Belgium Visa Processing Timeline and Documentation

Sadly I’m residing in the land of diseased “it’s a hoax/MAGA” ...  well at least I’m a New Yorker so should get some break . Hopefully we will get our act together sooner rather than later....sigh.

Hello,

I am in the same situation. My deadline will be in August.

I contacted the emigration office in Belgium and they told me, that after the 6 six months the company should send confirmation to the emigration office that the job is still guaranteed. After that they will reissue Annex 46 and send it to the embassy.

Good luck.

Hello,

I am in the same situation. My deadline will be in August.

I contacted the emigration office in Belgium and they told me, that after the 6 six months the company should send confirmation to the emigration office that the job is still guaranteed. After that they will reissue Annex 46 and send it to the embassy.

Good luck.

Hi,
Can anyone help me to understand the difference between the code B29 and B34 in the Annexure 46. I already have the decision but it’s with core B34 and my employer would like to raise a new request with code B29, since the embassy is only accepting those for now.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 41#4913905

Thanks Alex.

I got a confirmation from embassy that they are processing B34 code Single permit from 24-August.
My employer made a payment of administrative cost in January while applying for Single permit amounting to 358 Euro. In the Visa documents to be submitted, i am asked proof of additional contribution which currently amounts to 363 Euro. Is both these fees same or different, can anyone confirm.

in this link it is mentioned as 363 Euros

https://dofi.ibz.be/sites/dvzoe/EN/Appl … 20fee.aspx

I would email/call the embassy / consulate or your employment specialist. It seems like the admin free probably changed in 2020, but you shouldn’t have to pay a duplicate amount. These things evolve rapidly, so get the right information from the officials if possible.

There was a visa fee that I had to send with my application (216 dollars for me). I feel like the 363 is the administrative fee paid while filing for single permit.

Hey guys, are your respective embassies only taking visa applications by mail or are they allowing in person?

I sent it to the NY consulate through mail. If you had your fingerprints and photo taken earlier for schengen (within 5 years), they were fine with mail (considering the pandemic). Otherwise you need an appointment I would suppose. I did include a self addressed return envelope as well, but that wasn’t mentioned in the list of documents.

I am concerned that the restrictions might come back so I overnighted the files.

Thank you Swethamani! I'm sending my documents today but I'm in the Caribbean so they probably won't get it until sometime early next week. My embassy is Washington, DC. I had my fingerprints taken earlier in the year so that's comforting to know about mailing in the documents. My only concerm now is them returning my passport to me since I'm sending it through a local Fedex but I'm going to have to email them to figure out that part.

Maybe email them before you send it. FedEx can help you with self addressed return envelope for passport return. That’s how I did my previous visitor visas - Send documents and passport and enclose a prepaid return envelope. Once visa is stamped they would use the return envelopes to send passport back. It’s pricey, but it gets the job done.

Thank you Swethamani. I went ahead and included a self addressed return envelope to be on the safe side using Fedex. Pricey but worth it for peace of mind. I haven't had any luck getting to them via email but I'll follow up again to prepare to send back. You've been so helpful, thanks again. I'm glad to get the ball rolling on this move!

Swethamani wrote:

Maybe email them before you send it. FedEx can help you with self addressed return envelope for passport return. That’s how I did my previous visitor visas - Send documents and passport and enclose a prepaid return envelope. Once visa is stamped they would use the return envelopes to send passport back. It’s pricey, but it gets the job done.

Has anyone that has mailed in their visa application received any notification or communication from the embassy stating that it is being processed/approval/denial/confirmation/next steps? Mine was delivered on Monday and I'm just wondering how this process works before emailing them again (I'm not getting a response from them).

Globalstateofmind wrote:

Has anyone that has mailed in their visa application received any notification or communication from the embassy stating that it is being processed/approval/denial/confirmation/next steps? Mine was delivered on Monday and I'm just wondering how this process works before emailing them again (I'm not getting a response from them).

Hi there! Sent mine on Thursday and it was delivered Friday morning to NY consulate. I called them on Tuesday morning and they mentioned there is no status update on visaonweb, that I should just use the tracking number. They also mentioned they have a lot of applications coming through. I got an email on Tuesday asking for additional documents that was very unique to my file. I was hoping to have gotten my passport back today, but no luck! Hopefully it doesn't take too long!

I will be so happy for this process to be over!

Update: There is one thing you could check. If status changes to 'Imported' on visaonweb, that means they have looked at your application and assigned a number.

Hey there!

Thanks for the response! I'll be so happy once this is all over with too. Are they referring to the tracking number for the self addressed return envelope?

I imagine they would have a ton of applications coming in so I wasn't too worried but just curious since I haven't gotten any communication from them regarding the process. I sent mine to the consulate in Washington DC. Hopefully I can get my passport back soon!

sm20 wrote:

Globalstateofmind wrote:

Has anyone that has mailed in their visa application received any notification or communication from the embassy stating that it is being processed/approval/denial/confirmation/next steps? Mine was delivered on Monday and I'm just wondering how this process works before emailing them again (I'm not getting a response from them).

Hi there! Sent mine on Thursday and it was delivered Friday morning to NY consulate. I called them on Tuesday morning and they mentioned there is no status update on visaonweb, that I should just use the tracking number. They also mentioned they have a lot of applications coming through. I got an email on Tuesday asking for additional documents that was very unique to my file. I was hoping to have gotten my passport back today, but no luck! Hopefully it doesn't take too long!

I will be so happy for this process to be over!

