Guides

Step-by-step guides, written simply. Each guide tells you what to prepare, then what to do, in order. You can print them and listen to them.

• 6 stepsCreate an email address, for freeWithout an email address, many procedures are blocked: Actiris, social housing and this site. In 20 minutes, you can have a working address.
• 4 stepsGet a reference address at CPASWithout an address, almost nothing can move forward: no mail, identity card, integration income or health insurance. A reference address is an official address for people without housing. It is a right.
• 5 stepsPrepare an appointment at CPASA well-prepared appointment avoids an extra trip because a document is missing. Here is what to say, what to bring and what your rights are.
• 3 stepsLost or stolen documents: 3 essential stepsIdentity card, bank card or residence permit lost or stolen? Follow these 3 steps in order to prevent fraud and replace your documents.
• 5 stepsOpen an account when banks say noWithout a bank account, receiving a salary or integration income and paying rent become difficult. The basic banking service is a RIGHT: a bank must open an account under the legal conditions, even if you are listed in the credit register or have an ongoing residence application.
• 8 stepsBelgian in distress abroad: who to call, in what orderAccident, theft, arrest, no money or no documents: here is what a Belgian embassy or consulate can do, what it will never do and the only financial help available as a last resort.
• 7 stepsLost or stolen papers abroad: return anywayMissing passport or identity card far from home? Four steps in order — local police, DOC STOP, consulate, return document — and a trap to know before booking your flight.
• 7 stepsAccident or hospitalization abroadYou or someone close to you has been admitted to hospital outside Belgium. Here is whom to call within 48 hours, what the European Health Insurance Card covers and who pays for repatriation, because the Belgian State never does.
• 8 stepsDeath of a relative abroadSomeone close to you has died outside Belgium. Follow these steps in order: notify the authorities, choose between repatriation and burial locally, obtain the death certificate, have it recognised in Belgium and notify the correct services after your return.
• 7 stepsBirth of a child abroad: act, nationality, passportYour child is born outside Belgium. Here is how to have the birth recognised, secure Belgian nationality — pay close attention to the 5-year deadline — and obtain the child's first travel document.
• 7 stepsPrepare to return to Belgium after years abroadReturning involves more than taking a flight: removal from the consular register, re-registration with the municipality within 8 days, health insurance and the CPAS. Following this order helps avoid losing access to rights for months.
• 7 stepsTalking to the counter or telephone: what to say, in what orderMany procedures fail not because a document is missing, but because the request was unclear at reception. Here is the conversation in order, with exact sentences for obtaining an acknowledgement of receipt and responding to a refusal.

These guides give direction, never legal advice. Each commune works differently: call before you go. In immediate danger, call 112.