Belgium Tourist Visa

Brussels for work, Antwerp for diamonds, Bruges for the weekend

Belgium draws a different kind of Indian visitor. Fewer honeymooners, more people with a reason: a meeting at an EU institution in Brussels, a buying trip to the Antwerp diamond district, a trade show, a supplier visit, or a family from Surat or Mumbai visiting relatives in the diamond trade. Tourists come too, for Bruges canals and Belgian chocolate. All of them need the same document: a Schengen short-stay visa lodged with Belgium.

Below is how it works, said simply, and where Belgian files from India tend to break.

The visa in one paragraph

It is a type C Schengen visa. It allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and that limit is shared across every Schengen country. You apply to Belgium if Belgium is where you will spend most of your nights. If you will split time equally with, say, the Netherlands, you apply to whichever country you enter first. Business travellers often move between Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris on one trip. We map the nights before deciding where the file goes.

Fees, dates and centres

An adult pays €90. A child aged 6 to 11 pays €45. Under 6 is free. Add the VFS service charge in rupees. Our fee calculator gives you the total.

Apply up to six months before travel and at least 15 days before. The consulate normally answers within 15 calendar days, but the law allows up to 45 days. For a business trip with a fixed meeting date, we build the timeline backwards from that date and leave room for the longer period.

Belgium's VFS Global centres are in Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. From Punjab, New Delhi is the practical choice. See what dates are open on our Belgium appointment tracker. We do not print dates on this page because they change by the hour.

Documents, in plain words

Every Belgian visitor file needs:

• A passport with at least three months validity after your exit date and two blank pages.
• The Schengen form, completed and signed.
• Photos of the correct size.
• Return flight reservation.
• Accommodation for each night: hotel bookings, or a host's letter with a copy of their Belgian ID.
• Travel medical insurance of at least €30,000 covering all Schengen states.
• Bank statements for six months, plus income proof.
• Ties to India: employment letter with leave approval, business registration, property, family.

For business visitors, two more papers carry the file:

• An invitation letter from the Belgian company. It should name you, give the purpose and dates, and say who pays for travel and stay.
• A letter from your Indian employer or your own company. It should confirm your position, that you are going on company business, and that you will return to your job.

We prepare the complete file, including drafting both letters with you. You attend the centre once for biometrics (fingerprints and a photo).

Where files from India go wrong for Belgium

Diamond-trade files that show trade but not the traveller. A company's turnover is not the same as an individual's means. The officer needs to see your personal bank account and your role in the firm, not only the company ledger.

Invitation letters that do not say who pays. "We invite Mr. X to visit our office" is not enough. If the Belgian side pays for the hotel, the letter must say so, and then their proof replaces yours for that part.

EU-institution visits without the meeting confirmation. If you are attending a conference or a meeting in Brussels, attach the registration or the invitation from the organiser.

Multi-city Europe trips filed with Belgium because Brussels was the first flight. If most nights are in Paris, France is the right country.

Frequent past travel with no explanation for a fresh application. If you have held Schengen visas before, include copies. They help. If an old visa was refused, say so on the form. Hiding it is worse than the refusal itself.

If Belgium refused you

The refusal sheet lists 16 numbered grounds and the officer marks the ones that apply. We explain each ground simply on our Schengen refusal reasons page.

Belgium allows an appeal to the Council for Alien Law Litigation within 30 days. That route is formal and takes time. For most visitor cases, a new application that answers the ticked ground directly is faster. We review your refused file and the sheet, and we tell you plainly which path we would take if it were our own file. Then we build the new file around that ground.

Talk to us

A call with us settles whether Belgium is the right country for your route, what the Belgian company's letter must contain, how to present a business owner's income and a company's income separately, and which centre and date match your meeting.

Lifeset Overseas is licensed by the Punjab government (Licence No. 849/DC/PTA/PLA/LC-3/2024). Call or WhatsApp +91 91155 80911, Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 7 PM. Send us your invitation letter and we will tell you if it will hold up.