Belgium says students from Cameroon and Morocco submitted the highest number of visa applications in 2022 ⁰

According to the Immigrations Office of Belgium, in the first six months of 2022, Cameroonian students filed a total of 646 applications, and Moroccan students filed a total of 621 applications for long-stay visas, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Data further show that 436 Cameroonian students applied for a long-stay visa in Belgium to pursue their studies in a state higher education institute, whereas 208 of them applied for a visa to be able to attend Belgian private institutions.

As for Moroccan students, the Belgian Immigrations Office shows that 577 students from Morocco applied for a long-stay visa to continue their education in a state institute, and another 6 of them applied for a visa to pursue their education in private institutes.

Based on the number of applications filed for long-stay visas, Chinese students were ranked third. They filed a total of 241 applications. The top ten list also includes students from Turkey, India, the United States, and Iran.

As for overall data, it has been revealed that in the first half of 2022, Belgium received almost 2,100 long-term visa applications from students all over the world.

Apart from receiving and issuing a high number of long-term visas for students, the Belgian authorities also extended the long-stay ID card for around 90 per cent of applications of 2,348 students.

All students and citizens of third countries that have not reached a visa liberalisation with the EU or an agreement with the Schengen member countries need to apply for a visa in order to be permitted entry to Belgium.

Students applying for a Belgian long-stay visa must submit all the required documents such as a student visa application form, a valid passport, two passport photos, health insurance, proof of financial means, a supporting letter, proof of English proficiency, proof of non-criminal convictions, and a high school diploma.

Those applying for a student visa must prove that they have enough income to support themselves during their stay in Belgium.

The Belgium student visa costs around €200, including the application process as well as the administrative feed.

Once in Belgium, students have eight days to register at a local administration office and get a residence card. By holding such a card, students are permitted to stay in Belgium for the duration of their study course. Generally, a student visa is issued for one to two years.

Source: SchengenVisaInfo.com