LUCA School of Arts kindly welcomes all international students. In preparing your travel to Belgium, people with a foreign nationality may need the following documents: a visa/entry document and a residence permit. Students don’t need a work permit for student jobs. Also, students who wish to bring along family members during their stay in Belgium are subjected to procedures which depends on your nationality, the intended time of stay and your status.
Which specific documents you need, and how to apply for them, depends thus on your situation.
During the visa or residence permit application procedure one of key conditions is providing sufficient proof of your solvency to cover certain living expenses in Belgium. In the FAQ VISA AND BLOCKED ACCOUNT | LUCA (luca-arts.be) we explain more into detail which options are possible.
Important note: if you have specific questions or inquiries, please contact first and foremost admissions@luca-arts.be
EU Directive 2016/801: Mobility within the EU for non-EEA students / Registration as a ‘mobility student’
According to the EU Directive 2016/801, third country (non-EEA) students (including exchange and double degree PhD students) can use a simple procedure to arrange their stay in different European Member States for the duration of their studies. Certain conditions are attached to this.
How to apply?
Belgium as the first Member State
If Belgium is the first Member State of residence, you will need to apply for a visa D prior to your departure. Your admission letter confirms your mobility trajectory and allows the corresponding embassy to issue the correct visa D with code “B35” mentioned on it. This is not only important for the context of residence in Belgium, but must also avoid interpretational problems as much as possible when travelling on to other Member States.
When applying for the visa, please select “mobility / student” as your “main purpose of the journey”.
Upon your registration at the local municipality of residence in Belgium you will receive a Belgian residence permit ‘limited stay’ with the remarks ‘student’ and ‘mobility programme’ on the back, with a validity of at least 2 years. This multiyear residence permit allows you to travel to the European partner universities linked to your programme without having to apply for a visa every time.
The longer validity of your residence permit ensures that you retain a right of return with a valid residence permit. If you are (temporarily) leaving Belgium for more than 3 months as a student, it is sufficient to arrange a notification of temporary absence with the documents ‘model 8’ and ‘annex 18’ (‘right to return’) at your local city office. In the country where you will stay for a maximum of 360 days as a second Member State, you must then also register at your place of residence.
Belgium as the second Member State
If you are a student with a valid European residence permit (based on studies) from another Member State who temporarily comes to Belgium in the framework of a mobility programme, you are eligible for the document ‘Annex 33 – mobility student’, valid for a maximum of 360 days for your stay in Belgium, if you submit all of the required documents to the university at the latest 45 days before the intended start date (legal 30 days + processing time).
Note: if you have a valid European residence permit of France, The Netherlands, Germany or Luxemburg, you can also register yourself as a border student.
Any intended mobility must be reported by the university to the Immigration Office as soon as it is known and no later than 30 days before the intended start date, via a mandatory notification document. The following information must also be present:
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Valid passport or equivalent travel document
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Valid residence permit issued by another EU Member State to the third-country student and still valid for the duration of the intended mobility
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Admission letter to the programme with inherent mobility
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Proof of health insurance during your stay in Belgium
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Proof of sufficient means of subsistence for the duration of the stay in Belgium
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Residence address in the first Member State responsible for issuing the European residence permit
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Possibly already known residence address in Belgium
The Immigration Office can object or agree to your notification procedure within 30 days. The written agreement is also provided to the university, which then provides it to you. Upon presentation of this written agreement, the complete notification document, the valid passport and residence permit, you can obtain the document ‘Annex 33 - mobility student’ from the local municipality of residence after your arrival in Belgium.