Document checklist
Republic of the Congo → Belgium: Student visa (long-stay visa D for higher education studies)
What you need before you submit, checked against official requirements, not guesswork.
Checked by our automated verification on 20 Oct 2026: every source on this page resolves and the data is structurally complete. This does not confirm a person re-read the source text for accuracy.
Required documents
11 itemsIdentity
Long-stay visa application form
RequiredThe printed visa application form, fully filled in in French, Dutch or English, and signed by you. You usually apply in person, because fingerprints are taken.
Source: FPS Foreign Affairs, Embassy of Belgium in Seoul: student visa
Two passport photos
RequiredTwo recent, identical colour photos.
Source: FPS Foreign Affairs, Embassy of Belgium in Seoul: student visa
Valid passport
RequiredA valid passport (and a copy). The Belgian embassy in Seoul, for example, asks that it stay valid for your trip plus 3 months and have at least 2 blank pages.
Source: Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), Study: introduced abroad (Visa D)
Financial
Proof of money to live on (€1,062 a month)
RequiredProof you won't need Belgian social help during your studies. For the 2026-2027 academic year, the minimum is €1,062 net a month; it goes up every year. You can show this with a scholarship certificate, with 12 months' worth (12 x €1,062) paid into a blocked account, or with a sponsor's formal commitment (Annex 32) signed by someone who promises to support you.
Source: Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), Study: sufficient means of subsistence
Proof you paid the handling fee (if it applies)
RequiredProof that you paid the Immigration Office handling fee, if you have to pay it. The Seoul embassy says students with a Belgian grant and applicants under 18 don't pay it.
Source: Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), Study: introduced abroad (Visa D)
Purpose of travel
Certificate of enrolment or admission
RequiredA certificate from a higher education school in Belgium that is organised, recognised or funded by the Belgian public authorities, showing you are enrolled or admitted as a full-time student (or for a preparatory year).
Source: Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), Study: introduced abroad (Visa D)
Study plan questionnaire
RequiredWhen you apply, you answer a questionnaire about your school background and your study plans in Belgium, to check they fit together. The Seoul embassy says exchange students, grant holders and people taking a selection test don't have to do it.
Source: Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), Study: introduced abroad (Visa D)
Insurance
Health insurance for Belgium
RequiredProof that you have, or will have, health insurance that covers risks in Belgium during your stay. The embassy in Seoul, for example, asks for at least €30,000 cover for medical costs and for getting you home.
Source: Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), Study: introduced abroad (Visa D)
Other
Criminal record extract (if 18 or older)
RequiredIf you are 18 or older, an extract from your criminal record (or a matching document) from your home country or the country where you last lived. It must be no older than six months and show you have no convictions for crimes or offences under common law. Foreign documents may need an Apostille and a translation.
Source: Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), Study: introduced abroad (Visa D)
Medical certificate
RequiredA medical certificate showing you don't have any of the diseases listed in the annex to the Belgian immigration law (Law of 15 December 1980). Embassies give you their own form to fill in; the Seoul embassy asks that it be no older than 6 months.
Source: Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), Study: introduced abroad (Visa D)
Parents' consent (applicants under 18)
RequiredIf you are under 18, written consent from your parents.
Source: FPS Foreign Affairs, Embassy of Belgium in Seoul: student visa
Why applications on this route get refused
Not enough money shown
Proof of money that is below €1,062 net a month (2026-2027), or that doesn't come as a scholarship, a blocked account or a signed Annex 32 commitment, does not meet the requirement.
How to avoid it: Use one of the accepted ways and make sure it covers the current monthly amount for the whole academic year.
Medical or criminal record certificate too old
The criminal record extract must be no older than six months. Embassies apply a similar age limit to the medical certificate.
How to avoid it: Get both certificates shortly before your appointment, and check their dates before you apply.
Study plans that don't fit your background
The questionnaire is used to check whether your school history and your plans in Belgium make sense together.
How to avoid it: Be ready to explain clearly why you chose this course and how it follows from what you have studied before.
School not organised, recognised or funded by the authorities
This route is for enrolment at higher education schools that are organised, recognised or funded by the Belgian public authorities. Private schools outside that group follow a different procedure.
How to avoid it: Check your school's status with the school itself before you apply.
Sources
- Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), Study: introduced abroad (Visa D) · checked 14 Sept 2026
- Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), Study: sufficient means of subsistence · checked 14 Sept 2026
- FPS Foreign Affairs, Embassy of Belgium in Seoul: student visa · checked 14 Sept 2026
- Immigration Office (FPS Home Affairs), EU citizens: right of entry and residence · checked 14 Sept 2026
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