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Proof of social integration for Belgian nationality
Dear all,
I would like to apply for Belgian nationality and I saw that as proof of social integration one can submit a diploma obtained in Belgium. I have obtained PhD diploma here but I am not sure if I can use it. As I saw, on some websites it's written that the courses should be in one of the national languages. However, in Belgium, there are no courses during PhD. So, I am really confused if I can use it or not. Any ideas?
Go to your commune and ask them if the diploma you have is on the list of acceptable diplomas.
The "social integration" requirement is a soft requirement that can be met in many ways and it may well be (indeed probable) that a PhD diploma obtained by study in Belgium would be sufficient, or at least partly sufficient. If, however, the study was in a language other than one of the three Belgian official languages you will still have to pass a language test - to at least A2 standard (which isn't that high) - in Dutch, French or German, unless you satisfy the requirement in other ways such as sufficient regular employment in an organisation which works in one of those languages. Your commune/gemeente should be able to tell you - and also where you might get the required language test.
If you get pass the stage of having your application accepted by the commune/gemeente, you may well still have to satisfy a police interview - and they will be seeking to establish your social integration too.
PhD certificate should be possible to submit.
But get 4 letters from different Belgians saying you will make a good citizen. Make sure the letters are quite different in what they say. Ask people like a neighbour, your boss, your professor, doctor or lawyer, sporting colleague. Don’t need to be long. Saying things like they know you, you are a good citizen, they support your application etc but, I repeat, not 4 almost identical letters. You also need a photocopy or scan of their ID card to prove they are genuine.
My application for nationality was turned down for spurious reasons and I now have a lawyer to appeal. He told me that my PhD in English from a Belgian university would almost certainly not be considered as proof of social integration,regsrdless of other language skills.
@NFOSTER
I have already applied 3 months ago for the Belgian nationality and I also have a PhD degree in English from a Belgian university, however the PhD diploma document that I submitted was in Dutch language. This document contains several pages and only in a very small part is mentioned the language of education is English. was your document the same? and how did you eventually solve your issue?
