EU (Belgium) Spouse Family migration - bridging visa

[Pianoscore]

Hi All,

So I'm an Australian Citizen living in Australia (with a british passport - dual passports) and my wife and step-son are Colombian citizens living in Colombia. My step-son has autism & we're looking at migrating to another country to pass some time together to help out with the Australian visa process.

I'm looking at Belgium to migrate to & I just want to clarify a bit of the process.

So I know I can apply for residency etc etc with my British Passport, and that my wife and step-son will need to enter on a tourist visa, then apply for Residency once on shore.

My question is mainly regarding if there is any reason this process would get denied (i.e. Autism) and if it's possible to get a bridging visa while they process the Residency request for my wife & step-son.

Also, is there any cost associated with Application of residency in Belgium? Requirements?

Sorry for all the questions, I seem to be struggling with finding much info on this specific visa pathway...

Thanks in advance,
Aaron E.

[DanChak]

Hi Aaron

The application for your wife and step son should be made under Directive 2004/38/EC.
They should apply for a Schengen Visa for family members of an EU/EEA Citizen - which should be issued free of charge and in an expedited manner.
Once in Belgium they then apply for a Residence Card for the Family Member of an EU/EEA Citizen (Article 10 RC) which gives them the right to live in the EU and you travel with them back to the UK as well.
Please read the following - https://dofi.ibz.be/sites/dvzoe/EN/Appl ... 38_EN.aspx
The fact that you step-son has autism should not be a problem as this type of visa does not require a medical certificate.

Dan