After more than 17 years in Belgium, he is asked to return to Morocco for a “formality”: judge intervenes

After building most of his life in Belgium, a Moroccan national was asked to return to his country of origin to submit his residence application there. The Immigration Office considered that this journey represented nothing more than a formality requiring a temporary separation from his Belgian environment.

The Moroccan national had nevertheless explained that he had been living in the country for more than 17 years. Several of his brothers are legally established there, as is a large part of his family. He also stated that he had developed social, emotional and professional ties in Belgium and worked notably as an interpreter for federal institutions such as Fedasil.

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These factors did not prevent the administration from declaring his residence application inadmissible. On 13 March 2023, it also ordered him to leave Belgian territory.

According to the Immigration Office, his relatives could accompany him to Morocco or visit him regularly. The Moroccan national could also maintain contact through modern means of communication and make short stays in Belgium while his application was being examined.

The administration also reproached him for having himself severed his ties with Morocco, even though he knew that his stay in Belgium was irregular. It considered that he should submit his application from his country of origin, like other Moroccan nationals.

A return to Morocco that is far from insignificant

The Moroccan national challenged this reasoning before the Council for Alien Law Litigation. In particular, he pointed out that no guarantee made it possible to assert that his return to Morocco would actually be temporary. Examining a residence application from abroad can take several months, or even more than a year.

In its judgment no. 306 437 of 14 May 2024, the Council found it manifestly unreasonable to reduce this return to a mere “formality.” The administration had not sufficiently taken into account the particularly long duration of his stay, the presence of his brothers in Belgium and the difficulties that a departure, even if presented as temporary, could cause.

The judges also rejected the idea that his relatives could simply accompany him to Morocco. Such an assumption fails to take into account their own family, private and professional lives in Belgium.

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The Council therefore found a violation of the obligation to give reasons and a manifest error of assessment. It annulled the decision declaring the residence application inadmissible as well as the order to leave the country.

This victory does not automatically grant the Moroccan national a residence permit. The Immigration Office will nevertheless have to reconsider his situation without being able to portray his 17 years of life in Belgium and his return to Morocco as a step of no real significance.