Visa Information
VISA TYPES
Select the visa type that is right for you to see important information on visa fees, documents required, forms, photo specifications and processing times.
SHORT TERM VISA
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Overview
If you are planning a short visit to Belgium for up to 90 days or less, you may need to apply for a Schengen visa. Applications can be lodged 6 months in advance of travel date.Belgium is one of the 26 European countries forming the Schengen Area which have no border controls between them. These countries also issue a common visa, the Schengen visa for a stay of up to 90 days in any period of 180 days. Please note that the following essentials must be met by all applicants submitting their applications for visa.
- Passport should have at least two blank pages.
- Passport should be valid for at least 3 months from the date on which the applicant intends to leave the SCHENGEN territory, or, in the case of multiple journeys the date on which the applicant intends to leave it for the last time
- Applications are only accepted within 6 months of the requested date of arrival
Previous Schengen Visa Please Note:-
In case you have already submitted your fingerprints for a previous Schengen visa application in the last 59 months, you are not required to submit them again.
However, If you are uncertain whether your fingerprints have been captured for a Schengen visa within the last 59 months, you are advised to appear in person.
Kindly note that, if it would appear that the fingerprints prove not to be present in the VIS system, you will be asked to reappear in person for new biometric data collection. To avoid this possible complication, you have the right to ask for your fingerprints to be taken again.
Schengen Common Information for India
Read here important information on Schengen in India and specific details on Indian passports validity: Click here
Please Note
The overseas travel medical insurance valid for all Schengen-countries has to cover the applicant for at least 30000 Euros or equivalent, for all risks e.g. accident, illness, medical emergency evacuation, repatriation of mortals remains etc. The policy has to clearly specify the period of validity and has to cover the entire duration of the trip including the date of arrival and departure. Please click on the following link for the approved list of insurance companies in India.
Submission of Visa application and collection of passports can be done by the following:
- Applicant himself.
- If your Belgium visa application is submitted by a representative or a travel agent, we request you to please ensure that the declaration is filled and signed by you, and the representative or travel agent submitting the application form submits a copy of their passport bio page.
- Third party collection of the documents or passports will not be permitted, except in the following cases:
- Immediate Family Member (that is Parents, Children, Spouse)
- A person collecting on behalf of Government officials if authorized on the Government letter head.
- Red Carpet Representatives if authorized on the Company’s letter head
If any of the above comes for passport collection they need to carry the following documents:
- Original Government ID card
- Original ICR
- Original authorization letter from applicant
It is also mandatory to mention applicant’s personal address on the covering letter on which passport has to be couriered. Applicant's passport will not be couriered to their travel agencies 'addresses as directed by the Embassy.
Please Note: - New slots are released every 1st Monday of the month for visa appointments in the upcoming month. (For East and North Zone)
Note*
- In case of a business applicant, if the applicant wishes to receive the passport to his/her office, then the same needs to be mentioned in the covering letter and the applicant’s office address needs to be mentioned in the courier request form.
- For application withdrawal cases, the passport needs to be collected from VFS Global only.
- For Short Term - Two sets of the entire document is required for short stay applications
- For Long Term - Three sets of the entire document is required (Once set of original and two sets of photocopy )for Long stay applications
NOTE*
- For Seaman Applicants, the passports can be collected by the applicant personally from VFS Global or the passport will be couriered to the seaman’s residential address only.
- In case of a business applicant, if the applicant wishes to receive the passport to his/her office, then the same needs to be mentioned in the covering letter and the applicant’s office address needs to be mentioned in the courier request form.
- For Legalisations courier is not mandatory.
- For application withdrawal cases, the passport needs to be collected from VFS Global only.
Personal appearance: after filling in the application form on Visa On web, the applicant’s personal appearance at the VFS Visa Application Center is required in order to register the biometric fingerprints data along with a live photograph. The following applicants are however exempted of the personal appearance
- Applicants for a national long term visa D
- Applicants for a Schengen short term visa C below 12 years of age
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Visa Fees
Duration Visa Fees in INR Visa Fees in Euros Short Term Visa 8460 90 Children between 6-12 years 4230 45 *Applicants applying at VFS Delhi/Chandigarh/Kolkata/Jalandhar/Gurugram - Fee can be paid by Cash/Card/UPI.
