Before arrival
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Visa information
A visa should be applied for at the Belgian Embassy or Consulate in the home country well in advance.
You can check on the following website http://www.diplomatie.be/en/travel/visa/default.asp whether you need a visa to come to Belgium.
Although procedures and documents may vary from country to country, you definitely need an official invitation letter from Hasselt University. You will receive this invitation letter as soon as possible after admission.
There are three types of visa for Europe:
- Visa C for stays of up to 3 months
- Visa D for stays longer than 3 months
- The scientific visa for researchers who come to work (not study) in Belgium
Please note that visa applications are the responsibility of the incoming student or guest.
Visa C or Schengen visa for stays less than 3 months
Certain European countries have entered into an agreement regarding the opening of their borders to international visitors. In effect, a new type of visa - the Schengen Visa - has been introduced by the member countries. This visa covers a short-stay period of a maximum of 90 days (three months) within a six-month period and allows the holder to travel freely between all the Schengen member states. The Schengen Visa is also referred to as Visa Type C.
Schengen countries
Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
- If you intend to visit only one Schengen country, you must apply at the Consulate or Embassy of that particular country.
- If you intend to visit several Schengen countries, you must apply at the Consulate or Embassy of the country which is your main destination.
- If you intend to visit several Schengen countries but do not have a main destination, you must apply at the Consulate or Embassy of the country which is your first point of entry.
- If you do not need a visa for the Schengen country which is your main destination or first point of entry, note that you may be required to have a visa for other Schengen countries you wish to visit. You should therefore apply at the Consulate or Embassy of the first Schengen country which does require you to have a visa.
Countries that do not require a visa to enter Belgium for a short period of up to three months
Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea (South), Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, San Marino, Singapore, the United States of America, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela
However, always check at http://www.diplomatie.be/en/travel/visa/default.asp
Visa D or Authorisation for Provisional Sojourn for stays longer than 3 months
This particular type of visa (in Dutch: Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf) allows the holder to stay in Belgium for a period longer than three months. This visa is also referred to as Visa Type D. For non-EEA Students, the Authorisation for Provisional Sojourn is also commonly known as the ‘Student Visa’.
As a rule, students must apply for this visa at the Belgian Consulate or Embassy in their own country or in the country where they legally reside, and not from the public authorities in Belgium itself. If there is no Belgian Consulate or Embassy in their home country, they may submit their application at the Belgian Consulate or Embassy in a neighbouring country.
Non-EEA researchers and visiting professors are also required to apply for the Authorisation for Provisional Sojourn in order to enter and stay in Belgium for a period longer than three months. They may therefore apply for a so-called scientific visa.
ATTENTION: non-EEA students should not enter Belgium with a tourist visa if they intend to stay longer than 90 days or three months. The University will not support an application for a change of status or visa.
Fee for visa applications
In January 2024 a new visa fee of € 237 or €144 was set by the Belgian Federal Government. Typically, Master's and PhD-students pay €237. If you come to UHasselt with a so-called Host Agreement, you will need to pay €144.
Students, carrying a scholarship issued by a Belgian Authority (e.g. VLIR or one the universities) are exempt from this tax.
You can find full details on the website of IBZ.
Proof of Solvency
What is the proof of solvency?
When applying for a visa or a residence permit, students are asked to proof their solvency. Depending on the country, one of the following proofs of solvency may apply:
- A document certifying that the student has been awarded a study grant or scholarship
- An agreement for acceptance of financial responsibility (letter of a guarantee) by the so-called Annex 32 (can be done from your home country or in Belgium)
- A proof of your own financial means by transferring a certain amount to a blocked bank account in Belgium on your name.
In case you would like to use the last option (proof your own financial means), Hasselt University can assist you and provide you a letter to proof solvency.
Preliminary notes:
- for year students, the amount for a full year must be transferred at once (12 months); the period runs from September 1st until August 31.
We recommend to transfer 13 months because of many extra costs for starting up. This means in september you would receive a double amount.
- for semester students, 6 months must be paid for, i.e. September 1st until Feb. 28th; in September a double amount is required because of many extra costs for starting up
- payment can only be done as described in the document below
- pls. allow at least 10 days between sending the money and your documents and receiving your certificate
For applications for 2024-2025 the final amount is 1000 EURO/month. An additional 100 EURO has to be added for administrative costs.
So the total amount for year students will be 12 x 1000 = 12.000 + 100 = 12.100 EURO
For semester students the amount will be 6 x 1000 = 6000 + 100 = 6100 EURO
Kindly send back the fully filled Agreement together with all the documents and sending the money.
