Authorisation to stay as a student (recognised higher education institution)
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Machtiging tot verblijf als student / Autorisation de sejour en qualite d'etudiant as of 2026-06-24[1] Dutch and French. Titre II, Chapitre III of the Aliens Act is headed 'Etudiants'. |
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| Official name (English) | Authorisation to stay as a student (recognised higher education institution) as of 2026-08-13[7] The Immigration Office does not publish a single English permit name; this is its description of the status conferred by arts. 58 and following. |
| Legal basis | Loi du 15 decembre 1980, art. 58 to 61/1/8 (Titre II, Chapitre III, Sections I and II), as replaced by the Law of 11 July 2021; Arrete royal du 8 octobre 1981 as of 2026-06-24[1][7] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-13[5] An A card following registration in the register of foreign nationals; a type D national long-stay visa where the application is made abroad. |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2026-08-13[7] |
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| Minimum age | Not established from a qualifying source[1] No minimum age is set. Art. 60, para 3, 4 instead requires an applicant under 18 to produce the authorisation of the parents or of the guardian. |
| Criminal-record condition | Yes as of 2026-06-24[1] Art. 60, para 3, 8: an applicant over 18 must produce an extract from the criminal record or an equivalent document from the country of origin or last residence, less than six months old, showing no conviction for ordinary crimes or offences. The minister may waive it, and the medical certificate at 7, where production is duly justified as impossible. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | at least 1 year as of 2026-06-24[1] Art. 61/1/1, para 3: where the authorisation is granted on a certificate of enrolment, its duration is at least one year – at least two years where the course forms part of a Union or multilateral mobility programme or an inter-institutional agreement, unless the conditions are not met for that period. Where the course is shorter, the authorisation covers at least the course. It never exceeds the validity of the passport. Recorded with bound minimum: the statute states a floor, not a term. Where the applicant produced only proof of admission or of registration for an entrance examination, a provisional document covering four months from entry is issued first. |
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| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-06-24[1] |
| Work rights | hours capped as of 2026-08-13[9] Flemish Region: a foreign student holding a valid residence title needs no work authorisation for student work. The A card carries the mention 'labour market – limited', and the holder may work up to 20 hours per week without a work authorisation, provided the work is compatible with the studies and for as long as the A card is valid. The 20-hour limit does not apply during school holidays. Established for the Flemish Region only; Brussels and Wallonia were not read on this point. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-06-24[1] Qualified: Aliens Act art. 15bis, para 1, al. 2, 1 excludes a student from the direct grant of EU long-term resident status, but para 2, al. 2 counts study periods at half toward the five years rather than discarding them. So study time counts, at half weight, once the person moves to another status. |
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Requirements
| Enrolment status required | admitted as of 2026-06-24[1] Art. 60, para 3, 3 accepts three alternative certificates from a higher-education institution: that the applicant is registered for full-time higher studies or a preparatory year, or that he is admitted to the studies, or that he is registered for an entrance examination or admission test. Recorded 'admitted' because admission – not completed enrolment – is enough to apply; where only admission or an examination registration is produced, art. 61/1/1, para 2 issues a provisional four-month document and requires the enrolment certificate 15 days before it expires. |
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| Means requirement | EUR 1,062 per month as of 2026-03-04[6][8] |
| Savings alternative | EUR 12,744 as of 2026-03-04[6][8] Not a separate rule but the lump-sum form of the same test: the Immigration Office accepts a deposit into a blocked account opened by the institution in the student's name, or a bank guarantee, equal to twelve times the monthly minimum. EUR 12,744 is twelve times EUR 1,062; on the EUR 835 figure the page still states, twelve times is EUR 10,020. The multiplication is the source's own construction, not this record's. Only irrevocable-transfer certificates from Studely and Ready Study Go International are currently accepted for the bank-guarantee form. |
| Work-hours cap | 20 as of 2026-08-13[9] Flemish Region: up to 20 hours per week without a work authorisation during the academic year, provided the work is compatible with the studies; no limit during school holidays. Established for the Flemish Region only. |
| Post-study route exists | Yes as of 2026-06-24[1][5] The search year of art. 61/1/9, recorded as be-search-year-graduate. |
| Post-study permit duration | up to 12 months as of 2026-06-24[1][5] A maximum of 12 months to find employment or set up a business. |
| Post-study income requirement | EUR 1,062 per month as of 2026-03-04[6][8] Aliens Act art. 61/1/9, para 2, 4 applies the same means test of art. 61 to the search year, so the figure and its staleness caveat are as for means_requirement: EUR 1,062 net per month from the 2026-2027 academic year per EMN Belgium, against EUR 835 still shown on the Immigration Office's own means page when read on 13 August 2026. |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-06-24[1] Art. 60, para 1: the application goes to the Belgian diplomatic or consular post competent for the applicant's residence abroad. Para 2 derogates: a third-country national already admitted to Belgium for up to 90 days, or already authorised to stay for more than 90 days in another capacity, may apply to the municipal authority of their Belgian residence before that permit expires, provided they are already registered at a higher-education institution for full-time study. |
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| Statutory processing time | 90 days as of 2026-06-24[1] Art. 61/1/1, para 1: decision and notification within 90 days of the acknowledgement of receipt, and the authorisation must be granted unless a refusal ground in art. 61/1/3 applies. |
| Fees |
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| Quota |
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Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-06-24[1] |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-06-24[1] Art. 10bis, para 1 gives family members of a student a right to authorisation where the student proves stable, regular and sufficient means under art. 10, para 5, sufficient housing meeting the legal safety and health criteria, and health insurance covering the risks in Belgium for himself and the family. The Immigration Office adds a specific exclusion: the formal undertaking of support (Annex 32) made for a student's own benefit cannot be used for this, so a student who wishes to be joined by a spouse and minor children must show means at least equal to the reference amount himself. |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, minor child, adult dependent child as of 2026-06-24[1] Art. 10bis, para 1 by reference to art. 10, para 1, al. 1, 6, a) to e). |
| Family may apply at the same time | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Family members' work rights | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Additional means per family member |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 9 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 9 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-03-04 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-13 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-17 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Loi du 15 décembre 1980 sur l'accès au territoire, le séjour, l'établissement et l'éloignement des étrangers — consolidated text (Justel), updated to 24 June 2026
Service public fédéral Justice (Moniteur belge / Justel) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-24 · Accessed 2026-08-13 - [2] Contribution fee
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13 - [3] Stable, regular and adequate means of subsistence
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13 - [4] Contribution fee indexation
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13 - [5] Search year after higher studies
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13 - [6] Sufficient means of subsistence (students and search year)
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13 - [7] Study – higher education
Immigration Office (Office des Etrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken), FPS Home Affairs · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13 - [8] Minister raises minimum financial requirements for non-EU students in Belgium
European Migration Network – Belgian National Contact Point (Immigration Office, FPS Home Affairs) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-04 · Accessed 2026-08-13 - [9] Een buitenlander in Vlaanderen tewerkstellen: voor wie
Government of Flanders (Vlaamse overheid), Department of Work and Social Economy · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-13