Author
The law provides for some situations in which reception conditions and material aid can be refused or withdrawn or even – in the case of material aid – recovered from the asylum applicant. Such decisions are only possible for individual reasons related to the asylum applicant.
Sanctions for violation of house rules
Different limitations to the enjoyment of reception conditions can be imposed for infractions of the house rules of a reception centre. Two decrees regulating the matter were published in 2018:
- A royal decree on the system and operating rules in reception centres and the modalities for checking the rooms;[1]
- A ministerial decree on common house rules in reception centres.[2]
The Royal decree stipulates the general rules while the ministerial decree implements them and contains a list of house rules. One part of them is obligatory for all reception facilities; the other part varies depending on the specific reception structure. These rules apply in all reception facilities, except for minors’ observation and orientation centres.
The common obligatory house rules include:
- Respect the infrastructure;
- No drugs, alcohol and no smoking;
- Rules related to security;
- Rules related to cohabitation.
Possible sanctions are enumerated in Article 45 of the Reception Act:
- the formal warning with an entry in the social dossier;
- the temporary exclusion from the activities organised by the reception structure;
- the temporary exclusion from the possibility of doing paid community services;
- the restriction of access to certain services;
- the obligation to perform tasks of general benefit (in case of non-performance or defective performance this may be considered as a new offence);
- the temporary suspension or reduction of the daily allowance, with a maximum period of four weeks;
- the transfer, without delay, of the asylum applicant to another reception structure;
- the temporary exclusion of the right to material assistance, for a maximum duration of one month;
- the definitive exclusion of the right to material assistance in a reception structure.
The procedures for applying these sanctions can be found in a Royal Decree.[3]
As a sanction for having seriously violated the house rules and thereby putting others in a dangerous situation or threatening the security in the reception facility, the right to reception can be suspended for a maximum of one month.[4] This measure was taken against 97 persons in 2024, for an average duration of 13 days. In practice, however, due to the reception crisis, the duration of the exclusion is often longer because single men without special vulnerability do not automatically re-access the reception network, but have to register on the waiting list of Fedasil again and wait for a reception place to be assigned.[5]
The law makes it possible to withdraw reception permanently.[6] The sanction can only be used for persons, who had been temporarily excluded from reception before, subject to the aforementioned sanction, or in serious cases of physical or sexual violence. Eight applicants were permanently excluded from reception in 2024.[7]
Sanctions are issued by the centre’s managing director and must be motivated. The person who received the sanction must be heard before the decision is taken. Most sanctions can be appealed before the managing authority of that reception centre (the Director-General of Fedasil, the NGO partner or the administrative council of the PCSW). An onward non-suspensive appeal is possible in front of the Labour tribunal.[8] As with every other administrative or judicial procedure, the asylum applicant is entitled to legal assistance, free of charge if they have no sufficient financial means. In all these cases, the reception conditions will be reinstated as soon as the sanction – mostly temporary – has elapsed. During 2024, no requests for revision of the sanction were issued withing Fedasil itself, but 24 appeal procedures against exclusions decisions taken by Fedasil were introduced before Labour tribunals.[9]
The sanctions that exclude the asylum applicant from the reception facilities (one month or permanently) must be confirmed within 3 days by the Director-General of Fedasil. If they are not confirmed, the sanction is lifted. During the time of exclusion, the asylum applicant still has the right to medical assistance from Fedasil. The applicant has the legal right to ask Fedasil for a reconsideration of this sanction, in case theycan demonstrate that there is no other possibility to ensure living conditions in accordance with human dignity. Fedasil should answer this request within 5 days, after which an onward appeal is again possible in front of the Labour Court.[10] In 2022, only one requests for reconsideration of the exclusion from the reception facilities were made. The request led to a decrease in the number of days of the exclusion.[11]
Before its adoption, the permanent exclusion sanction was met with criticism by UNHCR who highlighted that Article 20(1)-(4) of the recast Reception Conditions Directive only foresees a limited number of situations in which reception facilities can be withdrawn or reduced and that exclusion as a sanction is not one of them. UNHCR recommended that attention should be given to Article 20(5) of the Directive, which guarantees an individual, impartial and objective decision that considers the person’s particular situation (e.g., vulnerability) and the principle of proportionality. Health care and a dignified standard of living should always be ensured. Further recommendations were to make sure the law explicitly mentions the possibilities to ensure dignified living conditions and to describe clearly in which situations this sanction applies.[12] The Council of State also advised that there should be an explicit guarantee in the law on how to ensure dignified living conditions for those excluded from the reception facilities.[13] Nevertheless, the options on how to ensure dignified living conditions were in the end not clearly mentioned in the law, although during the preparatory works of the law Fedasil made clear that it has a cooperated with an organisation that works for homeless people to which it could refer some of those excluded from shelter. In practice when they communicate the decision to the asylum applicant, they inform them of the refund of medical costs and of shelter possibilities for homeless people, but ‘guarantees for dignified living conditions’ are not used as a criterion during the decision-making. The applicant can also contact Fedasil again if dignified living conditions cannot be guaranteed.
