Identity card

You can use an identity card to prove your identity and travel within the European Union.

Furthermore, thanks to its electronic chip, the eID offers many other possibilities, such as identifying yourself on the internet, signing documents electronically, obtaining numerous administrative documents online and completing your Belgian tax return online. New applications that make use of the eID are introduced every year.

By activating your card, the card’s chip becomes readable and the certificates can be activated. These certificates allow you to identify yourself on the internet and access your personal data on Belgian government websites. The certificates are protected by a PIN code.

It is not mandatory to activate your card. You can travel with a non-activated card without a problem.

Once you have requested a new identity card, you will receive the PUK and PIN/activation codes by post. These codes are used to activate your identity card.

The card may only be activated in your presence. For Belgians registered at the embassy, this can take place:

• when you collect your card.
• at a later date, in any Belgian town hall or Belgian consular post worldwide (not honorary consulates), as long as your card is still valid.

To activate your card, you should bring your identity card and the PUK code along. You can activate your identity card in London without an appointment on the ground floor, from 9am to 12 noon on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Good news for Belgians aged 18 or over registered at the Belgian Embassy in London: as part of a pilot phase, it is now possible to receive your electronic identity card (eID) already activated and therefore immediately usable to log in to online public services (MyBelgium, Tax-on-web, MyPension, Mygov.be, etc.).

Thanks to this new procedure, you can grant a proxy so that your eID is activated on your behalf and sent directly to your home.

How does it work?

When applying for your eID, you simply need to:
• indicate in the application form that you wish to use this procedure,
• choose a personal PIN code (keep it safe!) and place it in a sealed opaque envelope on which you write your surname, first name(s), date of birth and signature,
• hand this sealed envelope to the staff when registering your application at the embassy.

After delivery, your card will be activated and sent directly to your home, ready to be used with a card reader and your PIN code.
Once you have received your eID, you may, if you wish, change your PIN code using the official eID software.

A secure and controlled procedure

This procedure has been explicitly approved by the Belgian and European authorities. It has been designed to ensure that your activated card and PIN code are processed and delivered securely, and that you are the only person who can use them to identify yourself online. The measures in place ensure that only you have access to both your card and your PIN code.

Activation is not mandatory and can be done later

A non-activated card allows you to identify yourself and to travel, including using e-gates.
If you wish to activate your card, you can appear in person (including for a minor) at your consular post of registration, any other consular post (except honorary consulates), a mobile kit mission, or a municipality in Belgium. Activation can be done at the time you receive your card or at any time during its validity period. The eID and the letter containing the PUK code are required for this operation.

If you have lost your PUK code or forgotten your PIN code, you can request new codes on the Dutch version or the French version of the FPS Home Affairs website. After around three weeks, the embassy will receive your new PUK code and send it to your registered address. Once you receive the code, can come to the embassy to reset your PIN code.

Was your eID issued after 1st January 2022 and was it already activated? If so, you do not need to request a new code. You can come to the embassy directly to reset your PIN code.

You can reset your PIN code in London without an appointment on the ground floor, from 9am to 12 noon on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

You will need a card reader (this may be a generic model). You will then need to download the eID software. Once successfully installed, you can use your activated card and PIN code to connect to Belgian government services online.

There are two main certificates on your eID:

• You need the Authentication certificate when you want to log in to a Belgian government service online.
• You need the Signature certificate when you want to digitally sign a document.

These certificates contain information about your identity, such as your National Register number and a public cryptographic key. You can think of this key as a secret code that links your identity to your eID. To guarantee the authenticity of the certificates, they are digitally signed by a government certificate.

No certificates are activated for children under 12 years of age. For children aged between 12 and 18, the identity card contains only one active certificate, namely the identification certificate, but no signature certificate. This is because minors are not legally qualified to perform legally binding deeds, and it is not until they reach the age of 18 that they have the legal capacity to perform the full range of civic acts (unless otherwise deemed unfit).