Belgium Approves Controversial Law Allowing Police to Search Homes of Undocumented Migrants

Belgium’s parliament has approved a controversial new law that allows police to enter private homes to find undocumented migrants who have ignored orders to leave the country. The vote came early on Friday morning, 6 November 2026, after a debate that lasted through the night — and it has already set off one of the biggest arguments about privacy and migration in Belgium in years.

The law is part of a wider push by Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s right-leaning coalition government to tighten migration rules and increase the number of people deported from Belgium. Supporters say it is a practical tool for enforcing deportation orders. Critics, including Amnesty International, lawyers and judges, say it crosses a line that should never be crossed: the front door of a person’s home.

Here is what the new law does, who it affects, and why it has divided Belgium.

What the Belgium migrant home searches law allows

Under the new law, police — accompanied by immigration officials — can enter a private home to find and arrest a person who has been ordered to leave Belgium but has not done so.

The power is not unlimited. It applies only to a specific group of people:

• Their asylum application has been rejected. The person applied for protection in Belgium and was refused.
• They have ignored an order to leave. They were told to depart the country and did not comply.
• They are considered a threat to public security. The authorities must see the person as a risk to public order or national security.

In other words, the law does not give police a general right to search any home where an undocumented migrant might be living. It targets people who have already been through the asylum system, have been refused, have defied a removal order, and are judged to pose a security risk.

Even then, there are conditions. An investigating judge must approve each search before it happens. Searches can only take place between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. And immigration officials must be present during the operation.

The safeguards — and why critics say they are not enough

The government points to the judge’s approval as the key safeguard. No search can go ahead without a judicial order, and under the amended rules, investigating judges have seven days to decide on a request for authorisation. The bill was also changed during its passage through parliament to add extra procedures for judges and safeguards concerning children.

But critics are not convinced. During hearings in parliament, lawyers, investigating judges and the federal police themselves raised serious objections. One of their main concerns is that the law is unclear about what counts as a “threat to public order or security” — the very condition that decides whether a home can be entered.

Human rights groups say the vagueness is dangerous. Amnesty International urged lawmakers to reject the legislation before the vote. Dinushika Dissanayake, the organisation’s Deputy Regional Director, warned that the proposals would create fear and division. Amnesty also raised concerns about the rights of people who provide accommodation, food or other assistance to undocumented migrants — arguing that the law offers too few opportunities for affected people to challenge a decision authorising police entry.

That last point is one of the most sensitive parts of the debate. The law can also reach the homes of people who are sheltering someone, not just the home of the person facing deportation. For many opponents, that is the heart of the problem: should immigration enforcement justify entering the home of someone who is not personally subject to a deportation order?

The government has rejected comparisons with the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE. A campaign group called “No Ice In Belgium” has drawn the parallel, but officials argue the Belgian law is a narrowly defined measure aimed at enforcing existing deportation orders, not a broad crackdown on all undocumented migrants.

Protests across Belgium before the vote

Opposition to the bill was visible well before the vote. On Wednesday evening, 4 November, around 3,000 people formed a human chain around the Palace of Justice in Brussels to protest against the proposed powers. More than 50 other demonstrations and public gatherings were organised in towns and cities across the country, according to Belgian media.

Most of the municipalities in Brussels, along with the Brussels regional government, had already passed motions opposing the bill. Several mayors said publicly that they would oppose home raids in their municipalities, although during the parliamentary debate a member of parliament from the Vooruit party stressed that all mayors would apply the law once it is in force.

The vote itself was not unanimous. Lawmakers finally approved the bill at around 5 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Friday, after hours of debate. The far-right Vlaams Belang party abstained, arguing that the bill had been so watered down during scrutiny that it would have little practical effect. The liberal opposition backed the measure.

Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt, who drew up the bill together with Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden, called the law “historic”. The proposal was first introduced in June 2026 and was amended several times as it passed through parliament, with the Chamber’s Interior Committee approving changes in October.

Why the government says the law is needed

For the De Wever government, the law fills a gap. Until now, police and the Immigration Office could not act against people who posed a public order or security risk and simply refused to leave the country. A deportation order existed on paper, but if the person could not be found, it was hard to enforce.

Officials maintain that the new powers are intended only for cases involving people considered dangerous to public order or national security. They argue that judicial authorisation — a judge must sign off on every search — is an important safeguard against unrestricted police action.

The wider context matters too. Belgium, like many European countries, has been tightening its migration rules. The new law is one part of a broader effort to make deportation decisions effective, particularly where public security is involved. It is a national law, not an EU-wide rule, but it arrives amid continuing debates across Europe about irregular migration, rejected asylum applications and the enforcement of return decisions.

