VISA D - LONG STAY (more than 90 days)
Important notice for Visa D applicants (long stay)
Implementation of visa biometrics as part of a visa D application, starting 01/12/2018
As a consequence of a change of Art. 30Bis of the Law of 15 December 1980, starting 01/12/2018, all applicants aged 6 or more, applying for a long stay visa (type D) for Belgium, will need to personally present themselves in order to have their biometric data (all 10 fingerprints and a digital photograph) registered at the Belgian Embassy in Berlin.
The single permit (work and residence) as from1 January 2019
Simplification of the procedure for third-country nationals who apply for authorization to stay and to work in Belgium (single permit).
The Embassy of Belgium in Berlin handles Long Stay Visa applications to Belgium.
Who
When
What
How
Important notices
Medical certificate and list of designated doctors
Required documents
WHO
All nationals who wish to stay for more than 90 days in Belgium, need to apply for a visa D, unless they are either a citizen of the European Union or a citizen of one of the following countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway and Switzerland.
WHEN
Applications have to be done via regular registered post. We encourage you to lodge your application between 3 months and 1 month before departure. Depending on your personal situation, the time needed to process your application may vary.
For some visa applications the Embassy is required to transfer the file to the Immigration Office in Belgium. In this case decisions can take longer and timings are unpredictable. To check timings, you can visit their website, but the information is only available in Dutch or French. For more information, please click here.
WHAT
A Visa D allows you to travel to Belgium. Once you have arrived you will need to register at the municipality (gemeente/commune) where you are living within 8 days to obtain a residence permit.
The Belgian Visa D also allows you to travel to other Schengen countries for a maximum of 90 days within a period of 180 days. Click here to check the list of the Schengen Area Member States .
HOW
You will need to submit your application via normal registered post. Once your application is processed and your visa application has been approved, you will be contacted to make an appointment to fetch your visa in person at the Belgian Embassy in Berlin.
Before submitting your application, you need to pay the visa handling fee and the contribution fee or show that you qualify for exemption. Without the proof of both payments or the proof of exemption, the visa application cannot be accepted.
Documents included in your application, need to be issued less than 6 months ago and documents that are not in French, Dutch, German or English need to be translated by a sworn translator.
All forms are available in the section forms and certificates to download.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
1. Register your arrival
When you are issued a visa D, you will have to register with the administration of the commune/municipality where you will be residing in Belgium. This needs to be done within 8 days of your arrival in Belgium; to apply for a residence permit.
2. Willingness to integrate in Belgian society - New general condition of stay from 25.01.2017
The efforts towards integration in Belgian society by a foreigner who is admitted to or permitted to a stay of more than 3 months in Belgium will henceforth be verified by the Immigration Office (FPS Interior)
We strongly recommend that you consult the website of the Immigration Office for a detailed explanation regarding this new general condition of stay. (https://dofi.ibz.be/en).
MEDICAL CERTIFICATE AND LIST OF DESIGNATED DOCTORS
The Belgian Embassy in Berlin doesn’t have a list of designated doctors. You can choose any qualified medical doctor in Germany to complete, stamp and sign the medical certificate in the specific format (see section forms and certificates to download). For more information please consult our FAQ-list (question 16 and 17).
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Please click on the reason for your stay in Belgium to get the list of required documents:
- Work with work permit (employee)
- Work with single permit (employee)
- Student (for higher education in an establishment organized, recognised or subsidised by the public authorities in Belgium and going for exchange, a degree, doctoral study or postdoctoral study)
- Researcher with hosting agreement
- Traineeship AIESEC
- Traineeship in Flanders as an obligatory part of your study
- Family reunion with a non-EU citizen (spouse or registered partner) (Art. 10)
- Family reunion child with a parent(s) who is a non-EU citizen (Art. 10)
- Family reunion with a Belgian (Art. 40ter)