Registration at a Belgian consulate

On this page you will find all the information regarding registration with a Belgian career consulate.

Privacy statement registration

Processing of personal data in the context of an application for registration in consular population registers.
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1. DEFINITIONS: 

“Personal data”: any information on an identified or identifiable natural person. An identifiable natural person is a natural person who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by means of an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or one or more elements characterising the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

"Processing": any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available by any means, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.

"Controller": any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

"Processor": any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data for the benefit of the controller.

"Recipient": any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body, whether or not a third party, to whom/which the personal data are disclosed.

"Third party": any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body other than the data subject, the controller, the processor or the persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or the processor, are authorised to process the personal data.

"General Data Protection Regulation": EU Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data. Abbreviation: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). 

 
2. CONTROLLER:

The controller for the processing of personal data in the context of an application for registration in consular population registers at Belgian consular posts is:

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, represented by the Director-General for Consular Affairs.  

Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs
Directorate-General for Consular Affairs
Rue des Petits Carmes 15
1000 Brussels
Belgium

 
3. THE DATA PROTECTION OFFICER (DPO): 

Duties of the Data Protection Officer (DPO):

The DPO may be contacted by the persons concerned whose data is being processed by the FPS Foreign Affairs in the context of registration in the consular population registers, about all matters relating to the processing of their data, and more specifically:

  • the purposes of the data processing;
  • the legal basis for the processing;
  • the categories of personal data processed;
  • the categories of recipients of personal data;
  • whether personal data is transferred to third countries and what the appropriate safeguards are;
  • the storage period for personal data;
  • the existence of automated data processing; or the right to request corrections;
  • the right of rectification;
  • the right to request the erasure of data and the restriction of their processing;
  • the right to object to processing. 

Contact details for the DPO:

You can contact the DPO:

  • using the web form
  • by e-mail: dpo@diplobel.fed.be
    Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs
    For the attention of the Data Protection Officer
    Rue des Petits Carmes 15
    1000 Brussels
    Belgium

 
4. PERSONAL DATA COLLECTED:

The Directorate-General for Consular Affairs undertakes to process only personal data that is adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which it has been collected (see point 5 below) and not to use it further in a manner incompatible with those purposes.

Having regard to the application for registration submitted, the following categories of data may be concerned:

  1. Identification data: Personal identification data (name, title, address, previous addresses, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.), identification data – other than the National Registry Number – issued by public administrations (identity card number, passport number, etc.), biometric identification data (photographs).
  2. Personal characteristics: Personal details (age, gender, date of birth, place of birth, marital status, nationality, etc.), immigrant status (details concerning visa, work permit, right of residence abroad).  
  3. Family composition: Marriage or other current form of cohabitation (name of the spouse or partner, maiden name of the spouse or partner, date of marriage, number of children, etc.), marital status (details of previous marriages or unions, divorces, names of former partners, etc.), details of other family members (children, other members of the family, parents and descendants). 
  4. Housing characteristics: Address where the property is located, type of property, location details, length of stay at this address.
  5. Occupation and job title: Current job title, employer details,
  6. National Registry Number / Social security identification number

  
5. PURPOSES OF PROCESSING 

In accordance with Article 6 of the GDPR, the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs only collects and uses your personal data as necessary:

  • To comply with a legal obligation;
  • For the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority;
  • On the basis of your consent regarding the processing proposed to you in addition to our legal tasks (such as your registration for the Travellers online application made available by to Foreign Affairs by the Crisis Centre)

In special cases, the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs may process your personal data in order to protect you, though solely in highly exceptional, life-threatening emergencies or disasters.

 
6. RECIPIENTS OF THE DATA: 

The personal data relating to you that has been collected and processed by the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs (or at least some of this data) may be communicated to the following categories of recipients:

  1. The data subject, their legal representatives.
  2. The professional advisers (e.g. lawyers) of the data subject or of their legal representatives.
  3. The Belgian diplomatic and consular posts abroad.
  4. Public authorities and public and private institutions in the context of their tasks of general interest in accordance with the legislation.
  5. Certain regulated professions that are permitted to be informed, such as lawyers, notaries, bailiffs in the context of legal proceedings.

