Lucas Monteil, Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot, Vanessa Frangville, Maëlwenn Chaperon (2024) Aspiring re-migrants’ behaviour in mobility policies: the case of Belgium, Mobility policy report: Belgium

This report investigates the role of aspiring (re)migrants’ behaviour within Belgian mobility policies, as part of the AspirE research project. It focuses on six categories of legal migration and corresponding Belgian policies: labour migration, family reunification, tourism, investmentbased immigration, student migration, and Schengen policy. AspirE analyses how Belgium’s migration regime takes into account aspiring (re)migrants’ behaviours, such as changes in stay duration, status transitions, and geographical mobility. The analysis sheds light on how Belgium perceives and regulates (un)acceptable behaviour throughout the migration process. The report provides an overview of the evolution and characteristics of Belgium’s migration regime, followed by a detailed examination of each policy’s governance of Third-Country Nationals’ entry and settlement. Central to Belgium’s mobility policies are expectations of law-abidance and economic independence, as well as the prioritisation of local economic needs, which shapes Belgium’s hierarchy among TCN migrant categories. These policies also show consistent scrutiny and concern over perceived “migratory risks” and “pull factors”. Although Belgium recognises legal possibilities for behavioural changes, its predominantly temporary and conditional migration regime presents substantial administrative obstacles to accessing such provisions in practice.
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
BelMix (March 29, 2024). [Publication] Mobility policy report: Aspiring re-migrants’ behaviour in mobility policies. BelMix. Retrieved April 20, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/w4rw