Belgium is accelerating the expulsions of Algerian nationals in an irregular situation. On Tuesday, Brussels and Algiers signed two agreements presented as inseparable: one organizes the readmission of these migrants, the other provides for visa exemption for Algerian holders of diplomatic and service passports.
The announcement was made in Brussels by the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attafand the Belgian Minister of Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuytfollowing an official visit by the head of Algerian diplomacy. This trip is a continuation of a trip by Maxime Prévot to Algiers in July 2025, a sign of a rapprochement between the two countries on migration issues.
Forced returns under Algerian escort
At the heart of the agreement: making expulsions effective, a recurring sticking point in Europe. According to figures from the Belgian government, 2,251 people declaring themselves Algerian were ordered to leave the territory in 2024. Only 85 were actually returned. At the same time, 780 detainees presenting themselves as Algerian are incarcerated in Belgian prisons, including around 700 without residence permits.
The text provides for several concrete measures to streamline returns: identification of the people concerned reduced to around two weeks, an extension to thirty days of the validity of consular passes, as well as the possibility of organizing group expulsions, on direct flights or with a stopover. It also opens the way for the presence of Algerian escorts during forced returns.
For Anneleen Van Bossuyt, from the Flemish nationalist party, these advances mark a turning point. She talks to RTBF about an agreement “historical”awaited for years, and insists on a logic of give and take: “Both countries are committed, and the two agreements go together,” she declared, greeting “concrete steps”.
At the same time, the second part of the agreement provides for visa exemption for certain Algerian officials, holders of diplomatic or service passports. A gesture of diplomatic facilitation which accompanies the tightening of rules for irregular migrants. The readmission agreement must still be validated by the Belgian Parliament before entering into force.
