in Belgium dates back to more than six years, or more than five years for families with minor children staying in Belgium on 1 October 1999 and of age to go to school and/or, if applicable, proof that they have legally stayed in Belgium and/or a written statement that they have not received the order to leave the territory for five years.
Not considered a significant legal stay, the stay on the basis of a tourist visa, the stay allowed for refugee candidates pending a decision on the admissibility of their asylum application, is the permission to stay granted to students.
In addition, to assess whether a stay is significant, consideration will be given to the criterion referred to in section 2, 4°, namely humanitarian circumstances and sustainable social ties.
Art. 10. The convocations of the Supervisory Commission will be validly addressed to the address to Article 9, 5°, by ordinary mail and, pursuant to Article 25 of the Law of 5 August 1992 on the Police Function, to the intervention of the communal police of the locality where the plaintiff stayed. Any change of address must immediately be reported by registered letter to the Regularization Commission and to the locality where the applicant resides.
Art. 11. The unjustified absence of the applicant to the summons referred to in section 10 will automatically result in a negative decision.
Art. 12. §1. When the secretariat of the Regularization Commission finds that the file attached to the application is incomplete, it shall forward it to the Minister for decision, with a negative opinion.
This notice is notified to the interested party in the manner provided for in sections 10 and 13. The person concerned shall have three days from the intervention of the municipal police referred to in the above-mentioned articles in order to express his or her views to the Minister by registered letter.
If the Minister moves away from this notice, he shall take a board of the Supervisory Commission which, after an adversarial procedure, issues a new opinion. The application is then again forwarded to the Minister, who makes a final decision.
§ 2. When the secretariat of the Regulatory Commission determines that the file that is attached to the application is complete, but includes documents that may be contested, a branch of the Regulatory Commission is before it. After an adversarial procedure, she issues a notice and forwards the request for a decision to the Minister.
§ 3. When the secretariat of the Regularization Commission finds that the file attached to the application is complete, but prima facie it appears that it cannot give rise to a favourable opinion, a branch of the Regularization Commission is before it. After an adversarial procedure, she issues a notice and forwards the request for a decision to the Minister.
§ 4. When the secretariat of the Regularization Commission finds that the file attached to the application is complete and that prima facie it appears that it may give rise to a favourable opinion, it shall forward the request to the Minister for decision, with a favourable opinion.
If the Minister intends to deviate from this notice, he shall take a board of the Supervisory Commission which, after an adversarial procedure, issues a new opinion. The application is then again forwarded to the Minister, who makes a defiant decision.
Art. 13. The decision of the Minister or his delegate shall be validly addressed to the address referred to in section 9, 5°, by regular mail and, pursuant to section 25 of the Police Function Act of 5 August 1992, to the intervention of the municipal police of the locality where the applicant resides.
Art. 14. Apart from measures of removal motivated by public order or national security, or unless the application clearly fails to comply with the requirements of section 9, there shall be no material distance between the introduction of the application and the day on which a negative decision has been made pursuant to section 12.
Art. 15. The request for regularization pursuant to section 9, paragraph 3, of the law of 15 December 1980 on access to the territory, residence, establishment and removal of aliens, having not been the subject of a decision under the circular of 15 December 1998 on the application of article 9, paragraph 3, of the law of 15 December 1980 on the
Art. 16. The introduction of an application on the basis of section 2 prohibits the applicant from introducing an application on the basis of section 9, paragraph 3, of the Act of 15 December 1980 on access to territory, residence, establishment and removal of aliens.
The introduction, after the coming into force of this Act, of an application on the basis of section 9, paragraph 3, of the above-mentioned Act of 15 December 1980 prohibits the applicant from simultaneously or thereafter filing an application on the basis of section 2.
Art. 17. This Act comes into force on the day of its publication in the Belgian Monitor.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 22 December 1999.
ALBERT
By the King:
The Minister of the Interior,
A. DUQUESNE
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
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Note
Regular session 1999-2000.
House of Representatives:
Parliamentary documents. - Bill No. 50 0234/001. - Amendments No. 0234/002-004. - Report No. 0234/005. - Text corrected by Commission No. 0234/006. - Amendment No. 0237/007. - Text adopted in plenary meeting No. 0234/008.
Annales of the House. - Discussion and adoption. - Meetings on 24 and 25 November 1999.
Senate.
Parliamentary documents. - Project transmitted to the Senate No. 2-202/1. - Amendments No. 2-202/2. - Report No. 2-202/3. - Text adopted by Commission No. 2-202/4. - Amendments No. 2-202/5-7. Text adopted in plenary meeting No. 2-202/8. - Decision not to amend No. 2-202/9.
Annales of the Senate. - Discussion and adoption. - Meetings of 15 and 16 December 1999.