The Royal Decree of 7 May 2026 replacing Article 104 of the Royal Decree of 8 October 1981 on access to the territory, residence, establishment and removal of foreign nationals as regards excessive prolongation of studies (Official Gazette, 21 May 2026, p. 27772) entered into force on 31 May 2026 and will apply from the 2026-2027 academic year.
The decree raises credit thresholds, tightens reorientation conditions and caps at two the number of different orientations possible during the first three years of residence.
This tightening runs counter to the objectives of the European Union set out in Directive (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016, which aims to promote the Union as a « pole of attraction for research and innovation » and to make it a « world centre of excellence for studies and training ».
The ground of “abuse” invoked in the report to the King to justify the tightening is not accompanied by any quantified or documented evidence.
The need for structural tightening, and a fortiori its proportionality, are all the more open to challenge given that the targeted phenomenon remains marginal.
A ministerial communication relayed by a Belga news agency dispatch published notably in La Libre Belgique of 1 June 2026 does provide some figures (https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/enseignement/2026/06/01/du-changement-pour-les-etudiants-etrangers-en-belgique-EHNHHFV7LNEUBJNNEZMEMSX2CA/). It states that 400 students did not obtain renewal of their visa in 2025 due to insufficient credits or multiple reorientations, and that these 400 refusals represent 36% of all refused renewals. A simple calculation yields approximately 1,111 renewal refusals from all causes for the year 2025.
The Immigration Office's 2024 activity report, published and available on dofi.fgov.be, allows the order of magnitude to be objectified. In 2024, the Immigration Office issued 4,280 renewal decisions notified to students, out of 5,056 applications filed. If the 400 refusals are placed against these 4,280 decisions, the “excessive prolongation” ground accounts for only 9.3% of student renewal decisions. According to Myria (2025 booklet of the annual report La migration en chiffres et en droits, September 2025), 11,582 long-stay visas for studies were issued in 2024, and 13,831 first residence permits for studies were issued in 2023, a level comparable to 2019 before the pandemic.
The same ministerial communication also announces a tightening of the conditions for obtaining a visa for training provided by non-accredited institutions, specifically targeting music and ballet schools and certain non-recognised business schools.
There exists, however, a well-documented administrative tolerance for certain programmes outside formally recognised higher education. The Immigration Office's 2024 activity report itself attests to this practice: it distinguishes two categories of student visas, “studies in recognised higher education” and “studies in non-recognised higher education”, and records 1,175 visa applications for the second category in 2024 (against 1,430 in 2023 and 1,611 in 2022). This administrative practice, attested by official reports, constitutes a stable reference upon which students, schools and their advisers have reasonably relied.
The principle of standstill, derived from the fundamental rights affected and from the State's obligation not to significantly reduce the level of protection conferred without an overriding reason or duly established public interest, prevents such a practice from being reversed without express justification.
In any event, it must be emphasised that no withdrawal or non-renewal of student residence may be decided without complying with a strong procedural safeguard: any decision must « take account of the specific circumstances of the case and respect the principle of proportionality ». This in concreto examination is not a discretion left to the administration. It conditions the legality of the decision.
This margin of appreciation must be exercised in compliance with the right to be heard guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and with the right to respect for private life protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 22 of the Belgian Constitution.
Céline Verbrouck
Attorney at the Brussels Bar
Specialised in immigration law, nationality law and international family law
www.altea.be
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