Update: There is one thing you could check. If status changes to 'Imported' on visaonweb, that means they have looked at your application and assigned a number.

She essentially said, "if the tracking number says the passport was delivered, then it must be". 

Do let me know if you get yours back.

😂😂😂 will do!

sm20 wrote:

She essentially said, "if the tracking number says the passport was delivered, then it must be". 

Do let me know if you get yours back.

Got my visa D from NY consulate. Valid for 1 year.

That's awesome! Congratulations!

sm20 wrote:

Got my visa D from NY consulate. Valid for 1 year.

Finally got my Visa D from the Washington, D.C. embassy!!!! Planning to move in the next two weeks or so. Good luck to those still waiting!

Small query: i will soon need to apply for the D visa.
For marriage certificate apostille, i read somewhere that it has to be issued during last 1 year. In India, usually marriage certificate is issued only when marriage is registered and in my case, it was 2012. So, does marriage certificate really needs to be issued during last 1 year?

If yes, can i get it notarized on current date? will that work?

You will need to get it apostille. It won't take more than a week.

Hi
You will have to get all the certificates re-issued. The authorities (municipality etc where its registered will re-issue the certificates )

Well that's 2 contradicting replies. Does anyone know for sure what to do?

montylee wrote:

Well that's 2 contradicting replies. Does anyone know for sure what to do?

In the past they (consulate) were very strict on this (you had to get a new copy of the certificate re-issued), but now I hear if the apostile is recent, that will suffice.

For safer side, if you have a possibility to get a fresh copy of the certificate issued, do so.

Guys, you are moving another country, another language, don't count this possibilities.
Keep straight on the law! And the law is less than 6 months, Translated with apostile.

https://dofi.ibz.be/sites/dvzoe/FR/Guidedesprocedures/Pages/Regroupement_familial/La_preuve_du_mariage_du_partenariat_ou_de_la_filiation.aspx

Here the translation:
A literal copy
As a rule, you present a literal copy of the act that establishes the marriage, partnership or filiation, that is to say, the reproduction of this act as it was drawn up in the register civil status, or as corrected.

Typically, you submit a literal copy issued within 6 months of your request. If you present an older document, you explain why.

This copy must be legalized, except when a bilateral or multilateral convention simplifies or eliminates the formalization of legalization (e.g. the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 removing the requirement of legalization of foreign public documents in favor of the simplified apostille procedure).

My personal experience - I had written to the local Belgium consulate on this issue and they confirmed that certificates older than 6 months are not acceptable. To be on the safer side I's suggest get the certificate re-issued and then apostilled/attested.

If you already have the old certificate it is easy to get them reissued.

Also,please check with the local Belgian consulate if you wish to.

fernandoks wrote:

Guys, you are moving another country, another language, don't count this possibilities.
Keep straight on the law! And the law is less than 6 months, Translated with apostile..

IMHO, If you're using the law to justify the point, you probably is mistaken.

You can read the law here: http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi_lo … e_name=loi and there's no comment or something saying anything about "6 months".

Read what you translated: "Typically, you submit a literal copy issued within 6 months of your request. If you present an older document, you explain why."

Typically doesn't means "law" but something that has a convention. Another nice point is: "If you present an older document, you explain why". So, she need to explain "why".

Normally what's happened is: the notary can refuse to appostile an old document (for normal concerns) but, if they do, there's no way to say "this document is not valid". The appostile is the official proof that the document is valid.

Of course, the Belgian bureaucracy can find any excuse (including prejudice) to ask for many or different documents (I'm saying that because I was on this situation with my wife) but, this is not the law.

Best

Thanks guys, your replies are helpful. I will try to get a duplicate certificate with latest date to be on the safer side but one can't say for sure about authorities in India so let's see.

Which state is yours ? Some states (Eg: Kerala) have egovernance websites from which an e-signed copy can be downloaded.

Aneesh wrote:

Which state is yours ? Some states (Eg: Kerala) have egovernance websites from which an e-signed copy can be downloaded.

Delhi. eDistrict website provides download facility but it's only for certificates originally created through eDistrict only i guess. It asks for an application number which i don't have as my certificate was made in 2012 via offline route.

Ah okay..

I went to SDM office to query about duplicate or certificate with new date. They just said: you need to apply from scratch for it (wedding cards, 2 witnesses etc.) and that marriage will be registered again. They said it would take 21 days minimum from the time they get the application and it could take more days if there's an enquiry.

So, i will leave this for now as my application will only get delayed if i decide to do it now.

Hi
Dont ask them for duplicate. Just show them your old one and explain you need it for visa with the current issue date. They already have the record

Thats what I did with my marriage certificate (Pune) and birth certificate (Karnataka)

Well i already did that, there's no defined process for this so the replies are very subjective i guess.

I arrived in Belgium on sept 5th and got my A card on nov 26th. The process was slow because of the current conditions.
My visa and combined permit is for 1 year, but the A card and work permit from Flanders is valid for 3 years.
Not sure if I should do the single permit again after a year?

As long as you're working, you'll just need to go to the commune every year to renew your 'A' card before it expires.
After 3 years, you'll need to renew your work permit too.

No one care about your visa anymore. Resident permit > visa

sm20 wrote:

I arrived in Belgium on sept 5th and got my A card on nov 26th. The process was slow because of the current conditions.
My visa and combined permit is for 1 year, but the A card and work permit from Flanders is valid for 3 years.
Not sure if I should do the single permit again after a year?

In Antwerp i got reticence card A with 3 years expiry.