Family reunification visas
Long Term Visa: Family Reunification with a Belgian citizen (Art. 40ter, visa D), with a foreign citizen (neither Belgian nor European: Art. 10, visa D ), or with a European (but not Belgian) citizen (visa C).
An administrative fee has to be paid in Belgium before submitting your visa application. Please consult the website of the Immigration Office for an overview of the administrative fee.
Procedure regarding fingerprints:Fingerprints will be collected for all visa applications (short stay - type C - and long stay - type D). This concerns all applicants from the age of 12 (C visa) or 6 (D visa). Applicants will have to come in person to the Visa Application Center of Gerry’s International to get the fingerprints of 10 fingers collected. Exceptions are foreseen for the following applicants: - Persons for whom the collection of fingerprints is physically impossible (e.g. because of a physical impairment).
Legalization of documents: Procedure as from 1 November 2018
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I. Family reunification of spouse / descendants aged under 21 with a Belgian citizen, Art 40ter
(information concerning family reunification with a foreign citizen who is neither Belgian nor European (Art 10) is to be found here after in point II; information concerning family reunification with a foreign citizen who is a citizen of another EU country (visa C) is to be found here after in point III).
Required documents to be submitted under the following form:
A - All necessary Pakistani/Afghan documents (6, 7, 8 and 9) must be original, legalized by the competent Pakistani/Afghan Authorities and must be legalized by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad.
Applications for D visas containing documents yet to be legalized will be sent to the Embassy together at the same time in a single file. A D visa applicant will visit the VAC just twice - once to submit everything, and once to collect both their processed visa application and legalized documents.
Information regarding previous legalization by the Belgian Embassy in Islamabad and about translations into French is available here. Translation into French concerns only Pakistani documents. Diplomas written entirely into English do not need to be translated. Translation advice: make sure, before getting your translated documents attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that there are no translation errors in them. Any translation error might lead to the rejection of your file by the concerned authorities.
B - All documents that constitute the file must be copied twice before the legalization. In this way, the original file must be presented with two accompanying files made of copies of each document. Photocopies should be made on normal paper (A4 size).
C - All documents part of a visa application must be presented at once, all together. It is therefore requested to send the visa application only once the file is complete and once the necessary documents have been translated into French by Alliance Française for the Pakistani documents and into English by the Afghan Authorities for the Afghan documents. The documents will be legalized by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad after the reception of the entire visa file. If some documents are missing or were not properly legalized or translated, the file will be sent as it is to Brussels with a strong possibility that the application may be refused.
D - All needed information about the building of an application is provided below and is available in English in our website.
E - The right to family reunification of spouse with a Belgian in the context of art. 40ter: if both spouses are above 18 years old.
F - Please do provide in your application form a direct updated phone number in Pakistan /Afghanistan as well as a correct email address of the applicant or the person to be joined.
Documents to be submitted by the visa applicant
1 - Two standard visa forms, per applicant, dated and signed.
2 - Two recent passport photos in colour.
3 - A photocopy of the used pages of the passport. For Afghan citizens ALL pages.
4 - The validity of the passport must be at least a year after the visa expires.
5 - A photocopy of the national identity card.
6 - Proof op payment of the administrative fee in Belgium (if required). Please consult the website of the Immigration Office for an overview of this administrative fee per category as well as all the cases in which an exemption is granted, for example, if the applicant is less than 18 years old or if the person to be joined in Belgium by his/her spouse and/or his/her children younger than 18 years has refugee status or benefits from subsidiary protection.
7 - Original birth certificate, to be legalized by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad along with French translation (from Alliance Française) (for the Pakistani documents) also to be legalized by the Embassy. For translation of Afghan documents, see explanation here above (A).
8 - Original marriage paper / Nikah Nama, to be legalized by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy.
+ For Pakistani documents: Marriage registration certificate (issued by NADRA), to be legalized by the Embassy along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy.
+ For Pakistani documents: Family registration certificate (issued by NADRA), to be legalized by the Embassy along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy.
9 - If applicable: Divorce / death: the certificate to be legalized by the Embassy along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy. For translation of Afghan documents, see explanation here above (A).
10 - If necessary (rare): Permission for the marriage of minor /an underage person: the certificate to be legalized by the Embassy along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy. For translation of Afghan documents, see explanation here above (A).
