Belgium is a country filled with attractive alleys and visionary canals. Its alluring open-air markets are edged with eminent towers, significant churches, and dated almshouses.
As you can see from the official statistics given below, The Consulate General of Belgium in Washington, DC received around 600 visa applications. But the number of visas that the consulate finally issued was only 559.
While compared to Sweden and Portugal, Belgium has a visa rejection rate of an astounding 15%. This article is a step by step guide to successfully getting your Belgium Schengen visa.
Let’s help you get acquainted with the requirements for Belgium Schengen visa.
What are all the steps involved in getting a Belgium Schengen visa?
- Find out if at all you need a visa to visit Belgium
- Verify if you can apply for your Belgium Schengen visa at the Washington consulate of Belgium
- Schedule an online visa appointment at the Washington consulate of Belgium ( Get Schengen visa appointment for $ 10 )
- Keep all the documents ready for your Belgium Schengen visa appointment
- Ensure to attend your visa interview in person
Read this guide below and update yourself with the steady process to getting a Belgium Schengen visa.
Want temporary flight, hotel or insurance for your Belgium Schengen visa appointment?
Do I need to apply for a visa for my Belgium trip?
Your legal citizenship is the only aspect that can determine whether or not you need a visa to visit Belgium. View the Schengen visa requirements to find out if your country meets the eligibility for a Belgium Schengen visa.
Can I apply at the Washington consulate for my Belgium Schengen visa?
You can apply for your Belgium Schengen visa at the Washington consulate if you reside in any of the following states
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- Puerto Rico
- The Commonwealth of Bahamas
- States of Delaware
- Virginia
- Virgin Islands
- Turks and Caicos Islands
Does a US Permanent Residence cardholder need a Belgium Schengen visa?
Yes, a US Permanent Residence cardholder needs a Belgium Schengen visa to visit Belgium.
Does a B1/B2 visa holder need to apply for a Belgium Schengen visa?
Yes, as a B1/B2 visa holder, you will need to apply for a Belgium Schengen visa. But you can apply for a Belgium Schengen visa from your own country and not from any other nation.
Am I obligated to visit the Belgium embassy for my Belgium Schengen visa?
Yes, you will need to approach the Belgian embassy, if you plan on visiting only Belgium. But, if your travel plan is focused primarily on France or in other Schengen nations, then you will need to visit that Schengen country’s consulate.
Read the image listed below for a better understanding.
How do I book a Belgium Schengen visa appointment at the Washington Consulate?
The initial step needs you to book an online appointment. The Washington consulate doesn’t welcome any walk-in visa applicants.
Make sure to confirm your departure date to Belgium before booking your visa appointment. Also, be certain that you do not apply for your Belgium Schengen visa prior to 90 days from your departure, and it should also not be within a week of your departure.
Visit the official website of the Belgium consulate in the US first.
Click on the third option, “Embassy and Consulates of Belgium in the United States” to proceed further.
The above page is the Belgium embassy in the USA. As you can see, there are several options given on the left-hand side of the page. Click on “Visa for Belgium”.
Once you are on the above page, select “Visitors”. This will redirect you to the page shown below.
We request you to read the information provided on the page as it is highly important before you book yourself a Belgium Schengen visa appointment.
After you finish reading, you will need to scroll down and click on the link given next to Washington.
You can now make an appointment at the Washington Consulate by filling in all the requested details. Keep in mind that the information you fill on the above page should be in accordance with your passport. Click “next” after you finish filling in all the required fields.
You have now booked yourself a Belgium Schengen visa appointment. You will receive an email confirmation with your appointment date and time. Ensure that you carry all the necessary documents with your visa application form.
Download your Schengen visa application form
What documents do I need for my Belgium Schengen visa?
- Valid passport
- Recent and colored passport sized photographs
- US Permanent Residence card
- Flight Itinerary
- Hotel bookings
- Travel Health Insurance
- A copy of your signed Schengen visa application form
- Financial Sustenance proof
- Language preference form (French, Dutch or German)
- Supporting documents (if its a sponsored trip)
- University letter
- A self-addressed prepaid envelope
- A cover letter
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Passport: Make sure to carry your original passport. It should have the validity of at least three months from your Belgium departure day. Also, your passport will need to have at least 2 blank pages.
US Residence Permit: Since you are applying for your Schengen visa, you will be required to provide your valid US Permanent Resident card. Make sure that your permit card has a validity of at least three months from the day of your Belgium departure.
