Family reunion - Dependent Visa for spouse

It can be a problem when your spouse's visa application is processed, if they verify the documents internally between departments (which they do).

You will have time to update the address in RP once you come back (assuming your spouse's visa application will take some time to be processed by the ministry here). As soon as you are here after vacation, visit the commune and update your address.

Hi Aneesh,

I am currently in India(Pune). I have received my work permit today.
I have all my documents and my wife's documents ready except rent agreement.

My employer does not provide accommodation or initial accommodation.
Can I book a temporary stay (eg. Airbpb) and show that as an accommodation proof.

The other important question I have :
I am going to apply long-term visa for my wife along with me.

What would be the main purpose of the journey while selecting in online application form:
I am guessing,
For me : Paid Work
For my wife : Family reunion spouse worker art10 bis 2.

Also, what would be the duration of stay? I have an indefinite employment contract.

Many Thanks
Pari

Yes Airbnb booking confirmation is enough as initial stay. Do mention in the cover letter that this is your initial stay  and you will find a permanent one once you are here.

Yes the visa category look correct.

Hi Aneesh,

Many Thanks for quick response. You rocks as always.

If I and my wife apply visa together, what are the chances we both get visa at the same time?

Cheers
Pari

Hi, I have a question in this area too. My partner and I are in legal cohabitation. We apply for family reunion and he took orange card, then ... in short we passed all the steps and now he has to receive card F. We already have an aproval and we have the codes that came in post, so we just have to go take it next week. The problem is that he doesn't work at the moment and now my employer stops my contract and Im about to stay without work too. Now Im afraid that if none of us find work next month, they can cancel his card or they can keep follow our finances. Normally I worked a full year without stop and have right for dop, but Im afraid that if we dont work, he might have a problem with his card. And that's why I'm looking for long term fulltime job, which is tripple harder to find. Im from Bulgaria by the way (which is in EU, but not in Shengen).
Is there some period that we should worry about AFTER he take his card?
Thanks.

The card will stay valid till the end date printed on it. And yes, for renewal of the card, you need to show your employment and income.

Thanks a lot 😊

Dear Anish,
On behalf of everyone, I thank you for your support.You are doing great job by helping people.Please have patience with me for long question.

I have been living in Brussels since May,2017.
I got married in November,2017 and now my wife is going to apply for Dependent visa(via my employer -a MNC IT company) next week.We have prepared nearly all documents.
Please help me with question -
1) As I saw other posts ,for dependent visa ,this case is considered as Family reunion case.
I heard that if you spouse is living in Belgian for more than 6 months ,case is referred to Belgian ministry here and which can take around 4-6 months.
Is it true?
and if yes,how 6 months are calculated ? Time spent in Belgium  in total OR after getting marriage.(I am living in Brussels from 10 months but married since 4 months)

2) If dependent visa is going to take lot of time and file is being sent to Belgium.
Then I can take passport back (file in process) and then apply for tourist visa for Belgium.
Will that be OK ?
Or if not, then probably I can apply for tourist visa for other country like France or Netherlands.And then she can travel to Belgium being tourist.
This can save lot of time and her office leaves.

My aim is to get here as soon as possible.

3) Probably student visa can also be applied which seems easily processed.

Please give you best of knowledge inputs.

Thanks.

Regards
J

1. Although many people say so, I didn’t see any official info about that 6 months thingy. Only logical explanation is that is the spouse processed his/her visa in the recent past, consulate have done their investigations while granting that visa (and all documentation is verified and recent) which may be the reason dependant file is not sent to Belgium for additional investigation on spouses status, documents, etc.

2. While one visa application is in process, it is not possible to submit another type visa application to Belgium. Applying to other countries is at your own risk, as all Schengen consulates talk to each other and does cross verification while processing visa applications as needed.

3. No comments

For 1)

Though spouse may be working already in Belgium and all verification done. But,I guess for dependent too,Belgian consulate in India send file to Belgian embassy.That is why it takes 5-6 months..otherwise I donot see any other reason for such a long period.
And why consulate send file to Belgium and on what basis,not sure.
Any input on this,please ?

Nowadays almost all dependant visa application files are sent to Belgium for decision making. No one knows what criteria they apply to decide whether they send the file to Belgium or not. In general the file is sent to Belgium when the consulate feels it needs to be processed or investigated by DOFI before a decision can be taken.

Hi Aneesh,

Thank you for your great contribution!

This month, I'll be getting work permit for Belgium and needs to apply Visa Type D for me and my wife (dependent visa).  Could you please help me clarify below given questions on visa?

1.   Under the "Main purpose of journey" for me it will be "Paid work" and for my wife, will it be "FAMILY REUNION SPOUSE WORKER (art. 10 bis 2)"? And I need to follow the documentation given under "Visa D – FAMILY REUNION with NON-EU SPOUSE (art. 10&10bis)"?