11 - If necessary (rare): a copy of the power of attorney to marriage / divorce, along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy. For translation of Afghan documents, see explanation here above (A).
12 - For recently married spouses, photo album of marriage ceremony.
Documents to be provided by the Belgian national. However those documents must be submitted by the applicant at the same time together with the previous documents:
13 - A photocopy of identity card.
14 - proof that the Belgian national has decent housing: registered lease agreement or copy of property title.
15 - proof that the Belgian national has a mutuality or a health insurance covering risks in Belgium for himself and for members of his family.
16 - proof that the Belgian national has sufficient, regular and sustainable livelihoods / mean of support (minimum pay slips of the last year, last “extrait de rôle”).
IMPORTANT MESSAGEAn individual passport must be provided for every applicant. The administrative fee (if required) has to be paid in Belgium (see information about payment on the link in the beginning of this message). All the other fees (legalisation, etc.) have to be paid to GERRY'S INTERNATIONAL. In case of rejection of the visa, fees are NON-REFUNDABLE. Visa application files have to be introduced through GERRY'S INTERNATIONAL Visa drop Box facilities. ALL FEES (HANDLING FEES OR CONSULAR FEES), EXCEPT THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE TO BE PAID IN BELGIUM, ARE TO BE PAID TO GERRY'S INTERNATIONAL. NOBODY (STAFF / LAWYERS / PRIVATE CONSULTANTS OR TRAVEL AGENCIES) IS ENTITLED TO CHARGE ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY DIRECTLY TO THE CLIENT OUTSIDE OF THE GERRY'S INTERNATIONAL OFFICES OR OUTSIDE OF THE EMBASSY. |
II. Family reunification of spouse / descendants aged under 18 with a foreign citizen who is neither Belgian nor European citizen, Art 10
(information concerning family reunification with a Belgian (Art 40) is to be found here above in point I)
Required documents to be submitted under the following form:
A - All necessary Pakistani/Afghan documents (6, 7, 8 and 9) must be original, legalized by the competent Pakistani/Afghan Authorities and must be legalized by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad.
Applications for D visas containing documents yet to be legalized will be sent to the Embassy together at the same time in a single file. A D visa applicant will visit the VAC just twice - once to submit everything, and once to collect both their processed visa application and legalized documents.
Information regarding previous legalization by the Belgian Embassy in Islamabad and about translations into French by “Alliances Françaises in Pakistan / French Cultural Center in Pakistan” is available here. Translation by Alliance Française or by French Translation Agency Pakistan concerns only Pakistani documents. Original documents from Afghanistan are translated into English by the Afghan local Authorities. Only a translation from those Authorities will be accepted.
B - All documents that constitute the file must be copied twice. In this way, the original file must be presented with two accompanying files made of copies of each document. Photocopies should be made on normal paper (A4 size).
C - All documents part of a visa application must be presented at once, all together. It is therefore requested to send the visa application only once the file is complete and once the necessary documents have been translated into French by Alliance Française for the Pakistani documents and into English by the Afghan Authorities for the Afghan documents. The documents will be legalized by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad after the reception of the entire visa file. If some documents are missing or were not properly legalized or translated, the file will be sent as it is to Brussels with a strong possibility that the application may be refused
D - All needed information about the building of an application is provided below and is available in English in our website.
E - The right to family reunification of spouse: if both spouses are above 21 years old (but 18 years where the marriage predates the arrival in Belgium of the alien being joined)
F - Please do provide in your application form a direct updated phone number in Pakistan /Afghanistan as well as a correct email address of the applicant or the person to be joined in Belgium.
Documents to be submitted by the visa applicant
1 - Two standard visa forms, per applicant, dated and signed.
2 - Two recent passport photos in colour.
3 - A photocopy of the used pages of the passport. For Afghan citizens ALL pages.
4 - The validity of the passport must be at least a year after the visa expires.
5 - A photocopy of the national identity card.
6. Proof op payment of the administrative fee in Belgium (if required). Please consult the table with an overview of this administrative fee per category as well as all the cases in which an exemption is granted, for example, if the applicant is less than 18 years old or if the person to be joined in Belgium by his/her spouse or children younger than 18 year has refugee status or benefits from subsidiary protection.
