From 1 March 2023, the CGRS will change the procedure for submitting documents in support of an application for international protection.
From now on, the applicant will be asked to make a paper copy of all relevant documents in support of his application. In accordance with art. 17 § 3 of the Royal Decree of 11 July 2003 for regulating the workings of and the judicial procedures for the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, these documents may only be submitted by registered mail or by delivery to the CGRS against receipt. After the initial interview at the Immigration Office, the applicant will be provided with an explanation about the documents he wishes to submit. It is in the applicant's interest to submit a paper copy of these documents to the CGRS as soon as possible. We also recommend using the inventory sent with the explanation. It is important that the applicant complies with this obligation to cooperate in order to enable a smooth and qualitative processing of his application.
For practical and technical reasons, the CGRS is not always able to assess documents transmitted by electronic mail or on a digital data carrier. For example, documents transmitted by e-mail are sometimes blocked by the firewall and there is no guarantee that they will actually reach the CGRS. Also, access to certain websites is not always possible and opening certain Internet links poses a problem in terms of information security. USB sticks, CD-ROMs and other information carriers can also cause security problems.