Travel to Belgium

All information for those wishing to come to Belgium.

Visa for Belgium

All information on applying for a visa to Belgium.
  1. Last updated on

As a general rule, online appointments to apply for a Schengen visa at our VFS Global visa centre are available within a maximum of 15 days. This period increases during the high season, i.e. from June to September: school holidays, conferences and a large number of visa applications from students wishing to continue their studies in Belgium.

As a reminder, you can apply for your visa 6 months before the date of your trip to the Schengen area. In Côte d'Ivoire, Belgium processes Schengen visa applications for the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden. So make an appointment as soon as possible if you are travelling to one of these 5 countries.

Modification of consular jurisdiction


Since 1 July 2021, visa applications for residents of Togo and Benin have to be made in Abidjan, via VFS Global, and will be processed by the Belgian Embassy in Abidjan.

These are all applications for long stay visas (type "D") and some short stay visas type "C", namely: for marriage, legal cohabitation, medical treatment and return visa.
 

Schengen representation


Belgium represents Austria, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Sweden in Abidjan for the issuance of Schengen visas. The admissibility of these visa applications is based on the travel conditions applicable to Belgium which can be found on the following link

Thank you for contacting VFS Global in order to arrange for an appointment and submit your visa application. We request you as well to respect all the measures implemented by VFS Global in the Visa application Centre in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19. 


The website of the Immigration Office is currently being completely renewed and is still under construction. If you notice that a link does not work, please go to the opening page of the website dofi.ibz.be/en. Or consult the page in another language.
 

  1. Where, when and how can you submit your visa application?
  2. How much is the handling fee (cost for processing your visa application)?
  3. Required documents
  4. Information about specific (local) documents
  5. Checking the status of your visa application
  6. Schengen representation for visa
  7. Contact
  8. Information on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

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


WHERE and WHEN?


ATTENTION !!!

Request your visa on time and give us the time to help you. Introduce your visa request at least 4 weeks prior to the desired departure date. In some cases, the processing time might be longer.

For long stay visa, processing can take up to several months. 

Visa applicants must personally come to the Visa Application center to handover their visa application.


Holders of ordinary passports:

For easy and fast processing of your visa application, the application needs to be submitted at the 'Visa Application Centre' (VAC). The address as well as all other information can be found on www.vfsglobal.com/Belgium/Ivorycoast/

Family members of EU citizens covered by Directive 2004/38 can apply directly to the Visa Section of the Embassy ONLY BY APPOINTMENT to be made by e-mail at the following address abidjan.visa@diplobel.fed.be


Holders of official passports and students with a scholarship:

Diplomatic and official passport holders, as well as students with a scholarship, can apply directly at the Embassy, on working Mondays to Thursday, from 8h00 to 11h00, without appointment.

For diplomatic and official passport holders: prior to your visit to the Embassy, please fill in the Schengen Application Form (PDF, 148.78 KB)

For students with a Belgian government scholarship: prior to your visit to the Embassy, please make an appointment at abidjan.visa@diplobel.fed.be and fill in the application form for a visa for a long stay for Belgium (PDF, 267.14 KB)


Processing time of a visa application:


For all information, please visit the website of the Immigration Office

Attention:

The websites of the Embassy and the Belgian Immigration Office are the only official sources of information regarding Belgian visa matters. Apart from the VFS site,  do not rely therefore on anybody or any website that may offer you their services in this regard.


2. How much is the handling fee (cost for processing your visa application)?


The handling fee has to be paid in cash, in FCFA (XOF), at the bank teller counter at the Visa Application Center (VAC). 

The handling fee for a short term visa stay (C) is:  

  • For adults and children aged 12 and more : 52.800 FCFA ( = 80 EUR)
  • Children from 6 to 12 years old : 23.100 FCFA ( = 40 EUR).
  • Free for children under 6 years old.

For a long term visa stay (D) the handling fee is 118.800 FCFA ( = 180 EUR).

An additional contribution is required for the processing of certain (D) visa applications, in which case you will be requested to submit proof of payment of this additional contribution as part of your visa application. If you are unable to do so at the time of the submission of your application, the application will  be considered inadmissible.

Please note that the handling fee is to be paid at the time of application. In case the applicant is exempt from paying the handling fee, he or she is not automatically exempted from paying the additional contribution.

