How to Apply for a Belgium Schengen Visa from Australia in 5 Easy Steps – A Complete Guide

Of all the 26 Schengen countries, Belgium is one that is not to be missed. With pretty villages, exciting towns and interesting attractions, you won’t spend any time thinking about what to do and see! In this article, learn more about how to apply for a Belgium visa at the Royal Belgian Embassy in Canberra, Australia, Belgium visa appointment booking, processing time at the Belgium visa application centre, flight itinerary for Belgium visa, hotel bookings for a Belgium visa, Schengen travel insurance for a Belgium visa application, and Belgium visa application process at the Canberra embassy.

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grand-Place,_Brussels_-_panorama,_June_2018.jpg. Author – Celuici

Belgium Schengen Visas

In 2018, there were a total of 219,827 Schengen visa applications for Belgium received by embassies and consulates around the world and out of this amount, 36,906 were rejected. The Royal Belgian Embassy in Canberra received 260 applications and rejected 7.

Applying for a Schengen Visa from Australia         

Depending on where you are from, you may or may not need to apply for a visa to be able to enter and stay in Belgium. Generally, if you are from Australia you do NOT need a visa. However, if you are living in Australia, but you were not born there, you DO need to apply for a visa. If you can prove that you have a legal right to stay, you can apply from within Australia. If you can’t do this, you need to apply from your home country.

There is only 1 visa office that deals with visa applications for Belgium in Australia. You may submit your visa application to The Royal Belgian Embassy in Canberra.

Types of Schengen visas offered at The Belgian Embassy in Canberra

There are different types of visas available and the one you apply for will depend on why you are going to Belgium and how long you plan to stay there. You may apply for either:

1. Schengen visa – type C: If you are travelling for tourism, business, visiting family or friends for up to 90 days in a 180-day period
2. Airport Transit visa – type A is required when you are connecting through a Schengen country airport and not leaving the airport
3. National visa – type D if you intend to stay in Belgium for more than 90 days but less than 180 days for tourism, business trip, conference, study or employment. Other reasons for a long-stay visa could be as an exchange student, a researcher, for an internship or family reunion etc. See the embassy’s website for more information
   

How Can I Apply for a Schengen Visa from the Royal Belgian Embassy in Canberra?

You must apply for your Schengen visa for Belgium at least 2 months before you fly. Applications are processed in 14 days or more, but it’s best not to leave it until the last minute to apply. There is no rush processing available. You are able to apply up to 3 months before your trip.

Here are 5 easy steps to follow to help you apply for your visa:

Step 1: How to complete your application?

You can find the application form by going to the embassy’s website and clicking on: “Visa for Belgium”:

On the next page, click on: “Schengen Visa – Short-stay”:

Scroll down to “Other Documentation” and you’ll see the link for the application form”

You can then open it in Word and save it to your computer. You’ll need to print it to complete it.

Step 2: How to make an appointment?

There is no appointment booking system at The Royal Belgian Embassy in Canberra. Instead, you will follow these steps:

1. Send your application including your passport and payment to the Embassy (see the address below)
2. After verification of your application, they will contact you to request further documents and/or that you phone them to make an appointment for your personal appearance for the biometric data collection at the Embassy in Canberra.

Step 3: Prepare your documents

If you look on the embassy’s website, you will find a list of documents that you need to prepare for your visa application together with a checklist to help you make sure you have gathered everything together before your appointment.

You should also prepare photocopies as well as providing the original documents, so don’t forget to do that too!

Documents include:

1. A passport or official travel document issued within the last 10 years valid for at least three months. Please make sure your passport has at least 2 double spare pages
2. Visa application form
3. Passport photograph
4. Signed language form (can be found on the embassy’s website)
5. Proof of Schengen travel insurance – covering the cost of repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical treatment and/or urgent hospitalisation or costs incurred in the event of your death while in the Schengen area. The insurance must be valid throughout all of the Schengen countries and must cover the whole duration of your stay. The minimum cover of the insurance is EUR 30,000 (about AUD 60.000)
6. Reservation of return or round trip flight tickets including confirmation of the booking of an organised trip including a detailed itinerary
7. Proof of financial means such as the last 3 bank statements
8. Proof of residence
9. Proof of visa status – VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online)
10. Proof of sponsorship and/or private accommodation (such as invitation from host)
11. If married or in a partnership, provide a marriage certificate or registered partnership agreement
12. A document from the establishment providing the accommodation or any other appropriate document indicating the accommodation envisaged such as a hotel reservation
13. For business, conference, cultural, religious or political event – an invitation letter including address and contacts of the inviting entity etc
14. Documents proving your employment status in the company (for example, contract, proof of social security contributions
15. Certificate from a medical doctor and/or a medical institution advising any medical treatment etc

