TRAVELING TO BELGIUM

Visa for Interns

NEW: Biometric visa at the Embassy of Belgium in Washington, D.C.

People who apply for a visa at the Embassy of Belgium in Washington, D.C. will receive a visa which contains biometrics. At the moment of your application, a picture and your fingerprints will be taken.

Do you need a Temporary Residency Visa?

A citizen of the United States of America or of any country other than a Member State of the European Union who intends to reside in Belgium for a period longer than 90 days, or for a succession of periods totaling more than 90 days per 6 months, must first obtain a temporary residency visa.

When the applicant seeks to engage in an internship, the required residency visa can only be issued upon the presentation of the proper supporting documents.The aplicant has to be between 18 and 30 years old.

The employer mails the work permit to the intern, who then contacts the appropriate consular office in whose jurisdiction (s)he is a resident to apply for the temporary residency visa. To determine the consular office where you should introduce your application and to check office hours, please click here.

Please request your intern visa at least three weeks prior to you intended departure date. The normal processing time for this type of visa is one week. For non US citizens, the processing time may be considerably longer.

How to apply:

Please submit in person:

1. A valid national passport (validity 15 months).

2. Two visa application forms and two recent passport-size photographs.

3. The valid work permit (and two photocopies of this document). This document is applied for and must be obtained by the employer in Belgium at the appropriate regional government office before the prospective intern enters Belgium. It is then mailed to the intern in question.

Please note that interns at international recognized coordination centers in Belgium are exempt from obtaining either document as long as the internship does not exceed 12 months, proof of this needs to be submitted by royal decree. An internship contract should be submitted (see item 6).

Include three sets of the following documents (one original set of documents and two copies) collated and stapled:

The originals will be returned to you together with your passport and visa. You will need them to register at city hall in Belgium.

4. a nationwide criminal history record (FBI Identification Record) covering the last five years, obtained from the FBI CJIS Division (Record Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV 26306), dated within six months of your date of application for the visa. For more information, please go to the FBI website. Please note that you also had to submit an original to your employer for the work permit application.

5. A medical certificate according to the model enclosed. For a list of doctors affiliated with the Embassy or the Consulate General, click here.

If you choose your family physician, the doctor's signature needs to be notarized. The medical document should be less than 3 months old from the date of your application.

6. An internship contract issued by the employer confirming that the intern receives a payment (amount specified) or that the internship is not paid. In the latter case, please submit a financial support declaration, signed by the applicant’s parents or sponsor, guaranteeing payment of travel, living, educational, medical and repatriation expenses. The sponsor has to sign the document in person at the Embassy or the Consulate General. The signature legalization fee is 15.70 USD.

Visa application fee: 141.30 USD in cash, certified check or money order. Personal checks are not accepted.

In the Embassy in Washington, you can also pay with a credit card.

A personal appearance is required and you must apply in person at the Embassy or Consulate General in whose jurisdiction you reside.

If you wish to make the application by mail (this is possible at the consulates in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta, but not at the Embassy in Washington, DC), the following requirements apply:
(1) your signature on the application form must be notarized (certified) by a notary public of your place of residence in the U.S.

(2) do not send your application documents to an Honorary Consul. The application will be processed by the Embassy or by a Consulate General. Always make sure you mail your application to the competent Embassy or Consulate General. Only the Honorary Consuls in Nassau (Bahamas) and San Juan (Porto Rico) may accept visa-applications and they will send them to the Embassy..

After verification of your application, a personal appearance will still be necessary to collect your passport with the visa.

UPON ARRIVAL IN BELGIUM:

It is important that you register with the City Hall of your place of residence in Belgium within 8 days of your arrival. Make sure that your passport is endorsed by the immigration authorities when first entering Belgium (at airport or other border post).

The local authorities will process your registration identity document that will allow you to enter and leave the country as a legal temporary resident of Belgium.

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