Hasselt University will hold this money in your name. Upon your arrival, this amount will be transferred to a blocked account. This account will be blocked for the duration of your studies. You will have to open a Belgian current account on your name. An amount of EUR 1000 will then be transferred within the first 10 days of every month to this account to cover your daily expenses during a study period of one academic year (12 months).
Bringing along family members
This procedure applies to the family members of students, researchers and visiting professors who intend to stay in Belgium for a period of three months or longer. The Belgian Migration Law of 15 December, 1980 has made the procedure for bringing family members into Belgium more complex. As a result it may take a few months before your family members receive the special Authorisation for Provisional Sojourn.
Again, based on your nationality, there are three possibilities for applying for visas for your family members for a long period of stay in Belgium.
For those from EEA countries
Your family members may join you in Belgium immediately on account of the freedom of movement of persons who are citizens of EEA countries. Those who will stay in Belgium for a period of less than one academic year need to register at the Town or Municipal Hall and receive an Attestation of Immatriculation. Those who will stay in Belgium for a period of at least one academic year will receive a Registration Certificate after registration at City Hall.
For those from non-EEA countries for which a visa is not required to enter Belgium for a period of three months at most
Your family members may travel with you to Belgium. They will definitely need to bring proof of solvency. If they will stay with you in Diepenbeek or Hasselt for a period of three months at most, they will only need to declare their arrival at the Foreigners Office at Diepenbeek or Hasselt Town Hall with you. They will receive a Declaration of Arrival in Belgium.
If your family members will stay with you in Belgium for a period longer than three months, it is advisable that they also apply for a special Authorisation for Provisional Sojourn, based on the legal principle of the reunification of families (see no. 3 below). Technically, they may also enter Belgium simply on the basis of their passports, then first register at Hasselt Town Hall as tourists and then apply for a change of status from tourist to ‘family reunion’. However, this is a complicated and time-consuming procedure and is therefore not advisable.
For those from non-EEA countries
If your family members intend to stay with you in Belgium for a period of three months at most, then you will have to apply for Schengen visas for each of them at the Belgian Embassy or Consulate in your home country. With the Schengen visa, your family members will be able to travel with you to Belgium.
However, if your family members intend to stay with you in Belgium for a period longer than three months, then they will have to apply for a special Authorisation for Provisional Sojourn, based on the legal principle of the reunification of families, at the Belgian Embassy or Consulate in your home country. In principle, you yourself will have to travel to Belgium first while your family applies for the special visa. Afterwards, when you are in Hasselt/Diepenbeek and have found suitable housing for your family, Hasselt/Diepenbeek Town Hall will send a police officer to visit you at your accommodations in order to draw up a report for the Town Hall. Finally, the Town Hall will provide you with the document ‘Annex 7’, which you will need to send to your family as proof that suitable housing is ready. They will need to submit this ‘Annex 7’, along with the other required documents, to the Belgian Embassy or Consulate when they apply for their visas.
On their arrival in Diepenbeek or Hasselt, the spouse and children of regular students will need to register at the Town Hall. Afterwards, the Town Hall will send a police officer to visit you at your residence in order to see that all your family members are together with you. When this procedure is complete, they will receive the Certificate of Entry in the Register of Foreigners.
The spouse and children of researchers and visiting professors will need to register at the Town Hall on their arrival in Hasselt/Diepenbeek, after which they will first receive an Attestation of Immatriculation for the period of one year. After this first year, they will receive the Certificate of Inscription in the Register of Foreigners.
Documents required
- valid passports
- a legalised copy of your marriage certificate
- legalised copies of your birth certificate and those of your spouse and children
- medical certificates for each member of the family
- certificates of good conduct for each adult member of the family
- proof of solvency that is sufficient for the whole family
- document from the Town Hall attesting to suitable housing in Diepenbeek for the family
Translation of the documents
- if the required documents are not in English, Dutch, French, or German, they need to be translated into one of these languages
- the translation of the documents must be authenticated as well
Authentication of the documents
- Please enquire at the Belgian diplomatic mission in your country of residence which should authenticate the original documents and any translations of them. In certain situations, this may be done by the Belgian diplomatic mission itself, or by your local government authorities themselves, by affixing an ‘apostille’ to the documents.
Note: anyone who is granted a family reunion visa to join his or her spouse studying in Belgium will also have to leave Belgium together with his or her spouse when the latter has finished the study programme. However, if a student’s spouse is later on also accepted for enrolment at UHasselt and will need to stay in Belgium longer in order to complete the study programme, she or he must apply for a change of status of their residence permit at the Foreigners' Office at the Town Hall.
