... in response to Shengen Visa Procedure . . ., posted by Dan on Jan 20, 2005Below, you can find the EXACT procedure for the Shengen visa... for woman from russia who will go to Belgium... the price is around 50 euro ( 67 $ )... now, for other country from Shengen zone, it is the same procedure but the financial can change ( level of life in the country )... and for some country of FSU, it can be a little more complex : by example, Ukraine have not sign the convention of La Haye and certification of document are more complex... and the price of visa is different for each country...
Say me your country and the country of the woman and i can try to find more specific information
Bruno
Short visits to Belgium (up to three months)
Short visits to Belgium with a passport and a visa
Nationals of any States other than those referred to above and holders of identity and travel documents other than those mentioned above are allowed to enter Belgium provided they have a valid passport or equivalent travel document plus a visa or an authorisation in place of a visa, valid for Belgium.
The visa
A visa is a sticker affixed to a passport by an Embassy or Consulate or at the border. It authorises the passport holder to remain or move freely within the territory of a country (or several countries) during a specific and limited period of time.
Under the Schengen co-operation arrangements, the Schengen States shall generally issue a visa valid for the entire Schengen territory.
The authorisation in place of a visa
The authorisation in place of a visa is drawn up on a separate sheet and may stipulate:
- that the alien's passport, travel document or identity document is not valid for one or more Schengen States or for all the Schengen States; or
- that the alien's passport, travel document or identity document is issued by a State or a Government which is not recognised by any of the Schengen States;
which means:
that such an authorisation, bearing an ordinary visa, constitutes the only way to enter the territory of the countries concerned.
The authorisation in place of a visa is valid only if its beneficiary carries the identity document or travel document referred to in the authorisation.
The laissez-passer
When an alien has legitimate reasons to visit Belgium, but is unable to provide a travel document and is issued a visa, Belgian diplomatic or consular authorities abroad may issue a laissez-passer. This document, to which a visa is appended, is valid solely for a journey to Belgium.
The uniform visa or Schengen visa
The uniform visa or Schengen visa was established by the Schengen Agreements. It is valid for the territory of all the Schengen States and entitles the holder to remain for an uninterrupted period of 90 days at most or to make one or more visits over a six-month period in the Schengen territory, starting from the date of first entry. Notwithstanding the general rule, any Schengen partner may reserve the right to restrict the territorial validity of the visa.
Types of Schengen visas
Type A Schengen visa
Airport transit visa. This visa requirement represents an exception to the general rule allowing individuals to remain without a visa within the international transit area. This document authorises transit solely through the international area of the airport.
Type B Schengen visa
Transit visa. This document authorises transit through several countries starting from a third State and with a third State as the destination. The transit period must not exceed five days.
Type C Schengen visa
Short visit visa or travel visa, visa for several entries: a visa allowing aliens to enter the territory of the Schengen States for an uninterrupted maximum stay of 90 days or for one or more successive visits over a period of six months, with the total period not exceeding 90 days. Visas issued by Belgian diplomatic and consular authorities may not be valid for more than one year, the period during which the authorised visit may be made. The visa may be issued for one or more entries.
Type A, B or C collective Schengen visa
Transit visa for a visit of no more than 30 days, that may be affixed to a collective passport and issued to aliens travelling as a group. The group must have been in existence for a certain time and be organised socially and institutionally; it must comprise at least 5 and no more than 50 persons; it must include an individual with responsibility for keeping the passport and must enter the Schengen territory, remain there and leave as a group.
Type D Schengen visa
National visa for a visit of up to 90 days, valid for the territory of the Schengen State that issued the visa but also valid for transit through the territory of other Schengen States for the purpose of reaching the State that issued the visa.
Type D + C Schengen visa
Visa allowing the alien, on arrival in the destination Schengen State in possession of a type D visa, to move freely in the Schengen area for the first three months following his/her arrival, pending the issue of his/her definitive residence document.
Visa application procedure
a) At which Embassy or Consulate?
As a general rule, Schengen visas are issued which are valid for the territory of the 15 countries currently applying the Schengen Agreement. Once such a visa has been obtained, a person thus has the right to enter and stay for a short period (maximum of 90 days in one half-year period) in the territory of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Aliens subject to the visa requirement must contact the diplomatic or consular authorities competent for their place of residence or the place of residence abroad
A visa application may also be made to an Embassy or a Consulate in a third country in which the applicant is only passing through, although in such cases, the application will need to be submitted for a prior decision by the Federal Public Service of the Interior.