7 - Original birth certificate, to be legalized by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad along with French translation (from Alliance Française) (for the Pakistani documents) also to be legalized by the Embassy. For translation of Afghan documents, see explanation here above (A).
8 - Original marriage paper / Nikah Nama, to be legalized by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy. For translation of Afghan documents, see explanation here above (A).
+ For Pakistani documents: Marriage registration certificate (issued by NADRA), to be legalized by the Embassy along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy.
+ For Pakistani documents: Family registration certificate (issued by NADRA), to be legalized by the Embassy along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy
9 - If applicable: Divorce / death: the certificat to be e legalized by the Embassy along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy. For translation of Afghan documents, see explanation here above (A).
10 - If necessary (rare): Permission for the marriage of minor /an underage person: the certificate to be legalized by the Embassy along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy. For translation of Afghan documents, see explanation here above (A).
11 - If necessary (rare): a copy of the power of attorney to marriage / divorce, along with French translation (from Alliance Française) also to be legalized by the Embassy. For translation of Afghan documents, see explanation here above (A).
12 - For recently married spouses, photo album of marriage ceremony.
13 - Medical certificate, from a doctor accredited by the Embassy, attesting that applicant is not suffering from any disease putting public health at risk. The medical certificate will be handed over by the doctor to the visa applicant in a sealed envelope, and should be submitted along with the other supporting documents at the Visa Application Centre.
14 - Police character certificate (for applicants older than 18 years). If the certificate is written into English, no translation needed. The certificate must be legalized by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad.
Documents to be provided by the foreign citizen residing in Belgium. However, those documents must be submitted by the applicant at the same time together with the previous documents:
15 - A photocopy of identity card and of passport.
16 - proof that the foreign resident in Belgium has decent housing: registered lease agreement or copy of property title. (This proof has not be provided by family members of a person who is recognized as a political refugee or benefits from subsidiary protection on two conditions: 1) the family ties did already exist before the person being joined arrived in Belgium and 2) the visa application has been introduced not more than one year after date on which the person being joined was recognized as a political refugee or was granted the subsidiary protection).
17 - proof that the foreign resident has a mutuality or & health insurance covering risks in Belgium for himself and for members of his family. (This proof has not be provided by family members of a person who is recognized as a political refugee or benefits from subsidiary protection on two conditions: 1) the family ties did already exist before the person being joined arrived in Belgium and 2) the visa application has been introduced not more than one year after date on which the person being joined was recognized as a political refugee or was granted the subsidiary protection).
18 - proof that foreign resident has sufficient, regular and sustainable livelihoods / mean of support (pay slips of the last year, last “extrait de rôle”) (This proof has not be provided by family members of a person who is recognized as a political refugee or benefits from subsidiary protection on two conditions: 1) the family ties did already exist before the person being joined arrived in Belgium and 2) the visa application has been introduced not more than one year after date on which the person being joined was recognized as a political refugee or was granted the subsidiary protection).
IMPORTANT MESSAGEAn individual passport must be provided for every applicant. All fees (legalization, etc.), except the administrative fee in Belgium, have to be paid to Gerry's International. In case of rejection of the visa, fees are NON-REFUNDABLE. Visa application files have to be introduced through Gerry's International Visa drop Box facilities. ALL FEES (HANDLING FEES OR CONSULAR FEES), EXCEPT THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE TO BE PAID IN BELGIUM, ARE TO BE PAID TO GERRY'S INTERNATIONAL. NOBODY (STAFF / LAWYERS / PRIVATE CONSULTANTS OR TRAVEL AGENCIES) IS ENTITLED TO CHARGE ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY DIRECTLY TO THE CLIENT OUTSIDE OF THE GERRY'S INTERNATIONAL OFFICES OR OUTSIDE OF THE EMBASSY. |
III. Family reunification of spouse / descendants aged under 21 with a European (but not Belgian) citizen, visa C
From 8 March 2016 onwards, the visa D for family reunion art.40 bis doesn’t exist anymore. All applicants who accompany or join a (non-Belgian) citizen of the Union have to apply for a visa C. This means that they have to appear in person at a visa application center of Gerry’s/Fedex to submit their visa application and to get their biometric data collected (except children under the age of twelve). There is no visa fee and no administrative fee in Belgium to be paid.
