Family Reunification Issues BEL/NL

[Jesra86]

Hello,

I am a non-EU citizen married to a Dutch woman and with our own child. We are living in Belgium since the beginning of this year and applied for a F kaart (5 year residence visa) under family reunification laws, we waited 6 months for a decision and it was denied due to the type of her work contract. We applied again with a more stable type of contract and we were told to wait another 6 months for yet another decision.

Couple days ago, as we called immigration to ask a question, we were told the salary is not enough and most likely my visa will be denied again. Knowing this...

What are my options to bypass the income demanded by Belgian immigration?
What should I do when the decision day comes and I am denied my visa?
Can I appeal under the grounds of the Chen arrest?
Can I forfeit my application in Belgium and do it in Netherlands under my "built up community rights" (1 year legal stay in EU) along with Chen arrest?

I very much appreciate your help

[secret.simon]

I do not know anything about Dutch or Belgian law, so I will desist from addressing any aspect of those laws.

But, under EU law, as the non-EEA spouse of an EEA citizen, you have a right to an Article 10 Residence Card. That may be different from an F Kaart. If so, it may just be a case of applying for the correct documentation.

As regards the salary requirement, there is no salary requirement for the family member of EEA citizens, provided the EEA citizen (not the family member) is working and the work is "genuine and effective" and not "marginal and ancillary". If this can be proven by documentation, an Article 10 card cannot be refused.

Directive 2004/38/EG (in Dutch; I could not find a copy in Flemish)

I would have imagined that as one of the founding members of the EU and as the location of its bureaucracy, the Belgians would be fluent in EU procedure and indeed would go out of their way in implementing it.

[Jesra86]

Hello,

Thank you for the reply. On the application is invoking art. 40 of the 15 December 1980 law, which I believe is not the same as the directive 2004/38. You think I should cancel the current application, and request for a new one under art. 10 from the directive?

I agree Belgium seems to be a bureaucratic hell even though the European Commission is held within its grounds.

[mgb]

The card should be

Carte F: Carte de séjour de membre de la famille d’un citoyen de l’Union
F kaart: Verblijfskaart van een familielid van een burger van de Unie