In March 2018 the Labour Court of Brussels referred preliminary questions to the CJEU regarding the circumstances under which material reception conditions under the Reception Conditions Directive may be reduced or withdrawn and the need to examine the consequences of such decisions, particularly about unaccompanied children.[14] The case concerned an unaccompanied minor who was refused the right to an accommodation for 15 days. He therefore had to live on the street and at a relative’s place. After 15 days, he was finally accommodated by Fedasil again. In its decision Haqbin of 12 November 2019, the CJEU ruled that, where house rules of an accommodation are breached or where a violent behaviour occurs, the sanction cannot be the withdrawal of material reception conditions relating to housing, food or clothing, even if it is temporary. Such sanctions must be taken with even more precaution when they involve vulnerable applicants such as unaccompanied minors. According to the CJEU, even the most severe sanction should not deprive the applicant of the possibility of meeting his most basic needs. Member States should ensure such a standard of living continuously and without interruption. They should grant access to material reception conditions in an organised manner and under their responsibility, including when they call upon the private sector to fulfil that obligation. It is therefore not sufficient for them to provide a list of private homeless centres which could be contacted by the applicant, as Fedasil did in the present case. The competent authorities must always ensure that a sanction complies with the principle of proportionality and does not affect the applicant’s dignity.[15] Based on this CJUE decision, the Brussels Labour Court ruled against Fedasil on 7 October 2021, condemning the Agency to moral damages of 1€ for having excluded Haqbin from reception conditions, in violation of the Reception Conditions Directive.[16]
Notwithstanding the jurisprudence of the CJUE and the Brussels Labour Court, Fedasil continues to apply temporary and indefinite exclusion as sanctions for certain situations of violent behaviour (97 temporary and 8 definitive exclusions in 2024).[17] Fedasil has indicated that it is examining new measures, such as allowing night reception and issuing meal vouchers during the period of the exclusion sanction. However, due to urgent events such as the COVID-19 outbreak and the reception crisis, the envisaged partnerships with e.g., organisations providing night shelter have not yet been put in practice. In the meantime, Fedasil provides excluded applicants with a list of emergency shelters, of the Fedasil Infopunt for information provision and of the Refugee Medical Point of Croix-Rouge for medical care, and informs them that, in case a dignified living standard cannot be ensured, they can request a reconsideration of the exclusion decision.[18]
Reduction or withdrawal of reception due to a professional income
The Reception Act allows for reducing or withdrawing the reception of applicants with a professional income, or requesting a contribution to the costs related to their reception.[19] In 2024, the legislation regarding the consequences of exercising a professional activity while staying in the reception network has been thoroughly revised. The modified Reception Act[20] and a new Royal Decree nicknamed “KB Cumul”[21] introduced a new contribution scheme and broadened Fedasil’s competences to verify the income of its residents – for example by requestion personal data from their residents to social security institutions[22] – and to claim the contribution directly from them. Applicants residing in a reception facility and working as an employee or under an independent status, are obliged to inform their reception centres about all (evolutions in their) professional activities. As a rule, the contribution consists of 50% of the professional income. Lower progressive tariffs apply to applicants who contribute spontaneously without waiting to be controlled:[23]
- Income bracket € 0 – € 264,99 / month: no contribution
- Income bracket € 265 – € 999.99 / month: 35%
- Income bracket € 1000 – € 1,499.99 / month: 45%
- Income bracket + € 1,500 / month: 50%
The following categories are exempt from contributions:[24]
- Applicants whose designated reception place has been abrogated;
- Applicants who have received international protection;
- Minors who work as a student;
- Applicants who volunteer.[25]
The right to material assistance can be reduced to mere medical assistance for applicants who refuse to pay the contribution.[26] Applicants who do not want to pay the contribution can also voluntarily request the abrogation of the designated reception place.[27] Between July and December 2024, 128 applicants asked for such a voluntary abrogation.[28]
The right to reception can also be withdrawn from applicants who have a stable and sustainable professional situation that yields an income higher than the amount of the social welfare benefit they would receive if they would meet the conditions.[29] In such cases, Fedasil can proceed to an abrogation of the designated reception place (‘code 207’). It can refrain from such an abrogation for reasons related to the family, social, medical or procedural situation of the applicant.[30] No decisions of forced abrogation of the designated reception place were taken in 2024.[31]
Since 1 July 2024, date on which the new legalisation entered into force, Fedasil received 9,226 declarations of professional income and € 2,8 million was contributed.[32] In February 2025, Fedasil effected the first controls, on the basis of which it expects additional contributions.[33]
Other grounds
Under the Article 4(1) of the Reception Act, Fedasil may refuse or withdraw the assignment of a reception place if:
- Such a place has been abandoned by the asylum applicant. This applies in cases where the asylum applicant is absent for 3 consecutive days without prior notice or for more than 10 nights in one month (with or without prior notice). The asylum applicant is then ‘de-registered’ from the centre and has the right to ask for a new place. In 2024, 2,279 persons were de-registered on the basis of this ground.[34] In the context of the reception centre, single male applicants without special vulnerability are in that case not able to re-integrate the reception network due to a lack of places in the context of the current reception crisis. Consequently, they must re-register on the waiting list of Fedasil, which leads to a waiting time of several months before they are able to re-integrate the reception network (see Criteria and restrictions to access reception conditions).
