Visa procedures for family reunion

Family reunion procedures must be prepared well to run smoothly. If you become an employee of Ghent University, the Belgian embassy might issue a family reunion visa immediately for your family if the visa request is started together with yours.

General information

The application for the visa for family reunion is best done in the Belgian embassy of the home country. The application for the family can only be started after the single permit is approved. The embassy has the right in most cases or country’s to decide immediately for the approval upon presentation of the required documents without sending the documents to Brussels for justification (this does not apply in case an European restriction is applicable for your home country).

Only when the application for family reunion is done separately from the employee, the visa procedures might take much longer as the file is checked by the authorities in Brussels before approval is provided.

Required documents

Following documents need to be prepared per application per family member. Additional information might be asked, but that depends on the local embassy. Please therefore always check the local instructions and required information.

  • Application form to request the visa D – family reunion and passport photograps
  • Colored scan of the passport
  • Medical certificate
  • Official marriage certificate or proof of cohabitation
  • Birth certificates for the children
  • Extract of the criminal record for all family members older than 18 years old
  • The proof of payment of retribution costs
  • Proof of travel insurance

If the application is done separately from the employee, the following documents need to be added

  • Proof of registration with the health insurance fund of the employee + acceptance of the health insurance fund of the family members
  • Colored scan of the valid Belgian residence permit of the employee
  • Copy of the contract or host agreement : proof of sufficient means to live in Belgium
  • Copy of the rental agreement in Belgium

Procedure

After providing the documents, the embassy will check and start the procedure. A ticket with the file number and information will be provided. Everybody must arrive in person at the Belgian embassy at least once to complete the biometric data check.

More information on the visa procedure and required documents can be found on the website of the Belgian embassy or on the Belgian home affairs website.