A Moroccan Completes His Application, but Belgium Rejects His Student Visa Again Four Days Later
A Moroccan wanted to come to Belgium to improve his French before pursuing higher education. After an initial visa refusal, he completed his application. Four days later, the Immigration Office refused again. The Belgian courts have just annulled this second decision.
The applicant had submitted his long-stay visa application on 22 April 2025. He wished to attend a preparatory French course during the 2025-2026 academic year at the Institut de Formation de Cadres pour le Développement (IFCAD), in Brussels. On 28 July, the Immigration Office refused his visa. He then brought the case before the Council for Alien Law Litigation (CCE).
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The case could have ended there. But on 15 September, the Moroccan submitted a new certificate from the IFCAD director. On 19 September, just four days later, the Belgian administration issued a new decision that “annuls and replaces” the previous one: the visa was refused again.
Belgium suggests that he learn French in Morocco
In its reasoning, the administration notably questioned the relevance of coming to Belgium to take these French courses. It pointed out that Morocco has a network of French Institutes that also offer language training. It also disputed that the documents submitted sufficiently established the applicant’s enrollment in the relevant higher-education section.
The Moroccan challenges this analysis. IFCAD does indeed have a higher-education section, an element that the Immigration Office does not, moreover, dispute. The institution presents its preparatory year as intended for students wishing to improve their French before beginning higher education.
In its judgment no. 338.552 of 22 December 2025, the Council for Alien Law Litigation found that the reasoning adopted by the administration did not withstand examination of the elements in the file and annulled the refusal of 19 September.
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The Moroccan does not automatically obtain his visa as a result: the annulment requires the administration to reconsider his application. But his second refusal, issued only four days after he had completed his application, has legally disappeared.
