Travel to Belgium

• Where, when and how can you submit your visa application?
• What is the handling fee? / What is the service fee?
• What documents do you need to provide?
• How to follow your file?
• Schengen representation
• Medical certificate and acredited doctors
• Important information
• Contact

Where, when and how can you submit your visa application?

Submit your visa application to our service provider (TLScontact) between the 180^th (= 6 months) and the 15^th day before the intended date of travel (n.b.: for seamen on duty, up to 9 months in advance).

You will find all the necessary information on the procedure for your visa application on the website of our service provider

Holders of diplomatic or service passports as well as family members of EU-citizens meeting the requirements of Directive 2004/38 (only for C visa) can submit their visa applications at the Embassy of Belgium after:

1. filling out the visa application form on the website Visa On Web
2. taking an appointment by email beirut.visa@diplobel.fed.be
    

Admissibility of a Schengen visa application (= short stay = type C)

An application is admissible when the following formal admissibility criteria are fulfilled:

1. The application is lodged at least 15 calendar days before the intended visit (please note that an application can already be lodged 6 months before the intended visit);
2. 1 filled in and signed visa application form;
3. Valid travel document (the document has to be valid at least 3 months after you plan to leave the Schengen territory);
4. 1 photograph;
5. Paid visa fees for the handling of your application;
6. The biometric data (fingerprints) have been collected (n.b.: the fingerprints have to be collected every 59 months starting from the date of their first collection).
    

Admissibility of a long stay visa application (= national visa = type D)

1. 1 filled in and signed visa application form;
2. Valid travel document (the document has to be valid at least 3 months after you plan to leave the Schengen territory);
3. 1 photograph;
4. Paid visa fee for the handling of your application;
5. Proof of payment of the "redevance"
    

Supporting documents

Concerning the supporting documents for each type of visa, please consult the information sheets for each type of visa on the website of the Embassy (see point 3 below) or on the website of TLScontact

Please pay attention to the documents to be provided. Submission of an incomplete file may be interpreted as a lack of interest on the part of the applicant and may result in the refusal to issue the requested visa.

Please note that the submission of a complete file does not guarantee the issuance of the requested visa.
 

Short stay visa - At which post / service provider of a Schengen member state should you submit your application?

In accordance with the European Visa Code, the Schengen Member State competent for examining and deciding on a visa application is

a) the Member State whose territory constitutes the sole destination of the visit(s);

b) if the visit includes more than one destination intra-Schengen, the Schengen Member State whose territory constitutes the main destination of the journey in terms of length of stay, or purpose of stay; or

c) if the main destination cannot be determined, the Schengen Member State whose external border the applicant intends to cross in order to enter the territory of the Schengen Member States.
 

Short stay visa (!IMPORTANT INFORMATION!) - Prior consultation for nationals of certain countries:

Some Schengen Member States require that they be consulted on visa applications submitted to other Schengen Member States by nationals of certain countries, prior to the issuance of a visa. This consultation can take up to 7 calendar days, which is why it is important for the people concerned to respect the 15-day deadline for submitting their application, as mentioned above.

For the time being, this mandatory prior consultation concerns the nationals of the countries listed. Syrian and Lebanese nationals are included in this list.
 

Processing time

The minimum time required to obtain a visa is 15 working days.
 

Travel insurance

This insurance policy is mandatory (minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros for possible repatriation for medical reasons, emergency medical care and/or emergency hospital care or following a death) and must cover both the entire stay and the entire Schengen territory to be adequate and valid (even if you will only travel to one or a few Schengen Member states).

N.b.: In case of a multiple-entry visa, the insurance taken out may only be valid for the first trip, but for each subsequent trip, the visa holder must be able to present an insurance policy covering each new trip at the border crossing.
 

What is the handling fee? / What is the service fee?  

Both will be collected by the service provider (TLS) at the time of the visa application.

The service fee is collected by TLS to cover the reception and follow-up of the visa application. This service fee can never exceed 40€.

The handling fee is charged on behalf of the Embassy and covers the administrative processing of the visa application.

For a short stay visa (type C), the handling fee is: 80€
Children: 6 to less than 12 years old: 40€
Children: 0 to less than 6 years old: free
EU family members: free
Diplomatic or service passport holders: free of charge (if reciprocity is assured)
For a long stay visa (D), the handling fee is 180€.

The handling fee is always paid in US dollars (see website TLScontact) and is not refundable (unless the application has been declared inadmissible by the embassy or in case the embassy does not consider itself competent to handle the application).

An additional contribution is required for the processing of certain D visa applications (long stay). In this case, you will be requested to submit a proof of payment of this additional contribution as part of your visa application. If you do not provide proof of payment of that contribution at the time of submission of your application, it will be considered inadmissible.

