Private-means residence in Belgium: what ten years of figures reveal
Private-means residence is associated with a discreet few who choose Belgium to live on their income. The Immigration Office’s official figures confirm the discretion — barely a few hundred applications in ten years — but also show that, read properly, this route succeeds most of the time.
A confidential route almost no one takes
456 applications in ten years, 79% of decisions favourable, around forty applications a year.
A ‘rentier’ resides in Belgium without carrying out any professional activity, on the basis of sufficient own income; this is a long-stay D visa granted at the discretion of the Immigration Office (category B17, Article 9 of the Act of 15 December 1980). Over the whole 2016 to mid-2026 period, the Office recorded only 456 applications for this ground — a trickle compared with the main visa flows. It is a route that most eligible people simply do not know exists.
Decisions are mostly positive
Over the whole period, the Office issued 307 positive decisions for 80 refusals — that is, 79% of decisions were favourable. This is the most reliable reading, because it covers ten years of decisions rather than a single year.
D ‘rentier’ visas (category B17) — applications and decisions by calendar year. Source: Immigration Office. 2026: data up to July. The last column is the share of positive decisions in a year — not a success rate by application cohort.Year Applications Decisions + Decisions − Positive share 2016 30 20 8 71 % 2017 23 18 3 86 % 2018 32 30 2 94 % 2019 41 32 4 89 % 2020 27 22 7 76 % 2021 39 30 5 86 % 2022 43 26 4 87 % 2023 61 51 5 91 % 2024 53 25 19 57 % 2025 68 44 15 75 % 2026* 39 9 8 53 % Total 456 307 80 79 %
How to read — and not over-read — these figures
An application lodged in a given year is not necessarily decided that same year: a year’s decisions partly concern earlier applications, and some recent applications are still being processed. A single year’s ratio therefore does not measure the chances of that year’s applicants. The share of positive decisions did fall in 2024 (57%) and in early 2026 (53%); but this may reflect the timing of processing as much as any increased strictness. The sound reading is the long-term one: over ten years, roughly four decisions out of five are favourable.
Who uses it: one dominant profile, and many absentees
Over the period, applications come overwhelmingly from the United States (nearly 180 applications, about 40% of the total), followed at a distance by Australia, Morocco, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Lebanon and Brazil. This imbalance is telling: many profiles who would meet the conditions — retirees with a stable pension, holders of rental income or annuities — never consider this route, simply because they do not know of it.
What these figures tell anyone considering the step
Three lessons. One: the route is real and rare, hence uncrowded. Two: the share of favourable decisions is historically high over the long run. Three: the recent dip, whatever its exact cause, rules out improvisation — it is how the file is built, not wealth alone, that makes the difference. See also our page Private-means residence in Belgium and the up-to-date statistics.
Data source
Immigration Office (Belgium) — Visa Statistics, ‘Applications’, ‘Positive decisions’ and ‘Negative decisions’ tables, ‘Rentier’ ground (category B17). POS/NEG decision annexes 2016–2026 and consolidated versions 2023–2025, plus the 2026 report (up to July), published on dofi.ibz.be. Calculations: LEX∥LAU. The positive share relates positive decisions to all decisions issued (positive + negative); applications and decisions are distinct flows — a decision may concern an application lodged in an earlier year.
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Rare and little known, but real: when properly handled, private-means residence is among the most favourable immigration procedures — provided the file is treated with the seriousness that a discretionary decision demands.
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