BELGIUM BUSINESS VISA

With its booming economy, Belgium has one of the most advanced economies in Europe. The country is also quite welcoming to foreign investment. The entrepreneurial culture makes it a smart idea to start a business in Belgium. However, you will need the Belgium business visa to enter Belgium for business purposes.

To enter Belgium for the sole purpose of business, one requires a type of short term visa ( visa C) called the Belgium business visa. The business visa allows an individual to travel to the country to take part in business-related activities such as attending business meetings, partner or client meetings, to inquire about new opportunities for business in Belgium, take part in business fairs, and so on. The business visa, like all short term Schengen visas,  it is valid for a duration of 90 days in a 180 day period. However, if you require to travel to multiple Schengen countries, you can ask for a multiple entry Belgium business visa.

How to apply for a Belgium business visa?

To apply for a visa to perform activities relating to business in Belgium, you first need to determine the exact point and purpose of your visit as you will need this to select the appropriate documents, and also would be asked about in the visa interview. You then need to decide how you will be submitting the documents. You can choose to submit it directly to a Belgian embassy/consulate, or to a Belgian outsourced visa application center (VAC). After this, you can follow the following steps –

• Create an account on the Belgian embassy website.
• Login into your account and fill in the application form with your personal details.
• Choose your visa appointment date and venue.
• Take a print out of the copy of the application form you receive via the registered email address.
• Attend the visa appointment along with your documents and application form. You will have to fees at the VAC, or Embassy/Consulate as per your choice.
• Once your visa application has been submitted, it will be processed by the Belgian embassy.
• You will receive a confirmation from the embassy if your visa has been approved or rejected. In certain cases, they might ask you to submit additional documents.
• Please note that if there are complications regarding your application, such as incorrect details, wrong or invalid documents, and any other issues, you may be asked to attend a visa interview at the Embassy/Consulate.
• It is vital to ensure that your application is accurate and without any flaws. Incorrect applications may cause in a delay of your visa processing, or in extreme cases, lead to the visa being rejected. A visa denial might cause major complications in any future visa applications.

Eligibility for Belgium Business Visa

Any individual who does not belong to a country that has a visa facilitation agreement with the EU needs a Belgium business visa to enter the country for professional activities. Further,

• You have to be a citizen of the country you are applying from, or
• You have to be a citizen living on a temporary resident permit in a foreign country you are applying from.
• You need to have a legal business purpose for the visit such as to expand your business in Belgium, attend conferences, etc.
• You should know exactly why you are planning to do business in Belgium.
• You need to have a passport valid for at least 6 months from the date of intended travel and has at least 2 blank pages.
• You only require a Belgium visa if Belgium is your only business destination, or
• Belgium is one of your multiple Schengen business destinations –  in which case you are spending the majority of the travel period in Belgium, or, you are spending equal time in all the other destinations where Belgium is your port of entry.