2.   There is a section which asks for the duration of stay for both of us but how can this be determined as an exit date to the country for visa type D; "Duration of the intended stay or transit (number of days)" and " (Last) intended date of departure from the Schengen area"

3.  There are three correlated sections in the Visa application such as "References - Host or Accommodation (Hotel or temp. accom. / Person)", "Inviting Organization (Company/School)" and "Financing of Stay". My company is providing me a temporary accommodation, so for me it will be "References - Temporary accommodation", "Inviting Org - sponsored company" and "Financing of Stay - sponsored Company" but what about my wife?

Regards,
Sakhuja

1. Correct
2. You can fill 365 days or so. Does not matter as D type visas get converted to residence permit cards once you are here. So the duration on visa is not relevant at all.
3. Your wife's application too - you can fill in wht you fill in your application. In inviting organization, mention your HR person's or reporting managers information with email and phone number etc.

Thank you for the prompt response and it is really helpful.

Regards,
Sakhuja

aneeshks wrote:

1. Correct
2. You can fill 365 days or so. Does not matter as D type visas get converted to residence permit cards once you are here. So the duration on visa is not relevant at all.
3. Your wife's application too - you can fill in wht you fill in your application. In inviting organization, mention your HR person's or reporting managers information with email and phone number etc.

Thank you for the prompt response and it is really helpful.

Regards,
Sakhuja

HI Aneesh,

If you do not mention inviting person as HR personal from the company, then would it be a problem?

For my wife's visa, I put up my own name as an invitee.

I hope it should not cause a problem.

Kind regards,
MAnish

Hi Aneesh,

I have received the documents from my employer stating that:
1. The employer will provide the accommodation for the first month and apartment address will be communicated before one week.
2. The employer will provide health insurance for me and my wife covering doctor visit and hospitalization cost.

Will this document be sufficient for accommodation proof and health insurance prrof?

Many Thanks
Pari

yes, these should be enough. In the visa application form, you should mention the hosting address. I think you can mention your company address there and mention in the cover letter that your company will allocate an apartment one week before the start date, and mention that you attach a letter from your employer stating this. Also, for the insurance, the undertaking from employer is normally enough. Additionally (if there is a gap between your intended travel date and start date), you may purchase a travel insurance policy from India covering the travel dates (for a month duration or so) for all the applicants. it is not very expensive and having it will make sure there is no room for any concern in that matter.

Many Thanks, Aneesh.

I am planning to reach Brussels on 25th May and my employment start date is 28th May.

Shall I go for one-week travel insurance or it is safer to take one-month insurance.

Regards
Pari

Go for a month I would say. The better equipped your (visa application) file is, lesser are the chances of rejection.

Thanks Aneesh.

One more help,

I am trying to make additional contribution transfer through my HDFC account to :
Account information:

IBAN: BE57 6792 0060 9235
BIC: PCHQBEBB
Bank: BPOST NV, Muntcentrum (zonder nr.), 1000 Brussel
Beneficiary: FOD Binnenlandse Zaken, Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken
                     , Antwerpsesteenweg 59B, 1000 Brussel

What is the account number and swiftcode from above details:
I am guessing,
account number => 57 6792 0060 9235 & swiftcode => PCHQBEBB

Please suggest.

Thanks
Pari

Account number in IBAN format is BE57 6792 0060 9235
In paper format it is 6792 0060 9235.

For international payments, IBAN format is used normally.

SWIFT yes, you got it right.

Dear Aneesh,

I have few doubts while filling up application form for me and my wife.

I appreciate if you could help me with that:

1. STAY FINANCE By : Shall I select company as they are giving initial one month accommodation or I shall also select visa applicant.
2. OCCUPATION (my wife): Accompanied Housewife, Partner. Is this option correct?

Also, my wife has two names (DISHA or NIMISHA) on her birth certificate, but she uses later name in all the documents including passport. Will there be any issue while processing the visa? Your thoughts?

Many Thanks
Pari

You can select both if it allows. If you select applicant also, may be you have to mention the means of support - like credit cards, cash, etc.

Occupation is correct for your spouse (accompanied housewife as she is applying as your dependent).

About the name in birth cert, I am not sure. But, as her name in passport is one of the names in birth certificate, I hope it wont be an issue.

Good luck !

Many Thanks Aneesh.

Hi Aneesh,

Could you please help me understand ""contribution covering administrative costs" for Belgium (Visa type D for both me and my wife). Is it something different from actual Visa processing fee paid at VFS? If yes, then when do I need to pay it, is it before submitting the application?

And also, I have my airline travel insurance from 26th (traveling date) to 30th May and I have my joining on 28th May where my company would be covering our medical insurance. So, do I still need to buy a month travel insurance for me and my wife?

Airline travel insurance: This plan covers the insured for a minimum of Euro 30000 or USD 50000 if traveling to any Schengen and its associate countries

Regards,
Sakhuja

Could you also help in answering this question along with the previous one?

I was adding the receiver details to my ICICI bank and there are two numbers required: Account Number and Bank IBAN Code. Is it for both, I need to add the same IBAN code: BE57 6792 0060 9235 (as you have mentioned above) but when I called ICICI . customer care, they said that account number and IBAN must be different.