*Applicants applying at VFS
Mumbai/Ahmedabad/Bengaluru/Cochin/Chennai/Hyderabad/Goa/Pune/Trivandrum/Puducherry – Visa Fee and VFS Services Charges can be paid by Cash/Demand Draft/Card and UPI.Please find Demand Draft favouring as follows:
- Visa Fee Demand Draft – VFS GLOBAL SERVICES PVT LTD
- VFS Service Charges Demand Draft – VFS GLOBAL SERVICES PVT LTD
Note: Visa Fee DD and VFS Service charges DD cannot be clubbed together. Separate DD for each applicant in case of group/family submission.
Exemption of Visa Fee
Short Term Schengen visa:
- Children less than 6 years old
- Family members of an EU citizen
“EU citizen” is a citizen of one of the European Union countries, of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland.
The following persons are defined as family members:- the spouse;
- the partner with whom the EU citizen has contracted a registered partnership
- the direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependent as well as those of the spouse or partner as defined above; or
- the dependent direct relatives in the ascending line and those of the spouse or partner as defined above.
Service Fee:
INR 2350/- per application (All VFS’s Service Charges are inclusive of Goods and Service Tax – SGST @ 9% and CGST @ 9%).
Please Note
- The applicable Visa Fee in Indian Rupees is as per the current exchange rate. The same is subject to change without notice.
- The Visa fee is non-refundable.
- There is an Optional Courier facility available at INR 637/- (Inclusive of Goods & Service Tax – SGST @ 9% and CGST @ 9%) per application/passport.
- There is an Optional Courier Assurance facility available at INR 1036/- (Inclusive of Goods & Service Tax – SGST @ 9% and CGST @ 9%) per application/passport.
- There is an Optional SMS facility available at INR 233/- (Inclusive of Goods & Service Tax – SGST @ 9% and CGST @ 9%) per application/passport.
- There is an Optional Premium Lounge facility available at INR 3920/- (Inclusive of Goods & Service Tax – SGST @ 9% and CGST @ 9%) per application/passport.
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Documents Required
Travel insurance is mandatory for all Schengen countries. If you have not purchased, please click here
What are the documents required for a Belgium Visa?
All applicants can visit the website of Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi/Consulate General of Belgium in Mumbai below for the recommended document list for the Visa category in which they wish to apply.
http://india.diplomatie.belgium.be/en
Travel insurance is mandatory for all Schengen countries. If you have not purchased, please click here.
You will find all conditions on the Federal Public Service Home Affairs Immigration Office website, the only Belgian competent authority for the admittance, stay, residence and removal of foreigners.
One Extra Photocopy of the entire set is required for short stay applications.
Guarantees for return (assessment of migration risk): The applicant is requested to provide as much information as possible to document his/her family background, professional and socio-economic status, ownership of land or real estate (for instance : proof of family bonds with his/her country of origin, proof of regular income and stable source of revenues from the applicant and/or his/her partner, proof of property, etc.)
This information is essential to correctly judge the intention of the applicant to leave the Schengen area before the expiry of his/her visa.
If your Belgium visa application is submitted by a representative or a travel agent, we request you to please ensure that the attached declaration is filled and signed by you, and the representative or travel agent submitting the application form submits a copy of their passport bio page.
Letter of Authorization -
Photo Specifications
Photograph Quality
The photographs must be:
- No more than 6-months old
- 35-45mm in width
- Close up of your head and top of your shoulders so that your face takes up 70 -80% of the photograph
- In sharp focus and clear
- Of high quality with no ink marks or creases
The photographs must:
- Show you looking directly at the camera
- Show your skin tones naturally
- Have appropriate brightness and contrast
- Be printed on high quality paper, and at high resolution Photographs taken with a digital camera must be high quality colour and printed on photo-quality paper.
Style and lighting
The photographs must be:
- Be colour neutral
- Show your eyes open and clearly visible-no hair across your eyes
- Show you facing square on to the camera, not looking over one shoulder (portrait style) or tilted, and showing both edges of your face clearly
- Be taken with a plain white background
- Be taken with uniform lighting and not show shadows or flash reflections on your face and no red eye
Glasses and head covers
If you wear glasses:
- Be colour neutral
- The photograph must show your eyes clearly with no flash reflection off the glasses, and no tinted lenses (if possible, avoid heavy frames - wear lighter framed glasses if you have them)
- Make sure that the frames do not cover any part of your eyes.
Head coverings :
- Are not permitted except for religious reasons, but your facial features from bottom of chin to top of forehead and both edges of your face must be clearly shown.
Expression and frame
Your photographs must:
- Show you alone (no chair backs, toys or other people visible), looking at the camera with a neutral expression and your mouth closed.