There are certain exceptions to the standard fee of 80 EUR for a C visa and 180 EUR for a D visa. You can find all relevant information on this regard on the website of the Immigration Office

If an external service provider submits the application (VAC), a service fee must be paid to the Visa Application Center. Persons that are exempted from the handling fee are not exempted from paying this service fee.

For more information on the service fee, please check www.vfsglobal.com/Belgium/Ivorycoast/. The VAC also offer some optional additional services like sms and courier services.

  
3. Required documents


You can download the visa application form and find all conditions and requirements for a visa application on the FPS Home Affairs Immigration Office website, the only competent Belgian authority for the admittance, stay, residence and removal of foreigners.

You will also find the application form and the lists of required documents specific for Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone on the VAC’s website: www.vfsglobal.com/Belgium/Ivorycoast/


Biometry – Visa Information System (VIS)


All short stay  (Schengen) visa applicants must appear in person, except for children younger than 12,  to have all 10 fingerprints taken and their photograph registered. These data are stored for 5 years in the VIS. The fingerprint registration procedure only takes a few minutes and identifies you with certainty as the sole licensee of the visa. It protects you against falsification or abuse of your identity (for instance, if your passport is stolen) and optimizes the border crossing. For more extensive information, we refer you to the European Union website

From 1/12/2018 on, long stay (national) visa applicants, except for children younger than 6, will have to appear in person to have their 10 fingerprints taken and their photograph registered. These data are stored for 10 years. Holders of official or service passport accredited or affected to a diplomatic or consular mission in Belgium, or working for an international organization based or represented in Belgium, as well as their family members, are exempted of having their fingerprints taken. For all relevant information on that topic, visit the website of the Immigration office

  
4. Information about specific (local) documents


Medical certificate for Long Stay Visa and for Short Stay Visa for medical treatment in Belgium:

You can get a medical certificate through one of the doctors certified by the Embassy:


Ivory Coast

  • Cabinet de Rhumatologie « HOURYA » 
    Docteur TRAORE Adama D.
    Résidence Latrille, Sicogi - II Plateaux 
    Bloc B - Bâtiment I - Appt 100 1er étage 
    Abidjan – Côte d’Ivoire 
    Tel.:+225 07 37 55 46 / +225 22 42 08 60 
    E-mail: dagatraore@yahoo.fr
     
  • Cabinet médical « UNION » 
    Docteur KOUADIO A. Lucile 
    Docteur KOUADIO A. Simplice 
    Immeuble «Union» - 1er étage face à l’Immeuble « Le Paris », 
    25, avenue Chardy - Plateau 
    Abidjan – Côte d’Ivoire 
    Monday through Friday, from 08h00 to 12h00 and 15h00 to 17h30 
    Saturday: 08h00 to 12h00 
    Tel.: +225 20 22 53 00 / +225 07 89 70 99 / +225 22 44 51 32 
    E-mail: sagesmedical7@yahoo.fr


Ghana

  • Akai House Clinic 
    Dr. Adrian ODDOYE 
    Near the US Embassy 
    Accra - Ghana 
    Tel.: +233 0302 784772 / +233 0302 784773 / +233 0302 784774 
    Fax : +233 0302 784775 
     
  • International Organization for Migration 
    Migration Health Assessment Centre (MHAC)
    17 Ridge Road, Roman Ridge 
    Accra - Ghana 
    Tel.: +233 0307 012051 / +233 037 012053 / +233 037 012054 
    E-mail: accramhdtechnical@iom.int


Liberia


Sierra Leone

  • Dr. Patrick E. COKER 
    47A Percival Street , Freetown – Sierra Leone 
    Tel N°: +232 (0)25 579368 - land 
    Tel N°: +232 (0)77 579368 - mobile 
    E-mail: patcoker2004@yahoo.co.uk - Hours: 07:00am to 12 Noon.


Benin

  • Cabinet Apithy : Dr Anne APITHY - (229) 99 29 30 30 / (229) 97 91 37 99
    Rue Caporal Anani - Camp Guézo - Cotonou
    E-mail : cmabenin@gmail.com 
     
  • Cabinet de la Haie-Vive : Dr Azzaz NOUARA  - (229) 61 03 60 60
     
  • Cabinet médical Missigbe : Dr Lise ADJAHI - (229) 60 01 72 72 


Togo

  • Clinique de Cocotiers

    Dr. Comlanvi Rudy S. TRENOU
    –31, Rue des Cocotiers
    Lomé Tel : (228) 22 21 08 74, (228) 90 04 48 98
    E-mail : nclinco@yahoo.fr


DNA Test


Blood samples for DNA tests in the framework of family reunions are taken on Fridays ONLY on appointment. Candidates must present themselves at the Belgian Embassy in Abidjan at 9.30 am. Prior to the blood test, the parent residing in Belgium must have settled the costs of the DNA analysis at the Immigration Office and this Office must have given its approval and sent it to the parent residing in Belgium.

