National law
Law applicable on the whole Belgian territory

March 28th, 1952 (Belgian Official Journal March 30th-31st, 1952)

Law on the foreigners’ policy, 1952

The Minister of Justice and his administration (the Foreigners’ Policy) control the entry and the stay of foreigners on the Belgian territory :
- Fixing of entry and stay conditions (art. 2).
- The settling of a foreigner in Belgium is subject to the granting of a residence permit given by the Minister of Justice (art. 2). He can forbid a foreigner to settle in certain towns, force him to leave specific places and areas or to reside in a definite place (art. 2 and 3).
- Measures of escorting back to the border and of expulsion can be taken :
 towards foreigners who entered Belgium without permission ;
 towards foreigners who do not respect the conditions of their residence permit or whose presence is considered « dangerous or harmful to the country’s public order, security or economy » (art. 3 and 4). The expulsion can notably be motivated by the person’s political activity.
- Specific dispositions are provided for refugees : obtaining of the status, possible expulsion, etc.
- A « consultative commission for foreigners » (art. 10) is in charge of giving opinion to the Minister in certain cases :
 recognition of the position of refugee and expulsion of a person who has obtained this status (art. 4) ;
 expulsion of people finding themselves in particular conditions (art. 5).
- Prison and fine sentences are provided for foreigners breaking the law and for people who have helped them to enter or stay illegally in Belgium (art. 12).

While at international level the agreements favour the free circulation of persons, this law is on the contrary part of restrictive measures for the access, the stay and the settlement of foreigners in Belgium.
It gives almost unlimited powers to the Minister of Justice and to his administration (the Foreigners’ Policy) that determine the criteria for the granting or the refusal of the residence permit and decide the measures of escorting back to the border or of expulsion.
The law applies to each foreigner desirous of settling or residing in Belgium. Particular dispositions are provided for foreigners who have obtained the status of refugee.

Text of the law : see appendix
Published in the Belgian Official Journal of March 30th and 31st, 1952

Philippe Plumet

INFOREF

External expert. Project leader – Educational coordination unit “Democracy or barbarism”, Ministery of French-speaking community in Belgium.