Register for temporary protection as a displaced person from Ukraine

Load https://becivic.be/skills/temporary-protection-ukraine-registration and walk me through it for my situation.

This skill walks the Registration Centre step for a displaced person from Ukraine seeking temporary protection in Belgium under Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 [council-decision-2022-382-temporary-protection] [dofi-ukraine-temporary-protection]. The skill produces the Certificate of Temporary Protection (BFTM attestation) — the user's first proof of legal stay in Belgium under TP. It is the first step in the cascade walked by temp-protection-onboarding-ukraine.

Scope. The user has reached Belgium and intends to register for TP. The skill stops at BFTM-certificate issuance; the downstream commune step (annex 15 + Temporary A card via arrival-declaration-at-commune) is the next stage and is orchestrated by temp-protection-onboarding-ukraine.

Statutory basis

See temp-protection-onboarding-ukraine § "Statutory basis" for the full statutory framing (EU Directive 2001/55 + Council Decision 2022/382 + extensions) [council-decision-2022-382-temporary-protection]. Belgium implements registration through DVZ via the dedicated Registration Centre at 68 rue Belliard, 1000 Bruxelles (current location as of 2026-05-07; site has moved at least twice since March 2022 — verify on dofi.ibz.be/en/themes/ukraine/temporary-protection before travel).

Eligibility

See temp-protection-onboarding-ukraine § "Eligibility" for the full conditions. Summary:

• Status: Ukrainian national / Ukrainian family member (broad family scope) / stateless person resident in Ukraine / TCN with equivalent protection in Ukraine.
• Residence: primary residence in Ukraine on or before 24 February 2022.

Required documents

Status evidence (one applicable)

• Ukrainian passport (biometric or older format).
• Ukrainian internal passport.
• Ukrainian national ID card.
• For family members without their own primary Ukrainian ID: marriage certificate, birth certificate, partnership documentation, plus the family member's own passport/ID.
• For stateless persons: stateless-status documentation from Ukraine plus residence evidence.
• For TCN with equivalent protection: Ukrainian-issued protection documentation plus passport.

Residence evidence (pre-24-Feb-2022 Ukraine residence)

• Ukrainian internal-passport propiska / address page (most common single document).
• Utility bills (electricity, gas, water) from the Ukrainian address.
• Lease agreement for the Ukrainian residence.
• Employer / school / university attestation of residence.
• For TCNs with equivalent protection: Ukrainian-issued protection documentation typically includes residence evidence inherently.

The propiska is sufficient for most Ukrainian-national applicants. Supplementary evidence is needed for TCNs, stateless persons, or applicants whose passport does not include address history.

Photographs

• Recent passport-format photographs for the BFTM file biometric build. The Registration Centre may also capture a fresh photograph at intake.

Process

Stage 1 — Travel to the Registration Centre

The Registration Centre is at 68 rue Belliard, 1000 Bruxelles. Public transport: Brussels Metro line 5 (Maelbeek / Maalbeek station) or Trône / Troon station; multiple bus and tram routes. Opens 8:30 AM. No appointment is required for first registration; queues form early on busy days.

Stage 2 — Queue and intake

The user arrives, joins the queue, and presents identity documents to staff for an initial eligibility check. Wait times vary: low-volume days are 1-3 hours total; high-volume days (especially Mondays / post-weekend or following news of a Council extension) can be a full day.

Stage 3 — Identity capture and biometric enrolment

Staff capture:

• Photograph for the BFTM file.
• Fingerprints (biometric record). The fingerprints are stored in the BFTM file and used for verification at downstream administrative interactions.
• Personal data — name, date of birth, place of birth, nationality, residence history, family composition.

The biometric enrolment ensures BFTM identity uniqueness and prevents duplicate registrations.

Stage 4 — Document submission

The user presents the originals of all status / residence documents. Staff inspect each, photocopy them on-site, and return the originals. Documents in Ukrainian are accepted in original form — the Registration Centre has Russian / Ukrainian language support; sworn translation is not required at this step (this is a TP-specific accommodation; sworn translation would normally be required for non-Latin-alphabet documents under the standard non-EU regime).

Stage 5 — Eligibility decision

Most cases decide same-day:

• Clear cases (Ukrainian passport with propiska showing pre-24-Feb-2022 residence): same-day BFTM issuance.
• Mixed cases (family-member additions, TCN with equivalent protection, stateless): same-day to 1-2 day decision; the user may be asked to return with additional evidence.
• Borderline cases (post-24-Feb-2022 displacement, ambiguous residence history): formal eligibility review by DVZ; the user receives a temporary stay attestation pending the decision; full BFTM issuance may take 1-4 weeks.

Stage 6 — BFTM certificate issuance

On positive decision, DVZ issues the Certificate of Temporary Protection (BFTM attestation). The certificate contains:

• The user's full name and biographic details.
• The DVZ file reference number.
• The TP validity period (currently to 4 March 2026; renewable on Council extension).
• The issuance date.
• A statement of the rights conferred (right to legal stay, work, study).

The user receives the certificate in physical form and signs receipt. The certificate is the user's proof of legal stay until the Temporary A card is issued at the commune.

What's next

1. Go to the commune of intended residence to complete arrival declaration and trigger Temporary A card production. Bring the BFTM certificate plus identity documents. The skill that walks this step is arrival-declaration-at-commune; the parent temp-protection-onboarding-ukraine orchestrates.
2. Mutualité enrolment, bank account, work / study setup — see the parent skill for the full cascade.

Known surprises

• Same-day decisions are the norm but not guaranteed. Plan a full day at the Registration Centre on the first visit; bring food/water/charger for queue. Family-member cases may need a second visit if relationship documents are imperfect.
• The Registration Centre does not provide accommodation. Users without accommodation should contact Fedasil (fedasil.be) for the federal reception network — separate procedure, can run in parallel.
• Sworn translation is not required at the Registration Centre. This is a TP-specific accommodation. Documents in Ukrainian (Cyrillic) are accepted in original form. Standard non-EU procedures normally require sworn translation; the TP regime waives this for the registration step.
• Biometric enrolment is mandatory. Refusal to provide fingerprints terminates the registration. There is no alternative pathway for users who cannot or will not provide biometrics.
• Family-member co-registration. If multiple family members register together, one BFTM file can include all of them with cross-referenced biometric records. Otherwise each family member files separately and the files are cross-linked. The BFTM certificate lists each member.
• The Registration Centre site has moved. Original site (Brussels-Ville Hôtel de Ville) ran from March 2022; later moved to Quai des Charbonnages; current site as of 2026-05-07 is 68 rue Belliard. Older guidance documents reference older sites; verify the current address before travel.
• Children's procedure. Minor children are co-registered with the parent. A child arriving alone (unaccompanied minor) has a separate procedure via Fedasil's youth-reception system; the Registration Centre is not the right first contact for unaccompanied minors.
• Already-recognised refugees from Ukraine under the standard CGRA-side regime are typically not in TP territory — TP is for first-arriving displaced persons. Users who arrived pre-2022 and were already in the asylum / refugee track stay on that track.

Verify with

• DVZ — Ukraine Temporary Protection: dofi.ibz.be/en/themes/ukraine/temporary-protection for current Registration Centre address, opening hours, and any procedural updates.
• Council Implementing Decision 2022/382 + extensions: EUR-Lex.
• Fedasil: fedasil.be for reception / accommodation needs.
• temp-protection-onboarding-ukraine for the post-registration cascade.

Verify with DVZ before travelling — Registration Centre location and procedure can change.

References

See frontmatter references for full bibliographic detail. Inline tags above use the [id] shorthand.