International travel restrictions due to the corona pandemic have caused a sharp decline in migration movements to and from Belgium in 2020. This can be read on Monday in the annual report of Myria, the Federal Migration Center.
Myria publishes its annual report ‘Migration in figures and in law 2022’ in thematic sections. The first section to appear is ‘Population and Movements’.
The travel restrictions had an impact on all nationality groups, both on immigration to Belgium and emigration from Belgium. For third country nationals, the drop in immigration (-22%) was substantial, and greater than that of emigration (-10%).
The impact on the mobility of EU citizens was more limited, but also clearly visible: 16% fewer immigrations and 12% fewer emigrations than in 2019.
“The impact of the pandemic is also visible in a decrease in the number of first residence permits (-19%) issued in Belgium in 2020 to persons born abroad and living in Belgium (immigrants)”, it sounds.
The main legal motives for the issuance of a first residence permit are paid activities and family reasons. Among the 54,350 first residence permits issued to EU citizens, paid activities are the main motive (51%) for issuance. For third country nationals, family reasons are the first motive (45%).
On January 1, 2021, 11,521,238 people officially resided in Belgium, including 1,447,853 foreigners. That is 13% of the population. Of these, 62% are citizens of the European Union. Ten percent of the population has Belgian nationality, but previously had a different nationality.
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