Filipinos in Belgium comprise migrants from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and their descendants living there. While the Belgian National Institute of Statistics has 3,067 Filipinos officially registered, the

Commission on Filipinos Overseas The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) ( fil, Komisyon para sa mga Pilipino sa Ibayong Dagat, KPID) is an agency of the government of the Philippines under the Office of the President of the Philippines. CFO was established on June 16, 1980 ...

(CFO) estimated that there are 12,224 Filipinos in Belgium in December 2013.

Demographics

Filipinos in Belgium work primarily as

tradesmen A tradesman, tradeswoman, or tradesperson is a skilled worker that specializes in a particular trade (occupation or field of work). Tradesmen usually have work experience, on-the-job training, and often formal vocational education in contrast to ...

, in the hospitality industry, as

domestic worker A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

s, or as seamen on Belgian-flagged ships. A number of Filipino international students also attend Belgian institutions of higher education, but are considered "temporary migrants." Gender-wise, most Filipinos in Belgium are female, amount to roughly 60% of the population. The Philippine Embassy in Belgium considers "limited employment opportunities, illegal residency status and fraudulent documentation" to be the largest issues facing the Filipino community in Belgium. Of the 12,224 Filipinos estimated to be living in Belgium, the CFO estimates that 5,000 (40.9%) are "irregular" or living without legal residency status, while 6,840 (56.0%) and 384 (3.1%) Filipinos have "permanent" and "temporary" status, respectively.

Economics

In 2012, Filipinos in Belgium officially sent a total of approximately $62.0 million USD in

remittance A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes wit ...

s back to the Philippines (US$32.3 land-based and US$19.8 sea-based), after a peak of $63.4 million USD in remittances in 2010. This figure accounts for 0.28% of all remittances sent to the Philippines. Three Filipino banks have

correspondent account A correspondent account is an account (often called a nostro or vostro account) established by a banking institution to receive deposits from, make payments on behalf of, or handle other financial transactions for another financial institution. Cor ...

s with banks in Norway to allow for remittance transfers.

Society and culture

In addition to the Philippine Embassy in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and a consulate in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, there are about seventy Filipino associations in Belgium to serve different needs of the Filipino-Belgian community, many of which are coordinated by the Council of Filipino Associations in Belgium (COFAB) or the Council of Filipino Associations in Flanders (COFAF). There are general regional-based, sporting, service-oriented, and cultural organizations, as well as organizations for native Belgians married to Filipino spouses. In addition, there are four chapters of the

Knights of Rizal The Knights of Rizal is an Order of Chivalry from the Philippines, created to honor and uphold the ideals of Philippine national hero José Rizal. The civic organisation of the "Order of the Knights of Rizal" was established in 1911 by Colonel An ...

, a fraternal organization. The Philippine Embassy in Brussels organizes events around major Filipino holidays, including the

Philippine Independence Day Independence Day ( fil, Araw ng Kasarinlán; also known as ''Araw ng Kalayaan'', "Day of Freedom") is an annual national holiday in the Philippines observed on June 12, commemorating the declaration of Philippine independence from Spain in 18 ...

and Christmas, that attract thousands of Filipinos from Belgium and neighboring nations such as Luxembourg.

Notable people

José Alejandrino José Cándido Alejandrino y Magdangal (December 1, 1870 – June 1, 1951) was a Philippine Republican Army general during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine–American War. He was also a senator of the Twelfth Senatorial District of ...

, Filipino general; studied at the

University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

Jeffrey Christiaens Jeffrey Mallen Christiaens (born 17 May 1991) is a Filipino Belgian former footballer who mainly played as a winger. He last played for Filipino side Ceres–Negros. He also represented the Philippines at international level. Career Club ...

, footballer *

Angeline Flor Pua Angeline Flor Pua (born 17 April 1995) is a Belgian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Belgium 2018. As Miss Belgium, she represented Belgium at Miss World 2018 and Miss Universe 2019. Life and career Early life Flor Pua wa ...

, Miss Belgium 2018 *

Racso Jugarap Racso Jugarap (born January 15, 1989) is a Filipino Belgian wire artist from General Santos, Philippines. Early life Racso Jugarap, born in 1989, had a head start in art – he was the youngest son of a jewelry designer. As a result, he grew ...

, Wire artist *

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national he ...

, Filipino revolutionary; lived for a period in Belgium, where he published '' El filibusterismo'' * Roxanne Allison Baeyens, actress, model and

Miss Philippines Earth 2020 Miss Philippines Earth 2020 was the 20th edition of the Miss Philippines Earth pageant. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, the pageant was held virtually on 26 July 2020. At the end of the event, Janelle Tee crowned Roxanne Bae ...

* Pauline Cucharo Amelinckx, model and Miss Supranational Phillipines 2023

References

{{Overseas Filipinos B Ethnic groups in Belgium

Belgian people of Filipino descent Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German * Ancient Belgian language, an extinct langua ...