Health care & Insurance
It is important for students travelling to UHasselt from a non-EEA country, to check all the information about insurance below.
Mandatory Health Insurance: Mutuality (CM)
Students enrolled for more than 6 months, having no other mutuality cover in Belgium, must first register with CM. You will receive the necessary documents during the orientation days or you can go to the office in Diepenbeek:
Kerklaan 6/1
3590 Diepenbeek
Email: internationalstudents@cm.be
you can register online as well via their website.
Once you have registered with CM, you will receive yellow identification stickers at your student address. The yellow identification stickers are to be affixed to all refund application documents you send to the health insurance fund.
Health insurance on average covers approximately 75% of medical bills. Some (critical) medical expenses are fully refunded. In Belgium, you are free to choose your care provider. Doctors can either be in private practice or attached to a hospital. Most doctors in Belgium speak English fairly well. You will have to pay the fee immediately after the consultation.
AON
AON is a comprehensive insurance which is mandatory for all non-EEA students studying at Hasselt University. Detailed information on the content of AON International Student Insurance, as well as full registration info can be found on the AON website.
Students staying 1 semester
Students staying for less than 6 months choose the option 'ICS Complete'. This covers all your eligible costs at a monthly fee of 40 EURO.
Students staying a full academic year
Students staying for more than 6 months choose the option 'ICS Complete' for all days before October. This covers all your eligible costs at a monthly fee of 40 EURO. Then they should start a second insurance period and choose the option 'ICS Start+' for the rest of the stay (25 EURO/month).
Meanwhile they should also enroll with a mutuality (e.g. CM, see above). This latter membership starts on October 1st and costs an additional 8 EURO/month.
How to obtain a refund?
If you need to obtain a refund from your AON insurance, please consult their website.
More information
- AON Website
- UHasselt contact: Stefanie Commeene
So, in short:
PAY ATTENTION!
Civil liability: This is if you intentionally or even mistakenly injure someone or damage someone's property. If Medical and hospital costs ensue, these are not or only partly covered in the mandatory health insurance. A lot of students are not aware of this and it can have big financial implications!
This can be solved by taking the AON student insurance mentioned above.
Bank account
Money - How do I open my bank account?
If you cannot use your own bank account when you are in Belgium, you can open a Belgian bank account.
In order to speed up the opening of a Belgian bank account we hereby provide you with some more information. Via the link to the KBC website, you can already start the process for opening a bank account, even before your arrival in Belgium (!open your account no earlier than 7 days before your arrival in Belgium).
You will have to enter some personal data, as well as upload some documents:
- A clear photo or copy of your identity card or passport
- Proof of your current domicile address (e.g., a declaration from your local authority or a copy of a utilities bill). Ensure this document bears a signature and date
- Proof of your future school or place of work (this could be your acceptance letter from UHasselt)
Please consult the KBC Manual (pdf, 729 KB) to open the account. Pay attention to the different types of accounts they offer. The "KBC plus account" is only free if you are under 25. If you are older than 25, it is best to choose the "KBC Basic Account". It is free of charge.
Upon your arrival, you just have to send one more document which you receive after registration at the town hall.
Opening an online bank account could also be an option:
Travelling to Belgium
Travel from the airport to my destination in Hasselt, Diepenbeek or Genk
By public transport
You can use public transport from the airport to your destination.
- You can take a train from the airport to Hasselt. You can buy tickets on this website.
- Then you can take a taxi from the train station in Hasselt to your destination. Taxis are located in front of the train station in Hasselt. More information: www.uhasselt.be/Contact-and-location.
By taxi
You can always travel from the airport to your destination by taxi. You can book your taxi in advance. We recommend Taxi Patrick
- Email: info@airportservicepatrick.be
- Telephone: 0032 (0)474 74 74 74
- Price: +/- € 80 (to be paid in cash)
UHasselt wants to make your first trip to your student room/lodging in Belgium as smooth as possible. We refund part (maximum 30€) of the price of your cab ticket. More info can be found on this website.
Campus Hasselt & Diepenbeek
More information about the location of our 2 campuses can be found on our website.
Housing
For more information about housing, please consult the pages of our housing department.
Electrical/Chargers
Please note that you might need a travel plug! In Belgium, we use these kinds of plugs
Contact
For more information, please contact Stefanie Commeene or Niels Lambrichts