Please note that the handling fee must be paid at the time of application. The fact that an applicant is exempted from paying the handling fee does not mean that he/she is automatically exempted from paying the additional contribution. You will find more information on this subject on the website of Home Office

What documents do you need to provide?

Short stay visa (90 days maximum) (= Schengen visa - type "C")

The following visa categories are distinguished:

For more information and details concerning visas (different types of visas, documents to be produced, conditions, exceptions, processing times, etc.), please consult the website of the Federal Public Service Interior – Immigration Office: www.dofi.ibz.be

  
Biometry – Visa Information System (VIS)

All Schengen visa applicants must appear in person, except for children younger than 12 years old, to have their 10 fingerprints and their photograph registered. Persons for whom fingerprinting is physically impossible are exempted (but if fewer than 10 fingerprints can be collected, the corresponding fingerprints will still be taken). These data will be stored for five years in the VIS. The fingerprint registration procedure, which takes only a few minutes, allows you to be identified with certainty as the sole visa holder. It protects you from identity forgery or abuse (e.g., if your passport is stolen) and optimizes the border crossing. For more extensive information, please consult the website of the European Union on the matter.

• Family Reunion

See Immigration Office

Please note: As of 01-12-2018, fingerprints (10 fingers) of all D visa applicants aged 6 years or older will be required. Persons for whom fingerprinting is physically impossible are exempted (but if it is possible to collect less than 10 fingerprints, the corresponding fingerprints will still be taken). The same applies to diplomatic and consular personnel coming for their posting. This concerns visas for holders of diplomatic or service passports who are accredited or assigned to a diplomatic or consular mission in Belgium or who work for an international organization with headquarters or a representation in Belgium, as well as for their family members (spouse and dependent children).

Legalization of civil status documents in the context of a long-stay visa application: you must submit your documents to be legalized by the Belgian Embassy (and already legalized by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to TLS at the same time as your visa application. It is not necessary to make a specific legalization appointment and the service fee (5€/document) will not be charged, if submitted at the same time, in the context of a long-stay visa application. 
 

How to follow your file?

Belgian embassies and consulates general must submit certain visa applications for decision to the Immigration Office of the Federal Public Service Home Affairs, which is the sole competent authority in matters of access, stay, residence and removal of foreigners from the Belgian territory.

In case your file has been submitted to the Immigration Office, you can check its status with your file number - see Ou en est ma demande de visa or by e-mail: infodesk@ibz.fgov.be

You will be informed of the decision concerning your visa application via TLS. An email will be sent to the address provided in your visa application. Please check your spam or junk mail folder to make sure that you have not received an email.

Schengen representation

In Beirut, Luxemburg (Schengen Member State) is represented by the Embassy of Belgium (for short and long stay visas).

Medical certificate and accredited doctors

American University Hospital (Beirut):

• Dr Joumana ANTOUN
• Dr Umayya MUSHARRAFIEH
• Dr Basem SAAB
• Dr Maya ROUMANI

Hôtel Dieu de France (Beirut): Dr Antoine ZOGHBI

Hôpital ND Maritime (Jbeil): Dr Béatrice LE BON CHAMI

Important information

• Syrian applicants: The Consulate General of Belgium in Beirut is competent for Syria. Syrian applicants can apply for all types of visas in Beirut (via TLS).
• Use of languages: Only documents written in Dutch, French, German or English are accepted.
• The decision on an admissible application is taken within a minimum of 15 calendar days from the date of its submission. In specific cases, that period may be extended up to a maximum of 45 calendar days. In justified individual cases of urgency, the decision is taken without any delay.
• Negative decisions on visa applications are notified to the applicant in law and in fact (see the procedure to appeal on the visa refusal form). The decisions of refusal are only taken by the Immigration Office in Brussels.
• Upon request, in compliance with the European Visa Code, certain Schengen Member States must be informed a posteriori about visas issued to nationals of certain third countries, which are enumerated on the following list: Annex 17 (except in the case of an airport transit visa).
• Mere possession of a visa does not confer an automatic right of entry. Holders of a visa are obliged to present evidence at the external borders that they fulfil the entry requirements in accordance with Article 5 of the Schengen Borders Code.
• All complaints (regarding the visa application procedure or the behavior of the post / TLS staff) can be sent to beirut.visa@diplobel.fed.be

Contact

For questions about submitting your visa application and supporting documents: TLScontact or +9611977031.

For information regarding your ongoing visa application you can also consult TLScontact - see their contacts on the TLScontact website.

Should you still have questions not answered on this website, please feel free to contact us via e-mail beirut.visa@diplobel.fed.be

Information on ongoing visa applications will only be given if you provide your file number and passport number.