 
7. DATA RETENTION PERIOD:  

As a federal authority, the Directorate- General for Consular Affairs is subject to the Act of 24 June 1955 on archives (as amended by the Act of 19 May 2009) and therefore cannot freely destroy the documents in its possession. In addition, where the documents of a public administration are no longer of any administrative and/or legal use, they may have a historical, scientific or statistical interest. They will then be transferred to the State Archives.

Depending on the source and specific legal frameworks, retention periods may deviate from this general rule.  

 
8. PROCEDURE FOR REQUESTING A COPY OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD: 

Within the framework of the law of 11.04.1994 on public access to information, you can request a copy of your administrative record managed by the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs. You should address your request to:

Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs
Directorate-General for Consular Affairs
Law of Persons Directorate
Rue des Petits Carmes 15
1000 Brussels
Belgium

 
9. RIGHT OF ACCESS, RECTIFICATION, ERASURE AND RESTRICTION OF PROCESSING: 

A. Right of access:

You have the right to find out whether your personal data is being processed by the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs, and if so, you can inspect:

  • the purposes of the data processing;
  • the legal basis for the processing;
  • the categories of personal data processed;
  • the categories of recipients of personal data;
  • whether personal data is transferred to third countries and what the appropriate safeguards are;
  • the storage period for personal data or the criteria used;
  • the existence of automated data processing.

For these questions, please contact the relevant departments. A specific form (PDF, 280.58 KB) must be completed and you will be asked to prove your identity. 

B. Right of rectification:

You have the right to request the rectification of inaccurate personal data or to complete incomplete personal data.

If you should find that the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs has processed incorrect personal data about you or that this is incomplete, we would ask you in the first instance to contact the consular post where you are registered, asking it to correct incorrect data or complete incomplete data.

It is possible that the consular post managing your record will ask you for additional evidence or ask further questions to support your request.

If you have any further questions after contacting the competent services, you can contact the DPO (see 3. Data Protection Officer). You will be asked to prove your identity.  

C. Right to erasure:

As the processing of your personal data is necessary for the performance of a task as part of a legal obligation entrusted to the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs, you do not have the right to request and obtain the erasure of your personal data.

If you have any further questions relating to the right to erasure, you can contact the DPO (see 3. Data Protection Officer). You will be asked to prove your identity.   

D. Right to restriction:

As the processing of your personal data is necessary for the performance of a task as part of a legal obligation entrusted to the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs, you do not have the right to request and obtain the restricted processing of your personal data.

If you have any further questions relating to the right to restriction, you can contact the DPO (see 3. Data Protection Officer). You will be asked to prove your identity.  

E. Right to portability:

As the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs is not processing your personal data on the basis of the performance of a contract, the right to portability does not apply. As a result, you do not have the right to receive your personal data from the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs in a structured, common and machine-readable form with a view to transferring them to another controller.

If you have any further questions relating to the right to portability, you can contact the DPO (see 3. Data Protection Officer). You will be asked to prove your identity.  

F. Right of objection:

You may object to the processing of personal data insofar as the processing does not involve the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority.

However, the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs may oppose this if there are compelling, legitimate grounds for processing which outweigh your interests, rights and freedoms or to bring, pursue or substantiate a legal claim.

If you object to the processing of personal data under the control of the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs, we would ask you to contact the DPO in the first instance (see 3. The Data Protection Officer). You will be asked to prove your identity. 

 
10. REPLY AND RESPONSE TIMES: 

If you invoke the right of access, the right of rectification, the right of erasure, the right of restriction or the right of objection, you will receive information on the action taken with your request within one month of receipt of the request. This period may be extended by an additional two months, depending on the complexity of your request or the number of ongoing requests. You will be notified of any such extension to the response time.

If your request will not be complied with, you will be informed of this with a justification, at the latest one month after receipt of your request. You will then have the opportunity to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority and lodge an appeal with the court. 

 
11. SUBMITTING A COMPLAINT TO THE NATIONAL SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY: 

If you believe that the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs is not processing your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation of 27 April 2016, you can lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority.  

More information about this can be found on the Authority's website

Data Protection Authority
Rue de la Presse 35
1000 Brussels
E-mail: contact@apd-gba.be
T: +32 2 274 48 00