Belgium visa guideA Belgian family or private visit visa is a Schengen short-stay visa (type C) for staying with relatives or friends in Belgium, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. You fill in the form on VisaOnWeb and lodge the file at VFS Global, which has centres in Chandigarh, Jalandhar and New Delhi, and the Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi decides, normally within 15 calendar days.
Belgium treats your host as a guarantor. If they pay for the trip, they sign the Annex 3bis formal obligation, have it legalised by their municipality, and send you the original with their family composition and income proof. Your side of the file must show the family link and your reasons to return to India.
Do Indians need a visa to visit family in Belgium, and which one?
Yes. Parents visiting a son in Antwerp, a sister going for a niece's wedding in Brussels, or a friend staying a fortnight: each needs a Schengen short-stay visa, type C. Belgium's checklist for this route is called "Visa C for family or private visit", and it covers friends as well as relatives.
The stay can last up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area. Files from North India are decided by the Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi, and some are sent to the Immigration Office in Brussels for the final decision. Belgium calls the person you visit your guarantor. When that person pays for the trip, their side of the file is formal, legalised paperwork from their own municipality in Belgium.
Belgium family visit visa: the essentials
- Visa
- Schengen type C, family or private visit
- Longest stay
- 90 days in any 180-day period
- Host's name in Belgian rulesBelgian citizen or foreign resident
- Guarantor
- If the host paysOriginal, legalised by the host's municipality
- Annex 3bis formal obligation
- Decided by
- Embassy of Belgium, New Delhi
- Apply
- 3 months to 1 month before travel
Embassy of Belgium in India and the Belgian family visit checklist, checked 14 Oct 2026
Two rules matter for long family stays. The visa cannot be prolonged in Belgium, and the purpose cannot be changed afterwards; both need a new application. Ask for the full period you need the first time.
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
At a VFS Global centre. Belgium has them across India, and two are in this region: Chandigarh and Jalandhar, both open Monday to Friday. New Delhi is the third option. Wherever you lodge, a North Indian file goes to the Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi.
Before the appointment, fill in the application on VisaOnWeb, Belgium's online form portal. One account can hold the forms for both parents and any children, which helps when a family applies together. The embassy deletes a form that is not confirmed at a centre within 30 days.
At the centre:
- Fingerprints and photo. Each adult gives ten fingerprints and a live photo, unless their prints were captured for a Schengen visa within the last 59 months.
- Children. VFS says children under 12 need not attend, as they give no fingerprints, but its pages also mention a live photo for every applicant. Take young children along to be safe.
- Fingertips. VFS advises waiting until temporary finger injuries heal, and keeping mehndi off the fingertips, because both get in the way of the scanner.
- Who may come in. Only applicants, plus one parent or caregiver with a child under 18. A son or daughter accompanying parents waits outside.
VFS's Belgium page says slots are released on the first Monday of each month for appointments in the following month, in the North and East zone. You can watch dates on our Belgium appointment availability page.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The common checklist appears lower on this page. Belgium's family checklist divides the rest into two parts: what comes from the guarantor in Belgium and what comes from you.
Host invites, you pay your own way
- Documents that change
- Host's invitation and a copy of their passport, ID card or residence permit; your own three-month bank statement, ITRs and salary slips
Host pays for the whole trip
- Documents that change
- Everything above, plus the original Annex 3bis legalised by the host's municipality with one copy, their family composition, and their recent income proof
Retired parents
- Documents that change
- Pension statements for the last three months, or proof of regular income from property or a business
Salaried visitor
- Documents that change
- Employer letter stating your income and the vacation days allowed
Business owner
- Documents that change
- Proof of entry in the commerce register or partnership, and company registration with the GST number
Student
- Documents that change
- A certificate from the school stating the holidays allowed
Child with one parent, or alone
- Documents that change
- A notary affidavit with the parents' consent, apostilled
Proof of the relationship is a separate checklist item for family visits. For a parent visiting a child, that usually means the child's birth certificate naming the parents; for in-laws, add the marriage certificate that links you. The embassy says Indian civil status documents such as birth and marriage certificates need only one legalisation, an apostille from the Indian authorities, with no further stamp from the embassy.
Friends who are not family skip the relationship proof, but the rest of the host's paperwork applies in the same way.
How much is the Belgium family visit visa fee for Indians?
The visa fee is €90 per adult and €45 per child aged 6 to 11; under 6 there is no visa fee. Paid in rupees at VFS, that came to ₹10,170 for an adult and ₹5,085 for a child on 14 October 2026, plus a VFS service fee of ₹2,825 per application. The embassy's India page still states the service fee as ₹2,750, so carry the higher amount. A couple applying together therefore pays two visa fees and two service fees. The visa fee is not refunded if the visa is refused. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
EU law gives the embassy 15 calendar days to decide, and up to 45 when more checks are needed. VFS's Belgium processing tab still uses the older wording of 15 working days, up to 30 calendar days, and exceptionally 60 calendar days when the file is sent to the Immigration Office in Brussels. For a fixed date such as a wedding or a birth, plan around the longer timeline.
