In January 2011, some new provisions came into force regarding this procedure: applicants have to use a specific detailed form, proof of identity is stricter and applicants have to have an elected domicile. These measures follow the sharp rise of such applications (these have risen from 392 in 2006 to over 8.000 in 2009).

Source : Medimmigrant, Demandes d'autorisation de séjour raisons médicales

The cold winter weather has brought to the forefront of discussions the issue of reception of asylum seekers. This month, the thermometer reached -10°C, and there are nearly 7,000 homeless asylum seekers: emergency housing still lacks and the new places promised by the government are still to be opened. NGOs are mobilised, but the situation is such that UNHCR accused the country of "dragging its feet in a humanitarian crisis".

Source: ECRE Weekly Bulletin 10 December 2010

Falsified medical certificates for asylum seekers?

Undocumented migrants as well as asylum seekers may apply for a one-year renewable residence permit on medical grounds. Whenever their application is found to be admissible, the applicants will receive a temporary residence permit, before it is decided on its merits. A doctor, who supplied over 500 medical certificates - mainly for his fellow-countrymen -, to start such procedure, has recently been arrested, being suspected of human trafficking, and hundreds of files have been seized. Applications for a residence permit on medical grounds have risen from 392 in 2006 to over 8.000 in 2009.

Source: De Morgen, Megafraude met medische attesten asielzoekers

The 'Foreigners Office', whenever it handles 'residence permit for medical reasons' claims has to take into consideration the risk of interruption of continuity of care in Belgium, says the Appeals Council for foreigners disputes in a recent judgment.

Source: VMC medical newsletter, issue 13.

The Belgian Medical Council has issued a detailed advice on the conditions in which an 'age determination test' can be performed on persons claiming to be unaccompanied minors. Radiation can only be performed with caution. Radiation must be as low and as quick as possible. Interpretation requires a specific expertise. The doubt will always have to benefit to the person claiming to be a minor. Radiation can only be ethically justified if it offers more advantages than disadvantages. A balance of interests needs to be done between approximate age determination and the risks for the health of the person. In any case, the test cannot be performed without the person consenting to it. Consent needs to be well-informed and explicit. The assistance of a tutor or a reference person is important. The result of the test can be transmitted directly to the authorities. The full text of the advice is available in French and in Dutch.

On 4 January 2010, a 31-year-old Tunisian asylum seeker died in a foreigners detention centre near Liege, three days after he was held there. After the police had described the death as "suspicious", the Belgian interior ministry foreigners' office claimed that it was drug-related, as the man was deemed a drug addict and the hypothesis on the cause of death by the coroner was a methadone and benzodiazepine overdose. The family in Tunisia denied that he was a drug addict and has confirmed that it will file a lawsuit. Local human rights associations and fellow detainees spoke of the possibility that the death may have resulted from an illness that received inadequate medical care.

Source: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2010/jan/01belgium-tunisian-death.htm

On Wednesday 18 November, a refugee camp was set up in the city centre, as a temporary measure as the Belgian government failed to provide accommodation for more than a 1000 asylum seekers. The NGO’s involved were CIRE, Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, Caritas International, Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde.

Since the beginning of July, the network of reception centres for asylum seekers can not cope any longer with the flow of asylum seekers. This has to do with the capacity of the network and length of the procedure.

On Monday 29 June 2009, the Belgian Federal Ombudsman published two critical reports about closed and open detention centres in Belgium, with an additional report on medical care in closed detention centres. In February 2008, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives requested the Federal Ombudsman to produce these research reports.