A citizen of the European Union has the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States (MS). His family members enjoy the same right, irrespective of their nationality. Only the obligation to hold an entry visa may be imposed by the MS on family members who are nationals of third countries.
The conditions for the exercise of, and the limitations upon, the right to move and reside freely within the Union are laid down by directive 2004/38/EC. This directive provides inter alia that the MS grant family members subject to the visa obligation every facility to obtain the necessary visas. Such visas shall be issued free of charge as soon as possible and on the basis of an accelerated procedure’.
Nationals of the European Economic Area (European Union + Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein) and members of their families are likewise beneficiaries of these provisions.
Family members
(Law of 15.12.1980, Articles 40bis and 40ter)
The following are considered to be members of the family of a citizen of the Union:
a) His spouse or the alien with whom he is linked by a registered partnership considered to be equivalent to a marriage in Belgium, who is accompanying or joining him.
b) The partner with whom he is linked by a registered partnership in accordance with a law and who is accompanying or joining him, if the partners meet the following conditions:
- they prove that they are in a permanent, stable relationship
- they are coming to live together
- they are aged over 21
- they are single and are not in a permanent, stable partnership relationship with another person
- they are not any of the persons referred to in Articles 161 to 163 of the civil code
- neither one of them has been the subject of a decision on the basis of Article 167 of the civil code, provided that the decision has been converted into res judicata.
c) His descendants and the descendants of his spouse or partner referred to in points 1 and 2, aged under 21 or who are dependent on them, who are accompanying them or joining them, provided that the citizen of the Union, his spouse or partner has custody of them and, in the case of shared custody, on condition that the other person with custody has given their agreement.
NB: Where the citizen of the Union/EEA supplying the right to a family reunion is a student (Article 40, § 4, 3°), only his children or those of his partner (1° and 2°) who are dependent may accompany or join him.
d) His ascendants and the ascendants of his spouse or partner referred to in points 1 and 2, who are dependent on them, who are accompanying them or joining them.
NB: The ascendants of a student (Article 40, § 4, 3°) cannot accompany or join him.
The particular provisions in directive 2004/38/EC
There is no visa fee to pay. However, you will have to pay service fees of Gerry’s/Fedex.
You do not fill in boxes 19, 20, 31, 32 and 33 on the visa application form.
Unless there are public order considerations or cases of abuse or fraud, you will receive a SCHENGEN visa (C visa).
The burden of proof
You must prove that you are a beneficiary of directive 2004/38/EC. When you lodge your visa application, you must therefore produce documents establishing:
a) your identity,
b) that you are accompanying or joining a citizen of the Union who is himself a beneficiary of the directive,
c) that you are a family member within the meaning of Article 40bis or 40ter of the law of 15 December 1980 on entry, stay, settlement and removal of foreign nationals.
Documents to be submitted by the visa applicant
1 - Two standard visa forms (type C), per applicant, dated and signed.
2 - Two recent passport photos in colour.
3 - A photocopy of the used pages of the passport.
4 - The validity of the passport must be at least 3 months after the visa expires.
5 - A photocopy of the national identity card.
6 - proof of the tie of kinship, marriage or partnership considered to be equivalent to a marriage in Belgium or registered in accordance with a law (in most cases: marriage certificate). The marriage certificate has to be legalized by the competent Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan or Afghanistan) and by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad. Please request the legalization on a separate document and pay the legalization fee of 20 euros per document to Gerry’s/Fedex.
7 - as appropriate, proof that you are a descendant or an ascendant dependent upon a citizen of the Union, his spouse or his partner (birth certificate). The birth certificate has to be legalized by the competent Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan or Afghanistan) and by the Embassy of Belgium in Islamabad. Please request the legalization on a separate document and pay the legalization fee of 20 euros per document to Gerry’s/Fedex.
8 - proof that you are accompanying or joining a citizen of the Union who is himself a beneficiary of the directive and thus, proof that the citizen of the Union is already residing in Belgium (residence permit for nationals of the EEA, application for an attestation of registration/annex 19, attestation of registration/annex 8, E card, document attesting to the permanence of his stay/annex 8bis or E+ card) or confirmation that he intends to travel there or stay there for more than 3 months (declaration of presence/annex 3ter, work contract, lease contract, registration in an organised, recognised or subsidised educational establishment, concrete plan shown during an interview, etc.) and a copy of his identity card or valid national passport.