A. First Belgian and then Israeli Citizenship – Yes.

We are all familiar with the principle of the Law of Return, according to which every Jew immigrating to Israel is entitled to Israeli citizenship almost automatically. On the other hand, most of us must also remember that Belgian law does not permit a Belgian national to become a citizen of another country (including Israel) unless the new citizenship is obtained totally passively, e.g., by birth, Law of Return, Parents.

That is to say, a Jew – becoming an Israeli citizen pursuant to the Law of Return – should not fear losing his Belgian citizenship, since the Israeli citizenship is granted to him passively, as a birthright, due to his being Jewish.

This is not the case for one obtaining Israeli citizenship in a non-passive manner, such us citizenship due to residency in Israel. This must therefore be clarified before any action is taken.

In the past – due to ignorance – Jewish Belgian citizens (and others) who came to live in Israel signed a declaration of their refusal to become Israeli citizens pursuant to the Law of Return, and their wish to become Israeli residents only, rather than citizens: their refusal was usually motivated by their unfounded fear of losing their original Belgian citizenship.


B. First Belgian and then Israeli Citizenship under the Provisional Directive – No.

Every few years, and most recently in 1988, the Israeli legislator issued Provisional Directives according to which the aforementioned declaration of refusal to become Israeli citizens can be revoked, and thus one may earn the citizenship pursuant to the Law of Return.

The only action required from the applicant was to return a special form issued by the Population Administration. Does such an action indeed entitle the applicant to receive Israeli citizenship without losing his Belgian citizenship? In our opinion, and in the opinion of Belgian authorities, the answer is negative.

Although it is possible not to fill in all of the special form issued under such Provisional Directives, the very act of filling in the rest of it, and actually, the very act of submitting and/or sending it to the Ministry of the Interior, will be considered in Belgium to be an active conduct, and such an active conduct would be sufficient to revoke Belgian citizenship. This may perhaps only be somewhat qualified for a person who is currently an adult, but when he was a minor his parents signed such a refusal declaration on their own and on his behalf.


C. First Israeli and then Belgian Citizenship – Yes.

We should first remember that Israeli law allows double and even triple citizenships.

Whomever is born outside Belgium and does not live there, but has at least one parent who is Belgian, has an option to request a Belgian citizenship in addition to his previous one (including Israeli), provided that the request is submitted with the required documents before he reaches 5 years of age, by his Belgian parent to the Belgian Consulate in which he is registered; if the Belgian parent fails to do so, the child himself may apply for citizenship, but only between the ages of 18 and 22. It is not possible to apply for citizenship between the ages of 5 and 18.

D. Retaining the Belgian Citizenship Acquired through the Option:

It should be emphasized that whomever acquired Belgian citizenship by way of exercising the option described above, whether by his parents or by himself, must, before reaching 28 years of age, declare that he wishes to retain his Belgian Citizenship, and file additional documents. Should he fail to do so, for any reason whatsoever (including ignorance) – he loses his Belgian citizenship.

Whoever missed the ages for exercising the option, as described above (ages 0-5 and 18-22), can obtain Belgian citizenship only by undergoing a standard citizenship acquiring process, with all ramifications this may have on his original citizenship (such as: Israeli); it should be noted, though, that the fact that he had had the option described above will be counted as a point in his favor when his request is considered.

E. Summary

Belgian law allows Belgian citizens to acquire an additional citizenship only in extraordinary cases (such as the Law of Return), provided that no active action is required: hence, any action, including submitting any request, form and/or declaration aimed at obtaining Israeli citizenship (but not refusing to receive such citizenship), may cause the revoking of the Belgian citizenship.

Israeli law allows Israeli citizens to acquire additional citizenship; obtaining an additional Belgian citizenship is possible as an option, among others, to those born outside Belgium to Belgian parent(s) registered at a Belgian Consulate; exercising this option is possible only between the ages of 0-5 (by the parents) and between the ages of 18-22 (by the applicant himself); a condition for retaining the Beligan citizenship acquired through this option is a suitable declaration and submitting certain documents, around the age of 28.