if the person is: born in Belgium to a Belgian citizen OR; born abroad to a Belgian citizen born in Belgium or the Belgian Congo before 30 June 1960 or in Rwanda or Burundi before 1 July 1962 OR; born abroad to a Belgian citizen born abroad and the parent submits an attribution declaration (déclaration attributive / verklaring tot toekenning) within five years of birth OR; born abroad to a Belgian citizen born abroad and the parent did not submit an attribution declaration within five years of birth, but the child holds no other nationality before turning 18 years old (and so would be stateless). A child (under 18 years old) adopted by a Belgian citizen is attributed Belgian nationality on the same basis as the above conditions relating to birth to a Belgian citizen, with effect from the adoption date. These rules apply to adoptions since 1 January 1988; different rules apply for adoptions prior to 1988. Birth in Belgium A person born in Belgium to foreign parents is attributed Belgian nationality if the person: holds no other nationality before turning 18 years old (and so would be stateless) OR; loses their only other nationality before turning 18 years old (and so would be stateless) OR; has a parent who was born in Belgium and resident in Belgium for five of the 10 years before the person's birth OR; has lived in Belgium since birth and has two foreign parents (or foreign adoptive parents) who were born abroad and resident in Belgium for 10 years and make an attribution declaration before the person's 12th birthday OR; is adopted by a foreign parent and the foreign parent was born in Belgium and resident in Belgium for five of the 10 years before the adoption took effect. Effectively these clauses result in Belgian nationality being attributed to the children of long-resident immigrants and the grandchildren of immigrants. Acquisition of Belgian nationality Belgian nationality can be acquired later in life (i.e. not at birth) through "declaration" or "naturalisation". The distinction is that declaration is a legal right, based on meeting the conditions, whereas naturalisation is a privilege that the government can decide whether or not to accord. Declaration is now the principal route through which foreigners can acquire Belgian nationality, and naturalisation has become extremely rare. Approximately 30,000 to 40,000 people acquire Belgian nationality per year. In 2020, 32,663 people acquired Belgian