Financial sustenance: You need to provide your credit card and travel card for your financial stability proof.
A US employee will need to provide an employment letter.
In case of a self-employee, then submit the company’s bank statements and registration proof.
Your cover letter should state the purpose of your Belgium visit along with your travel itinerary. In addition to that, state a list of all the important documents that you have submitted at the Washington consulate.
Provide your travel itinerary to gain an instant Belgium Schengen visa approval.
What is flight itinerary? Is it accepted by the Schengen consulate ?
Of course, in fact all the embassies mention the same. We have added links to the official visa pages which you can verify.
France Consulate
Your travel itinerary : you MUST BOOK your airline ticket but do not purchase until the visa has been approved.
We recommend that you do not purchase travel tickets until your visa has been approved. On the other hand, you may provide us with a reservation, a planned itinerary or an online printout of a roundtrip ticket.
Travel reservation to and from schengen area, not a ticket. Note: Make travel reservation which you can cancel
Flight (roundtrip)/travel reservations and full itinerary (if several Schengen States will be visited or if the trip covers several Schengen States and non-Schengen countries) with the name of passenger and one copy
Round trip ticket/reservation, originating in this jurisdiction to Europe (and ultimately to Italy) and back, including internal entry and exit points of travel i.e. EURORAIL tickets, car rental, internal flights. The names on reservations have to reflect the names on passports.
We can provide you with flight itineraries which is accepted by not only for Schengen visa but for all visas. We have customers using the same flight itinerary for Malaysia visa, Singapore visa, India visa, UK visa etc.
In fact the European union visa requirements for visa states the same.
As per the official document,
Round trip reservation or itinerary with dates and flight numbers specifying entry and exit from Schengen state.Schengen authorities accept the itinerary when applying for the visa but request the original air ticket when visa is collected.
That is why we have 100% visa acceptance rate although some of our customer have been requested to provide “additional documents”,none of their visa has been rejected for providing fake documents.
With 80% of our customers being return customers or companies which process visas for their employees/clients, our approach is the best approach if you want to ensure the safety of your visa.
This is our orders screen for this month. Most of the orders have been placed by repeat customers.
The best part about our service is along with getting a flight reservation without payment, you can also get confirmed hotel bookings, personal cover letter, leave/no objection letter for your visa consulates.
Also, don’t forget to provide your Hotel bookings.
Your Travel Health Insurance assists in proving that you will be able to look after yourself in case of medical emergencies.
Provide a letter from your university, if you are a Foreign student.
A retiree will need to provide the last few months of the pension statements.
Do I wait to make my hotel and flight bookings till my Belgium Schengen visa gets approved?
It is advisable that you don’t make any prior flight and hotel bookings till you have a confirmed Belgium Schengen visa approval. With Belgium’s superior visa rejection rates, there’s a possibility that your visa can get rejected. In that case, you will be subjected to cancellation fees.
Instead, visit our website and avail temporary flight and hotel bookings at an affordable price.
What are the visa fees?
On the above image, you are shown that different visa types have different costs. As yours is a tourist visa, you will need a short-stay visa.
But, if you wish to make temporary flight and hotel bookings along with a travel health insurance, then the total cost you need to incur is:
Can I apply for my Belgium Schengen visa via post or mail?
You can only apply for your Belgium Schengen visa through online booking.
What if I’m a minor paying a visit to Belgium?
Well, in that case, you will need a consent letter from both your parents and copies of their original passport.
What if my Belgium trip is sponsored by my relative?
Your relative should be a legal Belgium resident. He/She can avail a financial support form from their local residence office. In addition to that, your relative will need to submit an original statement of family composition, a copy of his/her identity proof, 3 financial statements and a recent tax declaration.
Make sure to provide these documents while you go for your Belgium Schengen visa appointment at the Washington consulate.
How long will it take to process my Belgium Schengen visa?
It will take approximately 15 days for your Belgium Schengen visa to get processed.
What is the validity of my Belgium Schengen visa?
Your Belgium Schengen visa will be granted validation for the number of days stated in your travel itinerary. We advise that you at lead add a couple of extra days to your Belgium trip for a pleasant stay.
The Washington Consulate of Belgium
Address
3330 Garfield Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
United States
Telephone
+1 202 338 49 60
Washington@diplobel.fed.be
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