The host's paperwork sets the real start date. The Annex 3bis has to be legalised by their municipality and the family composition issued by it, and the originals then have to reach you in India before your appointment. Ask your host to begin as soon as the dates are agreed.
On your side, Belgium's family checklist says to submit at least one month before travel and no earlier than three months before the visit. VFS mentions six months, but follow the embassy's checklist, which is the stricter rule.
Why do Belgium family visit visas get refused for Indian applicants?
Refusals come on the EU's standard form with numbered reasons. In family files from Punjab, these are the ones that recur.
The host's sponsorship papers are incomplete (reason 3)
Means of subsistence were not proven. If the host is paying, Belgium wants the original Annex 3bis legalised by the municipality, not a scanned copy or a private letter, together with the family composition and the host's recent income proof.
A relationship that is claimed but not shown (reasons 2 and 10)
The purpose of the visit was not justified, or not reliable. A family visit needs proof of the family link. Birth and marriage certificates should carry an apostille, and the names on them should match the passports.
Doubts that parents will return (reason 13)
When the children live abroad, the officer looks harder at what keeps the parents in India. Belgium's checklist asks for family bonds at home, regular income, and land or real estate. Show the house, the land records, the pension and the family members who remain in India.
Too many days already used (reason 5)
The form has a separate reason for applicants who have already stayed 90 days in the current 180-day period. Parents who come back soon after a long visit can run into it. Count the days before choosing travel dates.
Insurance outside the approved list (reason 16)
The policy must come from an insurer on the embassy's approved list for India, cover at least €30,000 in every Schengen state for the whole stay, and be signed by the applicant.
Our Schengen refusal reasons page explains every ground on the form in plain language.
Tips for a stronger file
- Invitation details. Belgium asks the host to give the purpose of the stay, their address, phone number and email address, and the period of the guests' stay. Missing any of these is the most common small gap.
- Host's status. Where the host is paying, the checklist asks for an ID card or residence permit showing a right to reside in Belgium for an unlimited period. If your host's permit is time-limited, ask the embassy in writing before relying on their sponsorship, and put your own funds in the file.
- Your own money. The checklist still asks for your personal bank statement, ITRs or salary slips even when the host pays. For retired parents, pension statements do this job.
- A plan even at a relative's home. Write a short day-by-day outline, including any trips to Paris or Amsterdam, with matching insurance dates.
- Old passports. Earlier trips abroad and back help, and the checklist says so.
- One photo glued on. The checklist asks for a recent colour photograph, 5 × 3 cm, white background, glued to the form.
- Fraud. The embassy writes only from its diplobel.fed.be addresses and never asks for payment into a private Indian account.
What does your host in Belgium have to do?
More than most hosts expect, especially when they pay. Share this list with them early.
Write the invitation
Purpose of the stay, their full address, phone number, email address, and the dates of your stay. Sign and date it.
Sign the formal obligation, if paying
Complete Annex 3bis under article 3bis of the law of 15 December 1980 and have it legalised by the municipality where they live. You need the original plus one copy.
Collect municipal and income papers
A family composition certificate from the same municipality, a copy of their ID card or residence permit, and either their last three salary slips with child benefits or their latest Belgian tax assessment.
Send the originals to India
Courier the legalised originals to you well before the VFS appointment. Copies alone will not do for the Annex 3bis.
Help you register after you arrive
The embassy says every short-stay visitor must declare their presence in Belgium within three days. Since 10 April 2026 this can be done online through the My Address in Belgium form, without a visit to the municipal administration.
Is the visa free if your relative is an EU citizen?
It can be. VFS lists family members of an EU citizen among those exempt from the Belgian short-stay visa fee. Family members here means the spouse, a registered partner, children under 21 or dependent children, and dependent parents, including those of the spouse or partner. The embassy adds that family members of EU citizens who fall under the EU free-movement directive (2004/38) can apply in person at the embassy in New Delhi or the consulate general in Mumbai, after booking an appointment by email and attaching scanned proof of the relationship.
Whether the directive covers you depends on your relative's situation, so write to the embassy before you choose this route. If you do not qualify, the ordinary route on this page applies. For a holiday without a host, see the Belgium tourist visa guide; for everything else, the Belgium country page.
Official sources
- Visa for Belgium if you live in India, Embassy of Belgium
- Visa for Belgium, Embassy of Belgium in India
- Legalisation of documents, Embassy of Belgium in India
- VFS Global Belgium India: short-term visa
- VFS Global Belgium India: what happens at the centre
- VFS Global Belgium India: visa application centres
- Applying for a Schengen visa, European Commission
- Visa Code, consolidated text (EUR-Lex)
