How to Get a Belgium Visa from India in 2026 (Full Guide)

This guide follows the Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi, Belgium's Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), VFS Global and the European Commission, as published on the official sources, checked on 15 October 2026.

Which Belgian visa do you need?

Belgium issues two kinds of visa to Indian applicants:

• Short-stay Schengen visa (C), up to 90 days: tourism, family or private visits, business (including training, conferences, cultural and sporting events), and entrance exams for medical and dental programmes.
• Long-stay national visa (D), more than 90 days: studies, work (single permit, or a work permit or professional card), family reunion with a Belgian or non-EU family member, and marriage or cohabitation.

A C visa is a Schengen visa, so it also covers the rest of the Schengen area within the 90-day limit. India is on the EU visa-required list, so there is no visa on arrival and no e-visa.

Does New Delhi or Mumbai handle your application?

You still lodge the file at a VFS centre: Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Lucknow, Jalandhar, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cochin, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune or Puducherry. Only official passport holders, family members of EU citizens and VIPs with an Embassy appointment apply directly at the Embassy or Consulate General. The New Delhi Embassy answers visa questions only by e-mail.

How do you apply, from VisaOnWeb to VFS?

1. Create an account on VisaOnWeb (visaonweb.diplomatie.be), fill in the form, and print and sign the copy you receive by e-mail. A form not confirmed at a centre within 30 days is deleted.
2. Book a VFS appointment. VFS releases new slots every 1st Monday of the month for the following month (East and North Zone).
3. Prepare two sets of all documents for a short-stay visa (three sets, one original and two copies, for a long-stay visa).
4. Attend in person for a live photo and fingerprints. Children under 12 applying for a C visa, and C applicants whose fingerprints were taken for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months, are exempt from appearing.
5. Pay the visa fee and the VFS service fee; VFS accepts the service fee by cash, online, card or UPI.
6. Track your file on the VFS Belgium website with your passport number and last name.
7. Collect your passport, or choose courier delivery (INR 760) to your personal address.

On timing, the Embassy's C-visa checklists say to apply at the earliest three months before travel, while the VFS page says within 6 months. Following the Embassy's three-month limit keeps you inside both.

Which documents and how much money must you show?

• Passport with at least two blank pages, valid at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen area, plus copies of the identity page and your most recent Schengen visa.
• Two recent colour photos, 35-45 mm wide, plain white background, face 70-80% of the photo.
• Original bank statements for the last three months, stamped and signed by the bank, and ITR acknowledgements for the last two assessment years.
• Employed: three months of pay slips, employment contract and employer's approval of leave. Self-employed: company registration including GST number. Retired: three months of pension statements.
• Travel medical insurance of at least EUR 30,000 from an approved Indian insurer, covering the whole trip.
• Tourism: a detailed itinerary, hotel reservation for the whole stay in Belgium and other Schengen countries, and a flight ticket reservation.

Belgium's Immigration Office sets a guideline for means of subsistence: generally at least EUR 95 per day if you stay in a hotel, or EUR 45 per day if you stay with a private individual. Explain any large recent deposit in your statement. If someone in Belgium finances the trip, they sign a formal guarantee (Annex 3bis), legalised by their municipality.

What does a Belgium visa cost in 2026?

The rupee amounts are from the Embassy tariff effective 1 October 2026. The older VFS one-pager still shows INR 9,720 for an adult C visa and a service fee of INR 2,700, and the Embassy's page gives the service fee as INR 2,750, so confirm the amount at the centre. Many long-stay applicants also pay an Immigration Office contribution in euro before applying: EUR 251 for students at a public institution, EUR 242 for other Article 9 D visas, EUR 218 for family reunification and EUR 152 for a single permit.

How long does it take, and how often are visas refused?

As a general rule a decision comes within 15 working days of submission. It can be extended to 30 calendar days, and exceptionally to 60 calendar days if the file is referred to the Immigration Office in Belgium. In that case, ask the Embassy for the file number and follow it on the Immigration Office website.

European Commission data show that 7.8% of Schengen visa applications lodged at Belgian consulates in India were not issued in 2025 (2,581 of 33,333), against 8.8% in 2024. Refusal grounds include an unproven purpose, insufficient means, unreliable documents, doubt about your intention to leave, and missing insurance. A refused applicant may appeal or submit a new application that addresses the reasons, and a previous refusal does not automatically lead to another. Indians who have obtained and lawfully used two Schengen visas in the previous three years are issued a two-year multiple-entry visa under the EU rules for India.

What do you need to do after landing in Belgium?

Short-stay visitors must declare their presence in Belgium within three days of arrival; since 10 April 2026 this can be done online with the 'My Address in Belgium' form instead of at the municipality. The EU Entry/Exit System has also been fully operational since 10 April 2026, so your entry is recorded biometrically instead of with a passport stamp. Our Belgium visa page for Indians keeps the category checklists, and the official fee table is on the Embassy of Belgium visa page.

Belgium's tourism checklist asks for a flight ticket reservation, a hotel reservation and a detailed itinerary. Yatra For Fun's India office in Gurugram prepares these and cover letters, with packages from INR 1,000 (flight reservation) to INR 3,000 (reservation, hotel, itinerary and cover letter). WhatsApp +91 95230 91018 or reach us via the contact page.

Frequently asked questions

Can a travel agent submit my Belgium visa application at VFS?

Yes. A representative or travel agent can submit with a declaration or authorisation letter signed by you and a copy of the representative's passport bio page. You still need to give fingerprints and a live photo unless you are exempt.

Who can collect my passport from the Belgium VFS centre?

Only immediate family (parents, children, spouse), a person authorised on government letterhead, or a fast-track company representative authorised on company letterhead. They must carry original government ID, the original ICR and an original authorisation letter.

Do children need to give fingerprints for a Belgian Schengen visa?

No, not under 12 for a short-stay (C) visa. For long-stay (D) visas the exemption from appearing applies to applicants under 6.

Will I get a multiple-entry visa for Belgium?

Under the EU decision of 18 April 2024 for India, applicants who have obtained and lawfully used two Schengen visas in the previous three years get a two-year multiple-entry visa. Consulates may shorten it in individual cases or issue up to five years in justified cases.