Overcrowding Pushes Belgium to Send Inmates to Foreign Prisons

Belgium is considering building or renting a prison abroad to tackle severe overcrowding in its prisons. With more than 13,000 inmates occupying just 11,000 places, jails across the country are struggling, forcing detainees in some facilities to sleep on mattresses placed directly on the floor.

Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden from the Christian Democratic and Flemish Party (CD&V) and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt from the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) have embarked on a mission to Albania and Kosovo to explore the feasibility of constructing or leasing a prison there.

The plan, inspired by Denmark’s 2021 deal with Kosovo, would see convicted foreigners without residence permits serve their sentences outside Belgium. Verlinden told HLN

Allowing a person convicted in Belgium but without a residence permit to serve their sentence in their country of origin ensures proper enforcement of justice and relieves pressure on our system.

Van Bossuyt—whose party long advocated the plan—emphasized the security aspect of the idea. “Anyone staying illegally in our country and choosing to commit crimes must leave,” she said,

Either to their country of origin or to a prison outside Belgium. That way, we protect our safety and reduce pressure on society.

The debate comes amid a broader security crisis. Violence has surged in the Belgian capital, with 57 shootings recorded by mid-August—20 of them in just three summer months. Prosecutor Julien Moinil has warned of “an alarming trend” linked to drug trafficking.

Authorities have deployed soldiers on the streets, with officials warning that “anyone can be hit by a stray bullet.” The roots of the problem lie in mass immigration, social marginalization, and the presence of illegal immigrants who are rarely deported despite their lengthy criminal records.