Embassy and Consulates of Belgium in Egypt

In Belgium

You have received your visa. You are welcome in the Schengen countries / in Belgium. We hope you will have a pleasant and profitable stay.

Before to leave, we would like to give you our last recommendations and information:

In any case, this visa does not give you, however, an absolute guarantee that you will be allowed to enter the territory of these States.

The authorities involved in border control will check in particular:

  • if you are in possession of a valid document authorising you to cross the border and if this document is accompanied by the requisite visa;
  • if you have not exceeded the maximum duration of authorised stay in the territory of the Schengen States, i.e. three months per six-month period (the six-month period must be calculated from the date of the first entry);
  • your point of departure and your destination as well as the purpose of the stay and if necessary, the corresponding supporting documents.

Therefore, please keep the following documents to hand for each presentation at border crossing points:

  • your travel document bearing a valid visa;
  • the documentation justifying the purpose and conditions of your stay in the territory of the Schengen States (letter of invitation, hotel reservation, staying with a host);
  • the documents justifying sufficient means of subsistence for the duration and the purpose of the intended stay (cash, travellers' cheques, credit cards, declarations of sponsorship).

Entry to the territories of the Schengen States shall be refused:

  • if you are not in possession of a valid travel document;
  • if you have no valid visa;
  • if you cannot produce the documents justifying the purpose and conditions of your stay;
  • if you cannot produce the documents justifying that you have sufficient means of subsistence in relation to the duration and form of intended stay;
  • if you have already stayed three months during a six-month period on the territory of the Schengen States.

Visa type C:

1. Please note that, for example, if you have received a visa type C valid between 1st January and 31st of March, with multiple entries and 30 days of duration of stay, you can come in and out of the Schengen territory as often as you want, between 1st of January and 31st of March, but thetotal duration of stay can not exceed 30 days. In other words, it does not mean that you can stay twice (or more) for 30 days.

2. In any case, during your stay in Belgium, on top of your visa, you need to be in possession of a declaration of arrival issued by the local authority. Therefore, you must present yourself to the local authority (city hall) of the place you intend to reside within three days of arrival. If you stay in a hotel, the hotel register replaces the declaration of arrival.

3. If you are in Belgium for business, training, please be aware that you might have to apply for the “Limosa” declaration before to start to work. The mandatory Limosa declaration applies to all employees and trainees who come to work in Belgium temporarily or partially and who, in principle, are not subject to the Belgian social security. The mandatory Limosa declaration is also applicable to all self-employed persons and self-employed trainees who come to work in Belgium either temporarily or partially, irrespective of whether they are subject to Belgian social security.

You may be exempted from the Limosa mandatory declaration in certain circumstances or for certain activities. The following link will bring you to all the necessary information.

You can apply on line for the declaration on this website: www.limosa.be.

The Embassy of Belgium can not be held responsible towards yourself nor the inviting Belgian company if your activities do not comply with Belgian work regulations.

Visa type D:

1. As you can observe, you have received a visa of three months of validity, even if you plan to stay longer. Within eight days of arrival in Belgium, you must present yourself at the city hall for registration. This authority will issue a first temporary identity card. Be aware that this temporary identity card doesn’t allow you to return in the Schengen territory. If you have to leave the Schengen territory, you will need a new Schengen visa to come back, except if you are in the validity’s period of you multiple entry visa. After a period of time (might be different between two cities), you will be invited to collect your residence permit, which will allow you (also) to come back in the Schengen territory without other visa.

2. As each municipality may have its own specific requirement, it is advisable to check what these are before going to the city hall. The following documents should normally be produced:

  • Your passport bearing the type D visa.
  • Several passport-size photographs.
  • The original birth and marriage certificates legalized by the local authorities and the Belgian Embassy. This is why we strongly recommend you to proceed with the issuance and legalization of these documents, together with your visa procedure, even if, in some cases, they are not formally required for the visa application. By doing so, you will win a lot of time and energy and spare many difficulties.
  • A copy of your certificate of absence of criminal record.
  • Your work permit or professional card, if this is the purpose of your stay.