- The asylum applicant does not attend interviews or is unwilling to cooperate when asked for additional information in the asylum procedure. This is applied, for example, when an applicant in an open return place does not show up for their ICAM-interview (see ‘Return track’ and assignment to an open return centre).
- The applicant makes a Subsequent Application.
Article 4(3) of the Reception Act prescribes that the decisions of revocation or limitation of reception conditions should always:
- be individually motivated;
- be taken with due regard to the specific situation of the person concerned, in particular where vulnerable persons are concerned, and to the principle of proportionality;
- to ensure access to medical care and a dignified standard of living.
In practice, however, Fedasil almost systematically refuses to assign a reception place to subsequent applicants until their asylum application is declared admissible by the CGRS, mostly through standardised refusal decisions. On multiple occasions, labour tribunals have ordered Fedasil to motivate such decisions individually and consider all case elements (see Right to reception: subsequent applications).
[1] Royal Decree on the system and operating rules in reception centres and the modalities for checking rooms, 2 September 2018.
[2] Ministerial Decree on house rules in reception centres, 21 September 2018.
[3] Royal Decree of 15 May 2014 on the procedures for disciplinary action, sanctions and complaints of residents in reception centres.
[4] Article 45(8) Reception Act.
[5] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2025.
[6] Article 45(9) Reception Act.
[7] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2025.
[8] Article 47 Reception Act.
[9] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2025.
[10] Article 45 Reception Act.
[11] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2023.
[12] UNHCR, Commentaires du Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés relatifs à l’avant projet de loi modifiant la loi du 12 janvier 2007 sur l’accueil des demandeurs d’asile et de certaines autres catégories d’étrangers (ci-après « avant-projet de loi »), introduisant des sanctions supplémentaires en cas de manquement grave au régime et règles de fonctionnement applicables aux structures d’accueil, 22 April 2016, available at: https://bit.ly/3tZArSX.
[13] Council of State, Opinion 59/196/4, 27 April 2016, available at: http://bit.ly/2kVBgvT.
[14] Labour Court Brussel No 2017/AB/277, 22 March 2018, available at: https://bit.ly/2Thk6dM.
[15] CJEU, Case C-233/18 Haqbin, Judgment of 12 November 2019.
[16] Labour Court Brussels N° 2017/AB/277, 7 October 2021, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3MGUwqA.
[17] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2025.
[18] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2025.
[19] Articles 35/1, article 35/2 and article 35/3 Reception Act.
[20] Law of 25 May 2024 modifying the law of 12 January 2007 regarding the reception of asylum applicants and other categories of aliens, available in Dutch here and in French here.
[21] Royal Decree of 16 April 2024 on the allocation of material assistance to asylum applicants receiving professional income and other categories of income (“KB Cumul”), available in French and in Dutch. This new Royal Decree replaces the previous Royal Decree of 12 January 2011.
[22] Article 35/3 Reception Act; article 12 KB Cumul.
[23] Tariffs applicable in March 2025. They are revised on the basis of the wage indexation on a yearly basis, modifications entre into force on 1 January.
[24] Article 4 §2 KB Cumul.
[25] Fedasil Instruction 1 July 2024, Employment of beneficiaries of reception – cumul of material assistance and professional income, available in Dutch here and in French here.
[26] Article 35/2 Reception Act.
[27] Fedasil Instruction 1 July 2024, Employment of beneficiaries of reception – cumul of material assistance and professional income, available in Dutch here and in French here, p. 8-10.
[28] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2025.
[29] Article 9 KB Cumul. A professional situation of 6 months is considered stable and sustainable.
[30] Article 10 KB Cumul.
[31] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2025.
[32] Compared to 736 declarations and € 334,000 of contributions in 2023.
[33] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2025.
[34] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2025.