Photograph Required
- 2 photograph for Short term Visa (Non VIS)
- 3 Photograph for Long Term Visa
- 3 Photograph for Short Term Visa VIS case
- 4 Photograph for Long Term if the applicant is below 6 years
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Processing Time
As a general rule,a decision will be taken by the Embassy/Consulate within 15 working days from the submission of the visa application. However, this deadline may be extended up to 30 Calendar days and even, exceptionally, 60 Calendar days, if a more detailed examination of your application and/or additional documents are required. In that case, your application will be sent to the Aliens Office in Belgium, which will take the final decision.
When the file is presented to the Aliens Office in Belgium, the Embassy / Consulate General of Belgium shares the reference number of your file with you. This number enables you to contact the Immigration Office in order to check on the status of your file (Antwerpsesteenweg 59B, 1000 Brussels, T: +32.2.793.80.00, F: +32.2.274.66.91, helpdesk.dvzoe@dofi.fgov.be).
Furthermore, using this file number, you may check on the status of your visa application on the Immigration Office website. With your passport number and last name, you can also track your visa application on this web site click here.
The Embassy / Consulate General of Belgium will inform you in each instance in writing, by telephone or orally about the decision that is finally taken concerning your visa application.
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Online Application Form
Applicants are requested to fill the online application form in Capital/Block letters only.
- To fill the online application form please Click Here.
Long term Visa
-
Overview
If you are planning to visit Belgium for more than 90 days, you need to apply for a long stay visa. Please note that the following essentials must be met by all applicants submitting their applications for visa.
- Applicants applying for Belgium Long Stay Visa (D Visa) Category are requested to appear in person at the visa application center to register their biometrics which includes scans of all fingerprints and live digital photo
- The Resident applicants of Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Maldives can submit Visa D category application at VFS New Delhi center only, Passport will be returned to the applicant at the time of submission and Belgium Embassy New Delhi will contact application directly once the Visa is processed. Applicants need to carry the Photocopy of all the pages of the passport at the time of submission.
- Passport should have at least two blank pages.
- Passport should be valid for 12 months
- Applications are only accepted within 3 months of the requested date of arrival
Submission of Visa application and collection of passports can be done by the following:
- Applicant in person.
- Third party collection of the documents or passports will not be permitted, except in the following cases:
- Immediate Family Member (that is Parents, Children, Spouse)
- A person collecting on behalf of Government officials if authorized on the Government letter head.
- Red Carpet Representatives if authorized on the Company’s letter head
If any of the above comes for passport collection they need to carry the following documents:
- Original Government ID card
- Original ICR
- Original authorization letter from applicant
It is also mandatory to mention applicant’s personal address on the covering letter on which passport has to be couriered. Applicant's passport will not be couriered to their travel agencies 'addresses as directed by the Embassy.
Please Note: - New slots are released every 1st Monday of the month for visa appointments in the upcoming month. (For East and North Zone)
Note*
- In case of a business applicant, if the applicant wishes to receive the passport to his/her office, then the same needs to be mentioned in the covering letter and the applicant’s office address needs to be mentioned in the courier request form.
- For application withdrawal cases, the passport needs to be collected from VFS Global only.
NOTE*
- For Seaman applicants, the passports can be collected by the applicant personally from VFS Global or the passport will be couriered to the seaman’s residential address only.
- In case of a business applicant, if the applicant wishes to receive the passport to his/her office, then the same needs to be mentioned in the covering letter and the applicant’s office address needs to be mentioned in the courier request form.
- For Legalisations courier is not mandatory.
- For application withrdrawal cases, the passport needs to be collected from VFS Global only.
Personal appearance : after filling in the application form on Visa On web, the applicant’s personal appearance at the VFS Visa Application Center is required in order to register the biometric fingerprints data along with a live photograph. The following applicants are however exempted of the personal appearance :
- Applicants for Long Stay Visa-D below 6 years of age
- Applicants for a Schengen short term visa C below 12 years of age
- Applicants for a Schengen short term visa C who have already registered with any Schengen member state their biometric fingerprints data along with a live photograph not longer than 59 months ago. In case of doubt it is advised to opt anew for the personal appearance.
- Applicants for a Long Stay Visa-D who have already registered with member state of Belgium their biometric fingerprints data along with a live photograph not longer than 10 years ago. In case of doubt it is advised to opt a new for the personal appearance.
Note: Important notice: Students applying for long-term D-visa from other countries (except India) would need to apply only in Delhi centre followed by an interview at the embassy. Appointments taken in other centres for this category would not be allowed for submission.
