As provided for in the government agreement, and in order to combat illegal residence, the government has agreed to authorise home visits at places where persons who refuse to cooperate with their return and who pose a threat to public order or national security are staying. With the authorisation of an investigating judge, the police will be able to
Background
In order to strengthen the fight against illegal residence, an agreement was reached in the Council of Ministers at the end of July 2025 regarding home visits. The government agreement provides the following on this matter: “The Immigration Office has the possibility, in collaboration with the police and with the authorisation of an investigating judge, to access the residence where the person who has exhausted all legal remedies and refuses any access is staying. This must be the ultimate solution, a measure necessary for the execution of the removal measure (in the broad sense of the term), requested from the investigating judge when no action has been taken on an enforceable removal, expulsion or transfer measure, when he/she does not cooperate with its execution and when there are reasonable grounds to believe that he/she is still at the address in question. […] This measure applies to foreign nationals who have received an order to leave the territory and who pose a threat to public order or national security due to acts of extremism, radicalism or terrorism, or who have been convicted of serious offences.”
Intensive return support (introduced by the Vivaldi government in 2024), which consists of individualised and intensive follow-up aimed at guiding and encouraging the foreign national to seek a solution to their residence situation, has not resolved all the problems in this regard, particularly for the current target group of foreign nationals who pose a threat to public order and national security.
The number of home visits with a positive outcome fell from 22% in 2022 to 10% in 2025 (with the written consent of the foreign national currently required).
What does the preliminary draft law provide for?
In July, the federal government gave its agreement, at first reading, to the preliminary draft law by Minister Van Bossuyt amending the law of 15 December 1980 on entry into the territory, residence, establishment and removal of foreign nationals as regards home visits. This preliminary draft law was sent to the Council of State for its opinion. Following the Council of State's opinion, Minister Van Bossuyt made changes to the text and the preliminary draft law was approved by the federal government on 3 April 2026.
It is being sent back to the Council of State for its opinion and will return to the government for a third reading.
These visits are intended to be authorised at places where persons who refuse to cooperate with their return and who pose a threat to society are staying. In response to a comment from the Council of State, a proportionality requirement has been included as an additional safeguard for the right to respect for one's home.
With the authorisation of an investigating judge, the police will be able to enter these homes and place the persons concerned in administrative detention. These persons will then be transferred to a closed centre.
Compared to the previous version, the information provided by the Immigration Office has been expanded (known information on vulnerabilities and family situation) and the investigating judge's decision period has been extended from three to five working days.
A few arguments:
The person concerned must first have had the opportunity to voluntarily comply with a removal measure. Indeed, the home visit is a last-resort measure when all other return measures, such as voluntary return, have failed and the deadline set in the order to leave the territory has expired.
The measure clearly targets persons who pose a threat to national security and who have voluntarily and deliberately placed themselves in an illegal situation for a long time by failing to comply with successive decisions taken against them by the Belgian State.
We must ensure that the enforcement of orders to leave the territory is genuinely effective in the event of a negative decision.
The home visit is considered a necessary measure for the execution of the removal measure, in accordance with Article 8 of the “Return” Directive, which provides that Member States must take the necessary measures to enforce the return decision if the person concerned has not complied with the return obligation within the period set for voluntary return.
On the ground, it is difficult for police services and the Immigration Office to apprehend these persons who are staying illegally and who pose a threat. This bill will enable them to act more effectively while ensuring a clear framework and the authorisation of an investigating judge.
We must be able to apply our return policy 100%; the home visit is therefore necessary when the situation requires it.
This bill respects the principles of the rule of law and human dignity by providing clear safeguards.
The inviolability of the home is guaranteed by Article 15 of the Constitution, but this right is not absolute. Searches may be authorised within the framework set by law. Similarly, home visits can already be organised as part of inspections by the social inspectorate, the labour inspectorate or the tax administration in connection with the fight against tax fraud.