The relevant diplomatic or consular authorities for the Schengen States may be determined by asking the following questions:
- What is the sole or main destination of the trip?
- Which country will the interested party be visiting for the longest period?
- Which country will the interested party visit first?
- in which country will the alien enter the Schengen territory?
In the framework of Schengen co-operation, any diplomatic or consular authorities of one Schengen State may represent another Schengen State which is not represented locally, for the processing of the visa application and issue of the visa.
b) Obligation of personal appearance
In principle, visa applicants must appear in person before the diplomatic or consular authorities, notably so as to provide or receive orally any requisite explanations.
c) Documents to be provided when applying for a visa
- a valid travel document (a passport, for example) to which a visa may be affixed. The validity of the travel document must be three months longer than that of the visa;
- if need be, any documents substantiating the purpose (for example, invitations from private individuals or companies, a medical certificate and appointments with a Belgian attending physician or in a Belgian hospital, etc) and conditions of the planned visit (hotel reservation, for example). These documents generally have a substantiating effect only if they are the originals;
- any documents proving that the alien (guest) has sufficient means of support to cover the visit and the return, as well as any medical expenses, in the form of an undertaking of responsibility if need be;
- if the alien has no financial credit, he/she must have be able to have access to 38 euro per day of his/her intended visit if he/she is staying with an individual, or 50 euro per day of his/her intended visit if he/she is staying in a hotel.
- The applicant must prove that he/she has taken out valid personal or group travel insurance to cover possible expenditure for repatriation for medical reasons, medical care and/or emergency treatment in a hospital. In principle, the applicant must take out insurance in their country of residence. If the host takes out insurance on the applicant's behalf, this must be done in the host's own place of residence. The visa applicant must contact the Belgian embassy or consulate to find out which insurance policies have been accepted. The insurance in question must be valid throughout the territory of the Schengen member states and cover the full duration of the stay. The minimal cover is 30,000 euro.
To be admissible, any undertaking of responsibility presented to the diplomatic or consular authorities must be accompanied by a document certifying that the guarantor has Belgian nationality or is authorised to reside in Belgium for an indefinite period (for example, a copy of the identity card) and by a pay slip or documents certifying the guarantor's income and solvency.
In case of visa applications related to a family visit, the guarantor's minimum monthly net income must amount to 800 euro. This amount shall be increased by respectively 150 euro for each person already dependent on the guarantor and by an additional 150 euro for each person invited. As for visa applications for tourist purposes, the guarantor's minimum monthly net income must amount to 1000 euro plus 150 euro for each person already dependent on the guarantor and an additional 200 euro for each person invited.
Business visa
Visa applications are often submitted by business operators and/or representatives of foreign companies invited by companies operating in Belgium to visit them in Belgium.
These business visits generally come under the general regulations; however, documents applying more specifically to the business sector may also be provided to substantiate the purpose of the trip and to prove the existence of sufficient means of support.
The letter prepared by the Belgian company or the Belgium-based company should state the purpose of the visit and its duration, along with the type of business relations between the host company and the foreign business operator or the operator's company.
The business operator must also provide evidence that the application is justified. Hence, it may be worthwhile:
- to be able to prove, if the operator is self-employed, that he/she is listed in the commercial register or to provide an equivalent document in use in the country of origin;
- to be able to provide, if the operator is a paid employee, a certificate or substantiating document drawn up by the company of employment and on whose behalf the operator wishes to visit Belgium.
If the diplomatic or consular authorities competent for the business operator's place of residence or place of destination are unfamiliar with the company, it must make itself known using all appropriate means (activity report, statutes, etc), particularly if it has ongoing relations with a specific company abroad.
Evidence of means of support may be provided on the basis of the following items:
- own resources, which must cover subsistence expenses and the cost of returning to the country of origin or to another country;
- the letter of invitation, which also provides evidence of means of support abroad, if it is intended that some of the subsistence expenses (hotel, restaurants, travelling expenses, etc) of the business operator will be covered by the company operating in Belgium extending the invitation;
- an undertaking of responsibility. This undertaking may be entered into only by a natural person; in other words, a legal person is not entitled to enter into this kind of undertaking. None the less, a person empowered by a company's statutes may enter into one or more undertakings for one or more aliens invited by the company, provided that this kind of undertaking is not inconsistent with the company's business.