The scale of the undocumented population is hard to pin down, but researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) have estimated that around 62,000 people without legal residence live in Brussels alone. That figure gives a sense of why the government says enforcement needs new tools — and why critics say the law could affect far more people than the government admits.

Belgium has changed other rules recently too. Just last week, a package of new rules took effect on 1 November, covering everything from pay to driving bans — a reminder that the De Wever government is moving quickly on domestic reform. You can read more about those changes in our earlier report: Belgium wakes up to new rules on 1 November.

What happens next

Parliament’s vote is not the end of the story. Attention now turns to how the law will be put into practice, and to the safeguards that are supposed to govern police operations.

An evaluation of the law is planned for 18 months after it enters into force, including an assessment of its impact on children. Additional conditions may apply when children are present during a search.

Legal challenges also remain possible. Human rights organisations and lawyers have argued that the law may violate Belgium’s constitutional protections for the home, privacy and family life, and the courts may yet be asked to decide. No specific legal challenge has been confirmed so far.

For the Belgian government, the legislation is another step in its programme to strengthen deportation enforcement. For its opponents, the central question remains whether the new powers can be used without weakening the rights of residents and of people who offer humanitarian help to migrants.

Other countries are watching similar questions. Canada, for example, has recently moved in the opposite direction on one front — cracking down on dishonest immigration agents rather than on migrants themselves, with fines of up to C$1.5 million. Read more here: Canada brings in fines of up to C$1.5 million for dishonest immigration agents.

The wider European picture

Belgium’s decision fits into a broader European argument about migration that has been running for years. Governments across the continent are under pressure to show that asylum and deportation decisions are enforced. At the same time, courts, human rights bodies and civil society groups keep pushing back when enforcement measures touch on fundamental rights such as privacy and the protection of the home.

The Belgian law is notable because it touches the home directly. In most European countries, the home has special legal protection, and allowing the police inside for immigration reasons — rather than for a criminal investigation — is a significant step. That is why the debate in Belgium has been so heated, and why the reaction of the courts, over the coming months, will be closely watched well beyond Belgium’s borders.

Whether the law works as the government intends — catching a small number of people who pose a security risk and refuse to leave — or whether it creates the fear and division that Amnesty International warned about, will only become clear once the first searches are carried out and challenged.

Frequently asked questions

What does Belgium’s new law allow police to do?

It allows police, with immigration officials present, to enter a private home to find and arrest an undocumented migrant who has ignored an order to leave Belgium. The person must have had an asylum application rejected, have failed to comply with a departure order, and be considered a threat to public security.

Does the law let police search any home?

No. Searches are limited to the homes of people who meet all three conditions above. An investigating judge must approve each search, and searches can only happen between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.

When was the law approved?

Belgium’s parliament approved the law early on Friday, 6 November 2026, at around 5 a.m. local time, after a debate that lasted through the night.

Why are people protesting against it?

Critics, including Amnesty International, lawyers and judges, say the law risks undermining constitutional rights and privacy. They warn it could also affect people who shelter or help undocumented migrants, and that the definition of a “threat to public order or security” is too vague. Around 3,000 people formed a human chain around the Palace of Justice in Brussels on 4 November, and more than 50 other protests were held across Belgium.

What happens next?

The law will be implemented with judicial safeguards, and an evaluation is planned 18 months after it enters into force, including an assessment of its impact on minors. Legal challenges in the courts remain possible.

Conclusion

Belgium’s new home-search law is a small law with a big argument behind it. On one side is a government that says deportation orders mean nothing if they cannot be enforced against people who refuse to leave and pose a security risk. On the other side are human rights groups, lawyers and thousands of protesters who say the home is a line the state should not cross for immigration enforcement.

The safeguards — a judge’s approval, the 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. window, immigration officials present — were written into the law to answer those fears. Whether they are enough will be tested in practice, and possibly in court. For now, Belgium has chosen to give its police a power that few European countries have, and the rest of Europe will be watching what happens next.

Sources

• Reuters (via 98.5 The River) — “Belgium to allow home searches for suspected illegal migrants” (6 November 2026): https://985theriver.com/2026/11/06/belgium-to-allow-home-searches-for-suspected-illegal-migrants/
• Brussels Morning — “Belgium Approves Migrant Home Searches Amid Protests” (6 November 2026): https://brusselsmorning.com/belgium-migrant-home-searches/106463/
• Europe Says / Belga — “Belgium to allow home raids of undocumented migrants” (6 November 2026): https://www.europesays.com/be/46283/
• Just Security — “Early Edition: November 6, 2026” (6 November 2026): https://www.justsecurity.org/163619/early-edition-november-6-2026/

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.