Furthermore, 780 detainees declaring themselves Algerian are currently incarcerated in Belgium, the large majority of whom do not have a legal residence permit.
For the Minister of Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), this readmission agreement would constitute an important lever in migration management: “This readmission agreement allows us to strengthen the fight against illegality, to ease the pressure on our prisons and also to make our society safer. The success of a credible and coherent migration policy depends on an effective return of people who do not have the right to stay in Belgium”.
Concretely, several technical adjustments are planned in order to streamline procedures. The time limit for identifying the persons concerned should be reduced to around fifteen days, compared to several months currently. The validity period of the consular pass would be extended from one to thirty days, in order to facilitate the organization of returns, particularly in the event of resistance during a first attempt. The agreements also provide for the possibility of organizing group returns by flight, as well as the use of Algerian escorts in certain situations. The second agreement concerns a visa exemption for holders of Algerian diplomatic and service passports, a classic device in bilateral relations. In his press release, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Prévot underlines the diplomatic nature of these advances: “These agreements are the fruit of several months of intensive diplomatic work. When I went to Algiers last year, we decided, with Minister Attaf, to raise our bilateral relationship to the level it deserves. What is on the table today is proof of this. This is diplomacy that produces results.”
It remains to be seen to what extent these measures will actually increase the number of returns. Let us also remember that Algeria is singled out by international organizations for poor living conditions in prisons, but also for the detention of political opponents. The case of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal became, between 2024 and 2025, the symbol of these criticisms.