All the original documents must be transmitted direct to the business operator invited, who shall make a visa application on the basis of the said documents.
d) Processing of the visa application
When Belgian diplomatic or consular authorities are convinced - and have every reason to be so - of the good faith of the applicant and/or the person/organisation inviting the alien, the visa may be issued. Often, however, the Embassies and Consulates General are unable to determine the reasons for the individual extending the invitation and/or for the visit. In these circumstances, the Belgian diplomatic or consular authorities must present the visa applications they have tentatively accepted on the basis of formal aspects to the Aliens' Office of the Federal Public Service of the Interior (North Gate II, Avenue Émile Jacqmain 152, 1000 Brussels, tel. 02/206.15.99, fax 02/206.14.63) and await the instructions of this Office, with which they must comply.
In addition, Schengen visas are the type generally issued. These are valid for the territory of the 15 countries currently implementing the Schengen Agreement. This means that in certain cases one or more Schengen partners must be consulted.
These additional steps explain why the visa application procedure often lasts a long time and why it is advisable for visa applicants to start making arrangements in due time, potentially up to 3 months before the date they plan to leave for Belgium.
If the application has been submitted to the Aliens' Office, the visa applicant will be notified of the reference number under which the application was forwarded. The applicant may contact the Office and obtain information about the progress of the application by giving this number and his/her name and date of birth.
Applicants may also consult the website of the Aliens' Office of the Federal Public Service of the Interior at the following address: http://www.dofi.fgov.be .
Decisions taken on visa applications are notified by the Belgian diplomatic and consular authorities in writing, by telephone or orally at the visa window.
Once a decision to issue a visa has been taken, the actual provision of the visa is often conditional upon presentation of a ticket (for example, a non-transferable return air ticket bearing the passenger's name). To prevent any misunderstanding, it is worthwhile to note that this ticket should only be purchased once the Belgian diplomatic or consular authorities have notified the applicant that the visa has been granted.
Pledge of Financial Support for a Short Stay
Description
A foreign national must, upon arrival in Belgium and the Schengen territory, provide proof that he or she has sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return trip to the country of origin or for the transit to a third country. The foreign national in question must in principle have personal means of subsistence, but it is possible to enter Belgium and Schengen territory by calling on a guarantor who undertakes a pledge of financial support. Pursuant to Article 3bis of the Act of 15 December 1980, the guarantor undertakes to assume the expenses for healthcare, stay and repatriation of the foreign national in respect of said foreign national, the Belgian State and every competent social welfare agency.
Who can undertake such a pledge?
A pledge of financial support can be undertaken only by a natural person who has sufficient means and holds Belgian nationality or who is empowered or authorised to stay in Belgium for an unspecified period. The pledge can be undertaken by one individual who has sufficient means of subsistence.
Sufficient means of subsistence
This refers to regular income. In this connection, due account of the composition of the guarantor’s household will be taken. As proof of sufficient means of subsistence, the guarantor must provide payslips or documents drawn up by a public authority, which shows the monthly or annual net/gross income. The following will in particular be accepted in this connection: payslips, pension slips, proof of benefits, tax return from the previous year, etc.
Procedure: steps to be taken by the guarantor and the role of the municipal authorities and the Belgian representation abroad
If a person wishes to stand guarantee for a foreign national, he or she must go to the municipality where s/he is registered in the population registers to complete the relevant form of a pledge of financial support. If the requisite conditions are met, the burgomaster or his authorised agent will legalise and date the pledge of financial support. The original of this document will then be sent back to the guarantor. The latter must send the (original of the) pledge of financial support to the visa applicant, together with the proof of identity and of sufficient means of subsistence. For reasons of discretion, the guarantor may also opt to turn these documents under sealed envelope with a copy of the legalised pledge of financial support directly to the Belgian diplomatic or consular authority abroad where the visa has been applied for. The foreign national has a period of six months as of the day that the pledge of financial support was legalised by the burgomaster or his authorised agent to go the competent Belgian diplomatic or consular authority in order to submit an application for a visa. The competent diplomatic or consular authority will, in necessary in cooperation with the Aliens Department, assess the submitted documents and the guarantor’s solvency. The original pledge of financial support will be returned to the visa applicant upon the issuing of the visa, as this document can serve as proof of solvency upon entering Schengen territory.
