Belgium long term visa - what to pay attention to?

Who can say no to Belgian chocolate and beer? Probably, most of you have heard the fame of Belgian chocolate and beer. Many people travel to Belgium merely to taste them. Also, there are many historical and sightseeing places that attract tourists. As a result, Belgium increases the number of tourists every year. For example, in 2006, 11.8 million people visited the country, but in 2019 the number reached 18.1 million. Considering this, we decided to talk about the Belgium long stay visa. In this blog, you will find answers to these questions: how to get a visa for Belgium, what are Belgium long term visa requirements, how long Belgium long stay visa processing time takes, what are Belgium visa types, and more.

Belgium visa types

Depending on the duration that you want to stay in Belgium, you can choose various visas. There are three main types, but they are also divided into some subcategories depending on the purpose of the visit.

• Short-stay (for visits up to 90 days)
• Long-term (for stays more than 90 days)
• Transit 

The short-term visa allows you to stay in Belgium for a maximum period of three months. As you probably know, Belgium is a part of the Schengen area. Belgium issues uniform Schengen visas (also known as a type C) for short stay visits. Depending on the purpose of the visit, there can be some subcategories:

• Belgium Tourist Visa
• Belgium Business Visa
• Belgium Marriage Visa
• Belgium Visa for Visiting Family and Friends
• Belgium Cohabitation Visa
• Belgium Visa for Cultural and Sports Event
• Belgium Medical Visa

When it comes to the main topic of our today's topic, Belgium national visa or long-term visa permits you to stay in the country for more than 90 days. As in the short term, there are some subcategories.

• Belgium Work Permit (Single Permit)
• Belgium Professional Card (Art 9)
• Belgium Students Visa Subsidized Institute Art. 58
• Belgium Student Visa Private Institute Art. 9
• Belgium Family Reunion with Non-Eu Residents (Art. 10 and Art. 10bis)
• Belgium Family Reunion with a Belgian Spouse (Art. 40er)
• Belgium Au Pair Visa
• Belgium Researcher Visa

Belgium Work Permit (Single Permit)

The first subcategory of Belgium long stay visa that we want to talk about is a work visa. It is for people who want to stay and work in Belgium for more than 90 days in a legal frame. Which professions earn more money in Belgium? The highest paid jobs are doctor, judge, lawyer, and bank manager. Their income changes between 7500-33000 EURO. All applicants should answer Belgium long term visa requirements and provide essential documents during the application process. 

• Belgium long stay visa application form. The applicant should fill Belgium long stay visa application form and should be signed and dated. Differ from some other countries, there will be two application forms, and you should fill both of them.
• Photo. Photo should not be older than six months, size 3,5x4,5 on the white background
• Language preference form. As most people know, Belgium has three national languages, and during the application process, you can choose which language you want to use. If the whole application is going to be in English, choose "no preference."
• Passport. The passport must be at least three months longer than the planned stay. If there will be several visits, then the date on which you expect to leave for the last time. The passport should have at least two free visa pages and should not be older than ten years. Also, the applicant must give a copy of all pages.
• Copies of previous Schengen visas. Copies of entry and exit stamps to the Schengen area (from the past three years only). Additionally, copies of other respective country visas (if you have)
• National identity card and resident permit/visa copy: The applicant must give copies of the original documents. The required validity period for these documents is three months beyond the date of your travel to Belgium.
• Copy of annex 46 or 47: The applicant must provide a copy of the e-mail, which was sent by the Belgian concerned authorities granting the work permit.

Belgium Professional Card (Art 9)

A Professional Card is a form of authorization for self-employed persons and directors who are not citizens of Belgium or are not residents of a Member State of the European Economic Region (EU plus Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein) or Switzerland. Also, for people who have not been exempted, for other reasons, from the permission requirement. Almost all documents are the as earlier subcategory, but there are some additional ones:

• Contribution fees. During the visa application, the applicants will pay an administrative fee. Keep in mind to take a copy of that to present as proof of payment.
• Medical certificate. The applicants must provide this document to show that he(she) doesn't have any disease which can cause danger to the public. The record must be no older than six months from the date of issuance, and a specific form should be signed and stamped by one of the embassy's accredited doctors.
• Clear criminal record certificate. This certificate must be no older than three months from the date of issuance and must show that the applicant doesn't have any illegal activity. If the applicant lives in a foreign country the months before applying, he should present a certificate issued by the related officials of that foreign country. The Belgian embassy abroad should approve the document.
• Professional card approval. The authorization from the Federal Public Service Economy, SMEs, Self-Employed, and Energy for issuance of a Professional Card.

Belgium Students Visa Subsidized Institute Art. 58

People who received an acceptance letter from a state college or state university in Belgium can apply for a student visa. It lets them stay and study in the Kingdom of Belgium for more than 90 days. If the applicant travels via an unpaid internship, he should provide the original unsalaried internship acceptance document from the postgraduate educational institution. The documents and details that you will need to give during the application process are almost the same as a professional card. There are some additional points and documents that we couldn't mention here. You can read them in the visa policy section of our website.

• Belgium long stay visa application form
• Photo
• Language preference form
• Original passport
• Copies of previous Schengen visas
• National identity card and resident permit/visa copy
• Contribution fees
• Medical certificate
• Clear criminal record certificate
• Admission or enrolment letter
• Proof of financial support
• Proof of financial support in the case of a guarantor

Belgium Student Visa Private Institute Art. 9

Another type of student visa is for people who got an acceptance letter from a private college or private university in Belgium. As another kind of student visa, it will let you stay in the country for more than 90 days. All documents and details you will need to give in the application process are the same (check the website for more information).

Belgium Family Reunion with Non-Eu Residents (Art. 10 and Art. 10bis)

Such as in student visas, there are two family reunion visas. It is for people that have a Belgian family member and want to receive a long-term visa (type-D). Such as other long-term visas, it let's stay in the Kingdom of Belgium. Also, the details and needed documents are the same as Belgium Family Reunion with Non-Eu Residents (check the visa policy section for more).

Belgium Au Pair Visa

This visa is for people that travel to Belgium temporarily and will stay with a Belgian family as a guest. The person will get a chance to improve linguistic knowledge, general culture, learn the country's tradition and the family life of local people. A family and a young foreign guest must obtain employment permission and work permit from the competent Region after first securing authorization as per the appointed legal procedure. Check pickvisa.com (visa policy section) for other essential documents and points.

Belgium Researcher Visa

Such as in most countries, there is a special visa for researchers in Belgium. Belgium Researcher Visa gives a chance to travel to Belgium for a scientific research purpose in a long-term period. The required documents:

• Application form
• Photo
• Language preference form
• Passport
• Copies of previous Schengen visas
• National identity card and resident permit/visa copy
• Contribution fees
• Medical certificate
• Clear criminal record certificate
• Admission or enrolment letter
• Work permit

Belgium long stay visa processing time and fee

After collecting and giving all documents to the application centers, you will need to wait for an answer. The average processing time for a Belgium visa is 10-45 working days. How much is the application fee? The application fee for a long-term visa starts from 63 euros. Keep in mind that processing time and the charge may vary depending on your country. Also, there can be some additional fees. We could not mention them here because it would be so long. So, you can read them in the visa policy section.

How to get a visa for Belgium?

You can apply for long-term visas in Belgium visa application centers, embassies, or consulates, whichever accepts visa applications in your country of residence. If none of them are available in your country, you need to apply to the nearest embassy or consulate to your location.