Belgium’s Federal Public Service (FPS) Foreign Affairs quietly updated its official visa-handling fee schedule on 1 May 2026, the first comprehensive price review since before the pandemic. Under the new tariff, short-stay Schengen (type C) visas now cost €90 for adults, €45 for children aged 6-12 and remain free for children under six and for categories covered by EU facilitation agreements. Long-stay (type D) visas—including single-permit holders, family-reunion applicants and international students—rise to €180, while professional-card applicants must pay the €180 visa fee plus the separate business-card levy. The fee table applies worldwide and is already in force at Belgian posts from Tokyo to Washington.
![Belgium revises global visa handling fees and phases out cash payments]()
At this stage, many travellers and HR teams turn to specialised platforms for support. VisaHQ, for example, can handle Belgium visa applications end-to-end, provide up-to-the-minute fee information and schedule consular appointments through its digital interface—see https://www.visahq.com/belgium/ for details on how the service streamlines both C- and D-visa filings.
In a further modernisation step, Belgian embassies and consulates are moving to cash-free counters: the Tokyo mission became the latest to stop accepting banknotes on 1 March 2025, and officials confirm that other busy posts will follow during 2026. For corporate mobility managers, the changes mean higher budgeting for assignees and their dependants—especially where multiple permits are needed (for example, a single-permit holder accompanied by a spouse on a family-reunion visa). Employers should also factor in the administrative surcharge that Belgium’s Immigration Office levies on many D-visa files. Although the headline increases are in line with the EU’s own Schengen-fee adjustment of 2024, they come at a time when Belgium is simultaneously tightening work-authorisation rules and digitising permit filing through the "Working in Belgium" portal. Companies are therefore advised to bundle applications wherever possible to avoid duplicate bank-transfer fees and to instruct travellers to arrive at appointments with proof of electronic payment. Practically, the move away from cash should speed up counter service and reduce reconciliation errors, but it may catch walk-in applicants off-guard. Mobility teams are urged to update their instructions and provide staff with corporate cards or pre-paid solutions that meet each embassy’s accepted payment platforms.
At this stage, many travellers and HR teams turn to specialised platforms for support. VisaHQ, for example, can handle Belgium visa applications end-to-end, provide up-to-the-minute fee information and schedule consular appointments through its digital interface—see https://www.visahq.com/belgium/ for details on how the service streamlines both C- and D-visa filings.
In a further modernisation step, Belgian embassies and consulates are moving to cash-free counters: the Tokyo mission became the latest to stop accepting banknotes on 1 March 2025, and officials confirm that other busy posts will follow during 2026. For corporate mobility managers, the changes mean higher budgeting for assignees and their dependants—especially where multiple permits are needed (for example, a single-permit holder accompanied by a spouse on a family-reunion visa). Employers should also factor in the administrative surcharge that Belgium’s Immigration Office levies on many D-visa files. Although the headline increases are in line with the EU’s own Schengen-fee adjustment of 2024, they come at a time when Belgium is simultaneously tightening work-authorisation rules and digitising permit filing through the "Working in Belgium" portal. Companies are therefore advised to bundle applications wherever possible to avoid duplicate bank-transfer fees and to instruct travellers to arrive at appointments with proof of electronic payment. Practically, the move away from cash should speed up counter service and reduce reconciliation errors, but it may catch walk-in applicants off-guard. Mobility teams are urged to update their instructions and provide staff with corporate cards or pre-paid solutions that meet each embassy’s accepted payment platforms.