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Visa Fees
Duration Visa Fees in INR Visa Fees in Euros Long Term Visa 16920 180 *Applicants applying at VFS Delhi/Chandigarh/Kolkata/Jalandhar/Gurugram - Fee can be paid by Cash/Card/UPI.
*Applicants applying at VFS
Mumbai/Ahmedabad/Bengaluru/Cochin/Chennai/Hyderabad/Goa/Pune/Trivandrum/Puducherry – Visa Fee and VFS Services Charges can be paid by Cash/Demand Draft/Card and UPI.Please find Demand Draft favouring as follows:
- Visa Fee Demand Draft – VFS GLOBAL SERVICES PVT LTD
- VFS Service Charges Demand Draft – VFS GLOBAL SERVICES PVT LTD
Note: Visa Fee DD and VFS Service charges DD cannot be clubbed together. Separate DD for each applicant in case of group/family submission.
Exemption of Visa Fee
Long Term visa:
- Family members of an EU citizen
“EU citizen” is a citizen of one of the European Union countries, of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland.
The following persons are defined as family members:- the spouse;
- the partner with whom the EU citizen has contracted a registered partnership
- the direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependent as well as those of the spouse or partner as defined above; or
- the dependent direct relatives in the ascending line and those of the spouse or partner as defined above.
Contribution Payment for long term application
New visa regulations starting on 02 March 2015 will oblige visa applicants to pay a handling fee directly in Belgium before applying for a visa. It is an administrative fee that comes above the normal visa fee and it is valid only for the D-visa (long stay).
The amount needs to be paid according to the type of visa application. For Detail Click Here
This Belgian handling fee should be paid directly on the Home Affairs’ Belgian bank account BE57 6792 0060 9235, either from Belgium or from where the applicant is registered.Application won’t be submitted at Belgium Visa Application Centre if the Fees is not paid.
IBAN BE57 6792 0060 9235
BIC PCHQBEBB
Bank name BPOST NV
Bank address Muntcentrum (zonder nr.), 1000 Brussel
Beneficiary FOD Binnenlandse Zaken, Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken, Antwerpsesteenweg 59B, 1000 Brussel
Payment modalities
The exact due amount according to the purpose of long stay in Belgium (see table) has to be paid in EURO and in the bank account below only, all bank/intermediate bank charges to be borne by the person making the transfer (applicant, family member, employer, warrant).
Belgian Bank Details
Communication
The following information has to be visible in the communication of the transfer :
- Last name and First name of the applicant,
- nationality,
- birth date,
- purpose of stay (article of the law of 15 December 1980)
Ex.: Mrs. Suman Kaur born on 03 June 1978 in Delhi applies for a family reunion visa with her Indian husband in Belgium (article 10). Whoever makes the payment (herself from India or her husband in Belgium) will ask the bank to register the following communication in the bank transfer:
- KAUR_Suman_INDIA_03 June 1978_Art.10_Law15 December 1980
Note : In case the communication in transfer is limited to a certain number of characters, this first part has at least to appear:
- KAUR_Suman_INDIA_03 June 1978
Service Fee:
INR 2350/- per application (All VFS’s Service Charges are inclusive of Goods and Service Tax – SGST @ 9% and CGST @ 9%).
Please Note
- The applicable Visa Fee in Indian Rupees is as per the current exchange rate. The same is subject to change without notice.
- The Visa fee is non-refundable.
- There is an Optional Courier facility available at INR 637/- (Inclusive of Goods & Service Tax – SGST @ 9% and CGST @ 9%) per application/passport.
- There is an Optional Courier Assurance facility available at INR 1036/- (Inclusive of Goods & Service Tax – SGST @ 9% and CGST @ 9%) per application/passport.
- There is an Optional SMS facility available at INR 233/- (Inclusive of Goods & Service Tax – SGST @ 9% and CGST @ 9%) per application/passport.
- There is an Optional Premium Lounge facility available at INR 3920/- (Inclusive of Goods & Service Tax – SGST @ 9% and CGST @ 9%) per application/passport.
Medical certificate - Certified doctors List
-
Documents Required
Travel insurance is mandatory for all Schengen countries. If you have not purchased, please click here
What are the documents required for a Belgium Visa?
All applicants can visit the website of Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi/Consulate General of Belgium in Mumbai below for the recommended document list for the Visa category in which they wish to apply.
http://india.diplomatie.belgium.be/en
Travel insurance is mandatory for all Schengen countries. If you have not purchased, please click here.
