Appeal before the CCE: deadlines and procedure in 2026

The rule in brief

• Appeals to the Council for Alien Law Litigation (Conseil du contentieux des étrangers / Raad voor Vreemdelingenbetwistingen, CCE / RvV) are governed by the law of 17 June 2026, published on 19 June 2026.
• The date the decision was taken decides the regime: from 19 June 2026, art. 2.15 of the new law; before, the old art. 39/57 of the law of 15 December 1980 (art. 5.12, § 1).
• The deadline is 30 days as a rule, 10 days or 5 days in the cases listed by art. 2.15.
• It runs from the notification, deemed made on a date set by art. 2.5. Day 1 can be a Saturday.
• Weekends and public holidays count; only a last day on a Saturday, Sunday or legal public holiday moves to the next working day. The appeal can be filed until midnight.
• The court fee is €251 per applicant, plus a €26 contribution, paid within 8 days of the CCE's order.

The CCE appeal deadline calculator applies these rules to the decision, the deciding body and the way it was notified.

The 2026 reform and its entry into force

The law of 17 June 2026 is a standalone law with articles numbered 1.x to 5.x. The Senate did not evoke it: the final text is the one the Chamber adopted on 28 May 2026 (DOC 56 1399/009). It accompanies the EU Asylum Procedure Regulation (2024/1348) and the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (2024/1351), both applicable from 12 June 2026.

Art. 5.13 sets its entry into force on 12 June 2026; the CCE applies it to appeals filed from 19 June 2026, the day of publication. For a decision taken between 12 and 18 June 2026, the regime may be disputed: the tool applies the old rules and flags the decision. For a transfer decision taken in that window, the deadline itself is disputed (30 days under old art. 39/57, or one to three weeks under art. 43(2) of the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation). For a CGRS decision on an asylum application lodged before 12 June 2026, the automatic suspensive effect of old art. 39/70 still applies (art. 5.12, § 5).

Deadlines by decision (art. 2.15)

For decisions taken from 19 June 2026:

When a return decision is followed by a removal decision within the 30 days, the deadline becomes 5 days from notification of the removal decision, never beyond the original 30 days (art. 2.15, § 1, al. 2). The tool flags this case but does not compute it.

Under the old art. 39/57, the deadline is 30 days as a rule, 10 days for a person detained when notified, for a CGRS inadmissibility decision or an accelerated procedure decided within 15 working days, and 5 days for an inadmissible subsequent application lodged in detention. The extreme-urgency suspension (UDN) took 10 days, or 5 days against a second removal or refoulement measure.

When the deadline starts: notification (art. 2.5)

The law deems the decision notified on a set date. Day 1 is the next calendar day:

• A working day is any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday (art. 1.7, 13°). The addressee can rebut the deemed date of a letter; for an electronic sending, only the Dutch text adds that reservation.
• The postmark, the registry stamp or the electronic timestamp proves sending, receipt or refusal (art. 2.5, § 3).
• The CCE sends everything to the domicile elected in the application, and uses the lawyer's J-Box when the lawyer has one.
• Under the old art. 39/57, for a letter, day 1 is the third working day after posting. A letter posted on a Wednesday gives day 1 on Saturday under the new rule and on Monday under the old one.

Counting and the last day

The day of notification is not counted. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays count inside the period. If the last day is a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day; it ends at midnight. Periods in weeks or months run from date to the day before the same date ("de quantième à veille de quantième", art. 2.5, § 2). The guide on computing procedural deadlines explains the same conventions for the Judicial Code, which the procedural deadline calculator applies.

Urgent procedure, fee and filing

• Urgent procedure. For new appeals, it replaces the extreme-urgency suspension. It has no deadline of its own: the appeal is filed within the 10-day or 5-day deadline, only through J-Box or by hand at the registry, headed "PROCÉDURE URGENTE" or "URGENTE PROCEDURE". The CCE aims to rule on the merits within about three weeks, or one week when removal is imminent.
• Transfer decisions. The appeal never suspends them automatically: ask for suspension in the same application.
• Detention. The application can be lodged through the director of the prison or detention centre, who forwards it by registered mail or J-Box.
• Fee. €251 per applicant (art. 2.22, § 2), €180 for an application to intervene, and €26 for the second-line legal aid fund. Both are paid within 8 days of the CCE's order fixing the amount (art. 2.23); otherwise the appeal is not entered on the roll, with no regularisation. In the urgent procedure, the fee is due at once.
• Exemption. It is requested in the application, with proof: CPAS assistance, imprisonment or detention, minors, second-line legal aid (art. 508/1 Judicial Code), or insufficient means proven by documents. It also exempts from the fund contribution. The fee is indexed every 1 January.

Worked examples

A letter posted on a Wednesday

An Immigration Office decision taken on 31 August 2026 (30 days), sent by registered letter handed to the post on Wednesday 2 September 2026.

• Deemed notified on the second working day: Friday 4 September 2026.
• Day 1: Saturday 5 September 2026.
• Day 30: Sunday 4 October 2026, moved to Monday 5 October 2026, until midnight.

Had the decision been taken before 19 June 2026, the old rule would give day 1 on Monday 7 September and a last day on Tuesday 6 October 2026.

A J-Box notification on a Friday

A CGRS inadmissibility decision (10 days) sent through J-Box on Friday 2 October 2026. Day 1 is Saturday 3 October; day 10 is Monday 12 October 2026.

A decision handed over in detention

An Immigration Office decision handed to a detained person on Thursday 5 November 2026 (10 days). Day 1 is Friday 6 November. Wednesday 11 November, a public holiday, counts inside the period. Day 10 is Sunday 15 November, moved to Monday 16 November 2026. A CGRS rejection in the asylum border procedure (5 days) handed over the same day ends on Tuesday 10 November 2026.

Each date comes from the CCE appeal deadline calculator.

Common mistakes and open points

• Using the notification date to pick the regime. The law uses the date the decision was taken.
• Assuming day 1 is a working day. Under art. 2.5, it can be a Saturday. A secondary source still describes a start on a working day; the statute and the CCE's FAQ examples say otherwise.
• Treating the urgent procedure as a separate deadline. It has none.
• Missing the fee. Unpaid within 8 days, the appeal is not entered on the roll.
• One application per decision. Since a note of 6 July 2026 in the CCE's FAQ, each contested decision needs its own application when one of them falls under the urgent procedure.
• Late appeal. It is inadmissible unless force majeure is shown.

The tool does not check the notification or assess the fee exemption. It assists the lawyer, who remains responsible for the calculation and for checking the applicable rule. For the income condition behind many residence decisions, see the guide on family reunification.

Sources

• Law of 17 June 2026 on the Council for Alien Law Litigation (Belgian Official Gazette of 19 June 2026), arts. 1.7, 2.5, 2.15, 2.22, 2.23, 5.12 and 5.13: final text DOC 56 1399/009, identical to DOC 56 1399/007. Verified on 5 October 2026.
• Law of 15 December 1980 (Aliens Act), old art. 39/57, quoted in Constitutional Court, judgment 64/2013. Verified on 4 October 2026.
• CCE FAQ on the new procedure, update of 4 August 2026: French and Dutch; CCE news of 19 June 2026. Verified on 5 October 2026.
• Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 and Regulation (EU) 2024/1351, art. 43. Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Law of 19 March 2017, art. 4, § 4 (legal aid fund contribution); Judicial Code, art. 508/1. Verified on 4 October 2026.