A scam targeting foreign students shatters hopes

Several criminal complaints have been filed in recent days by Cameroonian students targeted by a scam taking advantage of their vulnerability. The increase in the amount of income needed for their guarantors, which allows them to continue studying in Belgium, has given ideas to scammers who smash their future. To win 1,000 euros…

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By Laurence Wauters

Published on 02/21/2023 at 19:49
Reading time: 4 mins

LThird-country nationals who apply for a residence permit in order to study here must present, in particular, a guarantor in Belgium, having “regular and sufficient means of subsistence for themselves, for any dependents, and for any national of a supported third country”, specifies the Office for Foreigners. These means must correspond to 120% of the amount of the social integration income granted to a person living with a dependent family, i.e. 1,969 euros net/month, and to this is added the minimum of which each supported third-country national must have, i.e. 789 euros net/month. “The amounts have been indexed, and many students now have difficulty presenting a guarantor”, explains Me Antoine Driesmans, specializing in foreigners’ rights. The documents relating to the guarantor (employment contract, civil status papers, etc.) must be presented each year by foreign students who are continuing their studies.

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