Please bring the following with you for such a process :

  • The passport of the person going through the test
  • An ID picture of this person
  • 15.000 F CFA (cost of the blood sample taking).

Before showing up at the Embassy, check the Bank Holidays List.

  
5. Checking the status of your visa application  


Belgian Embassies and Consulate-Generals must submit certain visa applications to the Immigration Office of the Federal Public Service Home Affairs for a final decision. It is the only competent authority with regards to the admittance, stay, residence and removal of foreigners from Belgian territory.

In that case, in order to be able to trace your file, kindly note that in the course of the procedure, a new number is given to your visa application. You can find that number as follows:

The reference number of your visa application is now visible on your online application on Visa-On-Web (where you filled out the form). On top of that form, under ‘General information’, go to ‘Visa application number’. There you will find a number that is composed as such: BELXXXX (= function code) + 0 ... 0 (a number of zero’s) + 5 or 6 digits that form the official visa file number. For instance, for the number "BEL0097000000000000000000000000080927", the visa file number is "80927".

As soon as the Embassy of Belgium submits your file to the Immigration Office in Brussels, you can trace it with that visa file number on the following website. From this stage onwards, the Immigration Office is the only authority to contact, if you wish to know the status of your application.

With the file number you can inquire about the status of your application at the Immigration Office - Boulevard Pacheco 44, 1000 Brussels, T: +32.2.488.80.00 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday from 9 to 12 am, Thursday from 2 to 4 pm), email: infodesk@ibz.fgov.be

Once a decision has been taken, the Belgian Embassy in Abidjan or the VAC will inform you personally.

Attention 
Take note that the Embassy will NOT answer your query if it concerns information already available on this website or the site of the Immigration Office

  
6. Schengen representation


In Abidjan, the Embassy of Belgium represents Luxembourg for the handling of Short (maximum 90 days) and Long (longer than 90 days) Stay Visa applications for applicants residing in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Bénin and Togo.

Belgium also represents The Netherlands, Sweden and Austria for Short Stay visa applicants residing in Ivory Coast. The process is the same as for visa applications for Belgium.


Long Stay (more than 90 days) Visa for Luxembourg:

The application for long stay visa for Luxembourg has to be submitted to Luxembourg (see the website guichet.public.lu/en/citoyens/immigration/plus-3-mois.html)

Follow the procedure explained on the VAC website, only once you have obtained the authorization for your stay in Luxembourg.   
 

Residents in Ghana:


You must request your Short Stay Visa (maximum 90 days) or your Transit Visa for Belgium at the Embassy of Switzerland in Accra. The procedure is described on the following page.

All other applications (including the ones for Luxembourg) must be submitted in Abidjan, at the Visa Application Center. Please follow the procedure described under 1 Where, when and how can you submit your visa application?

  
Residents in Liberia and Sierra Leone:


All visa applications for Belgium and Luxembourg from residents in Liberia and Sierra Leone must be submitted in Abidjan, at the Visa Application Center. Please follow the procedure described under under 1 Where, when and how can you submit your visa application?


Residents in Benin and Togo:


You must request your Short Stay Visa (except for certain types of visas like visas to get married, visa for legal cohabitation, return visas or visa for medical treatment) for Belgium at the Embassy of France in Cotonou or in Lomé. The procedure is described on the following pages:

Students with a scholarship from the Belgian Government (DGD) can continue to submit their visa applications both at the Embassy of Belgium in Cotonou for Benin and our Honorary Consulate in Lomé for Togo.

  
7. Contact


Should you still have questions, please contact us exclusively via abidjan.visa@diplobel.fed.be and always give us the following information in your E-mails:

  • Number of your file (if known)
  • Name and First name(s) (as in your passport)
  • Date of Birth
  • Passport Number
  • Nationality
  • Motive of Stay
  • Country of Destination
  • Cell Phone Number

Attention 
The Embassy can only answer your questions if their answers are not already provided on this site or on the site of the Immigration Office
 

8. Information on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)