Belgium’s Federal Ombudsman has urged the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Immigration Office to overhaul the country’s visa-application procedure after receiving years of complaints about safety risks and bureaucratic hurdles. Currently, most third-country nationals must appear in person at a Belgian embassy or consulate to lodge their file—even if that requires crossing conflict zones or travelling hundreds of kilometres. In a landmark judgment in 2023 (the ‘Afrin’ case), the European Court of Justice ruled that member states may not systematically insist on physical presence if it compromises the right to family reunification. Yet Belgium still treats remote filing as an extraordinary exception.
The Ombudsman’s new report, published on 1 December 2025, recommends turning the ‘Afrin procedure’—which allows submission by e-mail in extreme cases—into a mainstream digital channel and introducing secure video-interviews for biometric capture. In addition, it calls for harmonised processing times, better refusal-letter reasoning, and a central appointment platform to reduce the current “embassy lottery” that sees applicants waiting months for a time slot in busy posts such as Kinshasa, Ankara or Islamabad.
!['Difficult and Even Dangerous': Belgium Moves to Simplify Its Visa Application Process]()
For multinationals and universities that rely on non-EU talent, the proposals could slash lead-times and reduce costly travel for candidates. HR departments would be able to initiate visa files remotely and schedule a single in-country biometrics visit after arrival—similar to France’s ‘Welcome Talent’ procedure. Mobility advisers say that, if adopted, the changes will align Belgium with best-practice jurisdictions such as the Netherlands, which rolled out full e-filing for Highly Skilled Migrants in 2024.
Diplomats acknowledge that the reform will require investment in secure IT platforms and extra training for staff, but point out that Belgium already operates the successful ‘Working in Belgium’ portal for work-permit applications. Extending that ecosystem to short- and long-stay visas would therefore be relatively straightforward.
What happens next? The Ministry has six months to respond to the Ombudsman’s recommendations. Observers expect a phased roll-out beginning with family-reunification and student visas in late 2026, followed by business and humanitarian categories. Companies are advised to map their 2026 mobility pipelines now and prepare contingency budgets in case current in-person rules remain in force longer than hoped.
The Ombudsman’s new report, published on 1 December 2025, recommends turning the ‘Afrin procedure’—which allows submission by e-mail in extreme cases—into a mainstream digital channel and introducing secure video-interviews for biometric capture. In addition, it calls for harmonised processing times, better refusal-letter reasoning, and a central appointment platform to reduce the current “embassy lottery” that sees applicants waiting months for a time slot in busy posts such as Kinshasa, Ankara or Islamabad.
For multinationals and universities that rely on non-EU talent, the proposals could slash lead-times and reduce costly travel for candidates. HR departments would be able to initiate visa files remotely and schedule a single in-country biometrics visit after arrival—similar to France’s ‘Welcome Talent’ procedure. Mobility advisers say that, if adopted, the changes will align Belgium with best-practice jurisdictions such as the Netherlands, which rolled out full e-filing for Highly Skilled Migrants in 2024.
Diplomats acknowledge that the reform will require investment in secure IT platforms and extra training for staff, but point out that Belgium already operates the successful ‘Working in Belgium’ portal for work-permit applications. Extending that ecosystem to short- and long-stay visas would therefore be relatively straightforward.
What happens next? The Ministry has six months to respond to the Ombudsman’s recommendations. Observers expect a phased roll-out beginning with family-reunification and student visas in late 2026, followed by business and humanitarian categories. Companies are advised to map their 2026 mobility pipelines now and prepare contingency budgets in case current in-person rules remain in force longer than hoped.