IBAN: BE57 6792 0060 9235
BIC: PCHQBEBB

Bank: BPOST NV, Muntcentrum (zonder nr.), 1000 Brussel
Receiver Name : FOD Binnenlandse Zaken, Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken, Antwerpsesteenweg 59B, 1000 Brussel

Regards,
Sakhuja

Is it something different from actual Visa processing fee paid at VFS? -> Yes

If yes, then when do I need to pay it, is it before submitting the application? -> Yes, before application submission.

Do I still need to buy a month travel insurance for me and my wife? -> Theoretically, No.

IBAN and account number: Took less than a minute for google to tell me how IBAN is constructed and which part of the IBAN is the account number.

Google 'BPOST IBAN to account number'. It leads you to http://www.bpost.be/iban/index_fr.htm (in FR, you can use your browser to show the website in English).

Thank you aneeshks for a quick response. I have used following website to decode IBAN which gives different answer. As per this: IBAN- BE57 6792 0060 9235 and account number - 2006092

https://www.xe.com/ibancalculator/

Your IBAN Number    BE57 6792 0060 9235
ISO Country Code    BE (Belgium)
IBAN Check Digits    57
BBAN    6792 0060 9235
Bank Identifier    679
Account Number    2006092
BBAN Check Digit(s)    35
SEPA Member    Yes

As, I was making the payment, it was given that we need to add the reference in below structure but I didn't get any reference or notes section while making the payment?

NAME_Given name_Nationality_Date of Birth(DD.MM.YYYY)

Regards,
Sakhuja

What I pointed you to, is the official website of bpost. I would trust the informantion there rather than that on a 3rd party website.

For making transfer in euros with a transaction reference in the prescribed format, you may contact your bank branch.

Thank you so much. So I will use IBAN as an account number and the bank site you had referred gives this information.

The characteristics of the European transfer
the account number and 12 digits (3-7-2) is replaced by the IBAN form and 16 characters (4x4)

Hi Aneesh,

I would like to thank you for your valuable help and suggestion.

Both myself and my wife have received the visa. I have received my visa on the 4th day after visa appointment and my wife received the visa on the 7th day after visa appointment because consulate asked her travel insurance for more than 3 months.

The validity of my visa is 365 days whereas her visa is valid for 180 days. I guess, I read some other post of yours that validity does not matter once the resident card is received.

Can you please help me to understand this?

Many Thanks
Pari

Congrats. Like you read, once you and your family gets the residence permit, visa is not relevant anymore. Your national passport + residence permit becomes your travel document thereafter.

Hi Aneeshks,
There's some great information on your thread here, thanks so much for providing a layer of clarity so far.
My EU partner and I will look to move to Brussels from Spain early next year. As an Australian I will obviously need permission to live (and work!) there, and we're trying to get our ducks in a row as early as possible.
My research so far has left me a little confused, and I hoped you could help clarify the process for me. Ideally I would like to go to Brussels WITH my partner, and not have to wait to start a process until he's there and registered in a new commune. I assume this process is easier if we are married than if we are in a registered partnership here in Spain? So my queries for you:
1. Can I enter Brussels on a 90 day tourist visa and apply for a family reunification permit while under the tourist visa?
or;
2. Do I need to apply for and receive a D type visa from Spain before we go to Brussels, and then once we arrive i convert this to a residence card?
Thanks again,
Justine

Hello Justine,

Welcome to the forum.

Right now, you hold an Australian passport and you have a temporary residence permit of Spain - Is this correct ?

Hi there,
Yes, I’m on an Australian passport and in Spain on a student visa.
Thanks
Justine

So you are on a student visa, not on a residence permit as a dependent or partner of him. Are you guys in a registered partnership in spain ? I am not sure if that will make you eligible to apply as his dependent (family reunion) to Belgium. Like you said, a registered wedding may make the case stronger. I am not 100% sure about this, may be other forum members can suggest.

In any case, you cannot apply for a family reunification permit while under the tourist visa.

In my opinion, you need to apply for a D type visa as his partner (dependent), and once you are here, convert it to a residence permit.

Hi Aneesh,

Thank you so much for your help and support.

Today, me and my wife's visa got approved. I got a visa for an year and my wife for 6 months. It took only 4 days to get the visa approved.

Thanks and congrats (for visa) to Pari for answering the questions.

Regards,
Sakhuja

We’ll have a solution for legal partnership before we leave Spain, so we’re not so concerned about proving the relationship.

So regardless of our relationship status I’ll need a visa first? Or if we have a legal relationship then I can just go with him and get the residence permit when we’re there?

abhi.sakhuja wrote:

Hi Aneesh,

Thank you so much for your help and support.

Today, me and my wife's visa got approved. I got a visa for an year and my wife for 6 months. It took only 4 days to get the visa approved.

Thanks and congrats (for visa) to Pari for answering the questions.

Regards,
Sakhuja

Good news. Validity of the visa is not relevant at all. D type visa's main goal is initial entry for a long-stay. Once you are here and register in the commune/townhall, you get a residence permit and the visa is not relevant anymore.