You will find all conditions on the Federal Public Service Home Affairs Immigration Office website, the only Belgian competent authority for the admittance, stay, residence and removal of foreigners.
Two Extra Photocopy of the entire set is required for long stay applications.
Medical certificate – Certified doctors
According to the type of long term stay visa you require, you might have to present a medical certificate which you can obtain via one of the doctors certified by the Embassy / Consulate General of Belgium:
For list of the Doctors click here
Legalisations
Authentic documents
Legalisation is the procedure by which an official document, issued by a foreign authority, is rendered legally valid in Belgium.
Most common documents are certificates of civil status (birth/marriage/death certificates), diplomas, police clearance certificate and affidavits.
These documents only require a single legalisation (Apostille) issued by the authorised offices of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
Additional legalisation by the Embassy / Consulate General of Belgium is no longer required for those documents.
Contact details of the Ministry of External Affairs:
Joint Secretary (Consular), MEA
CPV Division, Patiala House Annexe
Tilak Marg
New Delhi
India
Phone: +91 11 2338 8015
Fax: +91 11 2338 8385
E-mail: jscons@mea.gov.in / dcpf@mea.gov.in
Website : http://mea.gov.in / http://www.mea.gov.in/legalization-of-documents.html -
Photo Specifications
Photograph Quality
The photographs must be:
- No more than 6-months old
- 35-45mm in width
- Close up of your head and top of your shoulders so that your face takes up 70 -80% of the photograph
- In sharp focus and clear
- Of high quality with no ink marks or creases
The photographs must:
- Show you looking directly at the camera
- Show your skin tones naturally
- Have appropriate brightness and contrast
- Be printed on high quality paper, and at high resolution Photographs taken with a digital camera must be high quality colour and printed on photo-quality paper.
Style and lighting
The photographs must be:
- Be colour neutral
- Show your eyes open and clearly visible-no hair across your eyes
- Show you facing square on to the camera, not looking over one shoulder (portrait style) or tilted, and showing both edges of your face clearly
- Be taken with a plain white background
- Be taken with uniform lighting and not show shadows or flash reflections on your face and no red eye
Glasses and head covers
If you wear glasses:
- Be colour neutral
- The photograph must show your eyes clearly with no flash reflection off the glasses, and no tinted lenses (if possible, avoid heavy frames - wear lighter framed glasses if you have them)
- Make sure that the frames do not cover any part of your eyes.
Head coverings :
- Are not permitted except for religious reasons, but your facial features from bottom of chin to top of forehead and both edges of your face must be clearly shown.
Expression and frame
Your photographs must:
- Show you alone (no chair backs, toys or other people visible), looking at the camera with a neutral expression and your mouth closed.
Photograph Required
- 2 photograph for Short term Visa (Non VIS)
- 3 Photograph for Long Term Visa
- 3 Photograph for Short Term Visa VIS case
- 4 Photograph for Long Term if the applicant is below 6 years
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Processing Time
Don’t wait until the last moment to submit your visa application
The decision making time might be longer during some periods (summer months, holiday season). Therefore, make sure to submit your visa early enough.
Submit a complete file
Read attentively the information about the necessary documents to be provided before submitting your file. If the Embassy/Consulate needs to ask for additional documents before being able to take a decision or before sending your file to the Immigration Office, you might not receive your visa on time.
As a general rule, a decision will be taken by the Embassy/Consulate within 15 days from the submission of the visa application. However, this deadline may be extended up to 30 days and even, exceptionally, 60 days, if a more detailed examination of your application and/or additional documents are required. In that case, your application will be sent to the Aliens Office in Belgium, which will take the final decision.
When the file is presented to the Aliens Office in Belgium, the Embassy / Consulate General of Belgium shares the reference number of your file with you. This number enables you to contact the Immigration Office in order to check on the status of your file (Antwerpsesteenweg 59B, 1000 Brussels, T: +32.2.793.80.00, F: +32.2.274.66.91, helpdesk.dvzoe@dofi.fgov.be).
Furthermore, using this file number, you may check on the status of your visa application on the Immigration Office website. With your passport number and last name, you can also track your visa application on this web site click here.
The Embassy / Consulate General of Belgium will inform you in each instance in writing, by telephone or orally about the decision that is finally taken concerning your visa application.
-
Online Application Form
Applicants are requested to fill the online application form in Capital/Block letters only.
- To fill the online application form please Click Here.