If you’re planning to obtain your flight reservation for visa without paying for the ticket, all you have to do is follow the 3 simple steps below:

1. Visit the Visa Reservation website to choose the right package
2.  Submit the travel details and make the payment online
3. Receive flight itinerary in email

Step 4: A guide to your visa appointment

If the embassy calls you to an interview, it’s a good idea to arrive a little before your allotted time. If you are late, you will have to go back another day. If they request any further documents, be mindful about what you are being asked to provide to save time and also to prevent your application from being rejected. Lastly, don’t turn up in shorts and a t-shirt – it really helps to dress smartly.

You may be asked questions about your application. If this happens, simply answer them truthfully.

Typical questions include:

1. What is your job?
2. Where do you live?
3. How much do you earn?
4. Why do you need this visa now?
5. What are you planning on doing in Belgium or the EU?

Don’t jeopardize your Schengen visa interview at the last minute. Use this comprehensive and thorough visa interview guide to crack the visa interview!

You can pay the fee by credit or debit card, cash, money order or bank draft payable to the Royal Belgian Embassy. Personal cheques are not accepted. The fee won’t be refunded even if your visa application is refused.

If this is your first time applying for a Schengen visa, you will have to provide biometric data which is a photograph and a scan of your fingerprints.

Step 5: Receive your visa

Once your application has been processed and a decision has been reached the embassy will return your passport to you via mail. You need to provide a return envelope which is large enough to contain all documents, otherwise, you will be charged an additional postage fee of AUD 7.00.

The decision will be either:

1. Approved – your visa will be inside your passport
2. Rejected – this would have been for a specific reason and you can appeal the decision

Common rejection reasons include:

1. No proof that you can afford this trip – you must provide proof that you can afford this trip and you must provide documents such as bank statements
2. You already have a valid Schengen visa – if you have applied for a Schengen visa before, it may still be valid, so check before applying for a new one
3. Dates on different documents do not match – you must make sure that all the dates on all your documents match, so check this before submitting your application to the embassy
4. No invitation letter – if you are being invited to Belgium by a person or a company, you must provide an invitation letter

Ways to contact The Royal Belgian Embassy in Canberra:

Address: 19, Arkana Street Yarralumla, ACT 2600 Canberra, Australia

Tel: +61 2 627 325 01
Tel: +61 2 627 325 02
Tel: +61 408 862 753 – Emergency number outside opening hours

Email Address: canberra@diplobel.fed.be

Please note, the visa section does not answer questions by telephone.

Opening hours: Monday – Thursday 09.00 -12.30 and 13.00 – 16.00; Friday 09.00 – 12.30 and  13.00 – 15.00

Conclusion

To apply for a Schengen visa for Belgium in Australia, follow these simple steps:

1. Complete your application
2. Send your application and wait for the embassy to contact you to make an appointment
3. Prepare your documents
4. Attend your appointment
5. Receive your visa

Hopefully, by now you will have received your Belgium visa and you’ll be there soon!

At Visa Reservation, we strive to simplify the visa process by providing free visa consultations, cover letter templates and no objection letter templates for our clients from US, UK, Canada, Philippines, India, China, UAE, Europe, Nigeria and globally. We also offer flight itinerary for visa, travel medical insurance, hotel reservations for visa , Book Visa Appointment, Travel Guides, Visa Interview Guides and many more. To learn more about how we can help you with our visa services, please feel free to contact us today.

See Also

How to Apply for Schengen Visa from Australia

How to Apply for Austria Schengen Visa from Australia