Belgium Visa Requirements for U.S. Citizens
Europe · BE
Belgium visa requirements for U.S. citizens
No visa for stays up to 90 days in any 180-day period
- U.S. passport status
- Visa free
- Visa-free days
- 90 days
- Document route
- Apostille
- Translation
- Required
- Short-stay fee
- €90
- Schengen area
- Yes
Entering Belgium
U.S. passport holders enter Belgium visa-free for tourism or a short business trip. The 90 days are counted across the whole Schengen area rather than per country, and since the Entry/Exit System became fully operational on 10 April 2026 that count is biometric and automatic. Anything longer, and anything involving work, study or residence, needs a national long-stay visa applied for before you travel.
ETIAS is expected to apply to visa-exempt travellers when it launches, which the European Union has signalled for late 2026. It is not in operation and you cannot apply for one yet.
Passport requirements
Valid for at least three months beyond your intended departure from the Schengen area, and issued within the previous ten years. Two blank pages.
What is specific to Belgium
Belgium is administered at regional level for work permits, so Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels each set their own conditions and thresholds for the single permit combining work and residence. Which region the employer sits in genuinely changes the answer. Brussels also hosts a large international institutional population with its own special statuses.
Visa categories for Belgium
Each has its own page combining the universal process for that category with what Belgium specifically requires.
Tourist and Visitor Visa
Visa-free for 90 days in any 180.
Business Visitor Visa
A business visitor visa lets you attend meetings, conferences, trade fairs and negotiations. It does not let you work. The distinction is genuinely important…
Student and Study Visa
Study visa with proof of funds and enrolment.
Work and Employment Visa
The single permit, decided by the region where the employer is located, with regional salary thresholds.
Family, Spouse and Partner Visa
Family reunification, or EU free movement, which is particularly relevant in Brussels.
Permanent Residence and Citizenship
The destination rather than the journey. Permanent residence gives an indefinite right to live somewhere without renewing a visa; citizenship gives a passport, political…
Where and how to apply
- Official portal
- Belgian visa information
- Where to file
- At the consulate with jurisdiction over your U.S. state of residence, in person, usually through an outsourced visa application centre.
- Visa application centre
- Applications are handled at the consulate for your jurisdiction, often through an outsourced visa application centre.
- Biometrics
- Ten fingerprints and a facial image. Schengen biometrics are reused for 59 months, so a repeat applicant inside that window may be able to submit without attending in person.
- Fees
- The Schengen short-stay fee rose from 80 to 90 euros with effect from 11 June 2026. National long-stay visa fees are set nationally and are higher. A visa application centre service fee is charged on top.
- Short-stay processing
- 15 calendar days as standard, extendable to 45 in individual cases
- Long-stay processing
- Up to four months for the single permit
Documents and authentication for Belgium
Belgium is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so U.S. public documents are apostilled. That is a single certificate and it is the end of the chain.
Translation. Required into Dutch, French or German depending on the region, by a sworn translator.
- 1 Obtain a certified original From the issuing authority. Photocopies, scans and souvenir certificates cannot be authenticated.
- 2 Notarise, if it is a private document Letters, affidavits, powers of attorney and diploma copies need a notary acknowledgement first. Government-issued vital records do not.
- 3 County clerk, in some states A handful of states require the county clerk to certify the notary commission before the Secretary of State will act.
- 4 Authenticate at the right level State-issued documents go to the Secretary of State of the ISSUING state. Federal documents, including the FBI Identity History Summary, go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
- 5 Apostille or embassy legalisation Hague Convention destination: the apostille ends the chain. Non-member destination: the document then goes to that country embassy or consulate. For Belgium the apostille ends the chain.
- 6 Certified translation Translate the document together with its apostille or legalisation certificate. Doing this first means paying twice. Required into Dutch, French or German depending on the region, by a sworn translator.
- 7 File with the right consulate Jurisdiction is by your U.S. state of residence. Bring originals plus a full copy set.
The two expensive mistakes. Sending a federal document such as an FBI Identity History Summary to a Secretary of State, which cannot authenticate it. And translating before authentication, so the apostille certificate is not inside the translation and the whole set has to be paid for twice.
Official sources
- Belgian Immigration Office Residence categories and procedures.
Verified Sep 7, 2026 Primary sources: dofi.ibz.be, dofi.ibz.be
This resource is provided free by Federal Apostille as an educational tool. It is not legal or immigration advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using it. Visa rules, fees, processing times and entry requirements change frequently and often without notice, and individual circumstances change the answer. Always confirm current requirements with the official government source and the specific embassy or consulate that has jurisdiction over your place of residence before you book travel or file an application. Every figure on this site carries the date we last verified it and a link to the primary source.
