For prospects

Long Stay visa (more than 90 days)

The general rule is that all citizens of third countries must submit an application for initial authorisation to stay in Belgium (visa D). It allows the holder to enter Belgium for a period longer than 90 days and apply for  the Belgian residence permit.
This visa application must be submitted to the Belgian diplomatic or consular post competent for the place where you usually reside abroad.
The list of Belgian embassies and consulates is published on the FPS Foreign Affairs site.

Who needs a Long stay visa type D?

You are accepted at Ghent University as a degree student to undertake full-time higher studies (Bachelor/Master/PhD) or a unique preparatory year (conditions determined by the Immigration Office)

  • You will receive a letter of admission and must apply for the visa type D with code B41 or B43 as Temporary authorisation to stay.
  • With this visa you will be able to apply for a legal stay (upon arrival), valid for the period of one academic year at Ghent University.

You are accepted at Ghent University as Erasmus Mundus Joint Program or Double Degree student AND will start your study program at Ghent University

  • You will receive a letter of admission and must apply for the visa type D with code B35 as a mobility student.
  • With this visa you will be able to apply for a legal stay (upon arrival), valid for the duration of your mobility, or up to 2 years. This will allow you to travel within the Schengen zone (except Ireland and Denmark) to complete your study program.


You are accepted at Ghent University as an exchange student AND you don’t hold a valid EU residence permit based on your studies.

  • You will receive a letter of invitation and must apply for the visa type D with code B7 as an exchange student. 
  • With this visa you will be able to apply for a legal stay (upon arrival), valid for the period of your exchange at Ghent University.

How to apply for the student visa type D

This visa application must be submitted to the Belgian diplomatic or consular post competent for the place where you usually reside abroad.
The list of Belgian embassies and consulates is published on the FPS Foreign Affairs site.
In some countries, a visa application center handles the visa procedures for Belgium, for example VFS Global and TLS
You must apply for the visa type D as soon as you have received your letter of admission or the letter of invitation. Attached to this Letter of Admissio/Invitation, you will find the standard form (model van standaardformulier) which you will need to apply for a visa.

Required documents

Please be aware that the embassy is allowed to request additional documents. Therefore make sure to always check the website of the competent embassy for a comprehensive list and the procedure at hand:

  1. Valid passport: with at least 12 months validity remaining at the moment of your visa application
  2. Admission letter (Model voor standaardformulier + admission letter UGent or letter of invitation will be sent to you by Ghent University after admission) 
  3. Proof of sufficient means of subsistence
  4. Extract from the criminal record
  5. Medical certificate 
  6. Proof of payment (e.g. bank statement) of the contribution fee. 
    For the visa application, UGent is considered a public higher education institution, under Article 60 of the law of 15 December 1980 (formerly article 58  of the law of 15 December 1980).
    Some students can be exempt from the contribution and the visa application fee. More information is available via Exemption for foreign nationals who have received a scholarship granted by a government or an institution listed in article 1/1 of the Royal Decree of 08.10.1981 | IBZ and Visa fees | IBZ.

Proof of health insurance needed?

Providing a proof of health insurance is no obligation for the approval of the visa D. It only becomes compulsory when you apply for your residence permit after your arrival in Belgium.
If you are unable to attach a proof that you will have health insurance - covering all risks in Belgium for the duration of at least 3 months - to your application; your visa D will be authorised to stay in Belgium for four months.  At the latest 15 days before the expiration of this authorisation to stay, you will need to submit proof of having health insurance to the municipal administration for your place of residence.
Thus, the validity of your visa is not linked to the validity of your Belgian residence permit. It is up to you to decide whether you wish to take out health insurance before your arrival in Belgium, or not. 

Visa-on-web application

Most embassies are currently working with the online visa-on-web application, which is a digitalized version of the paper application form (paper version is only still used by a limited number of embassies).


You should create a new electronic visa application form and complete it correctly. The mandatory fields are indicated by an asterisk (*), they all have to be filled out correctly before you can submit your application. You can find additional information about filling out the visa-on-web application here. 


Once the application has been submitted electronically, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with the application form in PDF format in attachment. You must print, date and sign this form and join it to the documents in support of your application.
After completing in the electronic application form, you will be able to make an appointment to lodge your visa application in person. 
The day you lodge your application, you will submit your passport or other recognized travel document, the printed, signed and dated application form and any other supporting documents that are required.

Processing time

The Belgian authorities responsible for processing  applications must make a decision within 90 days of the date on which the Belgian embassy or consulate issued a receipt for the application (annex33ter ) to the student who submitted a complete file.
Students can follow up their visa application online via Follow up a visa application | IBZ.