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Gambian applicants
After the first sanctions taken against Gambia condemning its lack of sufficient cooperation in terms of readmission / return a new decision penalizes the absence of any positive development in this direction on the part of this third country. Visa applications of Gambian passport holders are now subject to the fee of €120 (eq. in GBP). It applies immediately to Gambian nationals regardless of their place of residence in the world.
All types of passports and categories of Gambian applicants are covered, except:
- children under 12 (art.16(2)bis Visa Code);
- Gambian family members of an EU national to whom Directive 2004/38 applies and family members of a third-country national who enjoys a right of free movement under an agreement between the EU and one third country;
- without prejudice to cases in which the MS is linked to an international obligation (primarily when an international intergovernmental organization (NATO / EU for BE) has a headquarters agreement in the MS or when the MS hosts an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations);
- without prejudice to Article 16(6) of the Visa Code (< as a reminder: individual cases in which visa fees may be reduced or not collected to promote cultural, sporting, foreign policy, development, other areas of essential general interest, humanitarian considerations)
Diplomats
Unfortunately the Embassy of Belgium in London is only equipped with an extremely small waiting room which severely restricts access to the Embassy. This is why access to the Embassy is strictly limited on appointment only to Ambassadors applying for visas in order to travel on official business (based on an official verbal note)
Diplomats and their families applying for Schengen visas for travel are kindly invited to make use of our state of the art and comfortable (with a VIP section) Visa Application Center in London.
- For private journeys of diplomats and their families (family visit, tourism) the handling fee is due even when travelling on a diplomatic passport.
- Official journeys have to be confirmed with the traditional Verbal Note.
UK travel document for refugee (Conventions of Geneva 1951)
If you hold a UK travel document for refugee (Conventions of Geneva 1951), since 31.12.2020, you require a Schengen visa to travel to Belgium.
You can find all the information on the procedure, requirements and appointments on the TLScontact visa application centre website
Airport transit
Since 31.12.2020, there have been some changes and depending on your nationality / type of travel document you hold, you might need an airport transit visa type A. Please visit the European Commission website to find out if you require an airport transit visa.
WARNING: If you are subjected to the Airport Transit Visa obligation, we strongly advice you to apply for that type of visa. More info HERE (PDF, 225.04 KB). Even if you can claim being one of the exceptions, chances are very real you will be refused boarding in the UK. Example; the Visa Code states in Article 3 that those who fall under directive 2004/38 EC "free movement" are not required to have a transit visa. But then the "accompany or join him" criterion of the Directive 2004/38 applies. A carrier will claim to be unable to verify on the spot this fact with certainty when boarding. Nor can they verify the authenticity of for example a marriage certificate. To be well prepared for a trip: one must travel with a visa.
Perhaps it is appropriate to draw your attention to the fact that the power of decision for access to Belgian territory, residence, establishment and removal of foreigners in Belgium is an exclusive competence of the Federal Public Service Interior (Immigration Department), rather than the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs.
The website of the Immigration Office (DVZ) is the reference website in Belgium for all relevant information on visas.
In French click HERE
In Dutch click HERE
In English click HERE
We notice a significant decline in the quality of the submitted visa applications in the UK. The list of required supporting documents is available to the public HERE. It can then be considered that the presentation of an incomplete file means that the applicant either does not take his/her application seriously or is unable to present the requested documents and the consulate will take the decision on the basis of the application file, as presented, whether complete or not.
It should be clear that the Embassy will decide on your visa-application based on the supporting documents in your original file. For missing or non-conforming documents it is settled case-law that it is up to the claimant who wishes to convey information pursuant to a claim that may have an influence on the assessment of his administrative situation, to fully inform the administration which, for its part, cannot be required to carry out numerous inquiries, on pain of making it impossible to respond within a reasonable timeframe to the numerous requests it receives
