Belgium Visa from Dubai: VFS, Fees, Who Decides and Documents

The short answer: Emiratis don't need a visa for Belgium: they can stay up to 90 days in any 180. Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan nationals living in the UAE need a Schengen visa. You apply at VFS Global in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. The Embassy of Belgium in Abu Dhabi takes in and assesses most files, but Belgium's Immigration Office in Brussels is the only body that can refuse a visa, and some files are referred there before a decision. The visa fee is EUR 90 for adults, plus a VFS service charge. Processing takes at least 15 calendar days, longer if Brussels has to decide, and the checklist asks for three months of bank statements.

Brussels' Grand Place, the Atomium, and the medieval centres of Bruges and Ghent are why most UAE residents go. Belgium issues Schengen visas, so a Belgian visa also covers the other Schengen countries, as long as Belgium is your main destination.

Belgium visa for UAE residents at a glance

Question	Answer (October 2026)
Emirati passport	No visa, up to 90 days in any 180
India, Pakistan, Philippines, Egypt, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka	Schengen visa before travel
Who decides	The Embassy of Belgium in Abu Dhabi for most files; Belgium's Immigration Office in Brussels for refusals and some referred files
Where to apply	VFS Global, Wafi Mall in Dubai or the World Trade Centre mall in Abu Dhabi
Visa fee	EUR 90 adults, EUR 45 children aged 6 to 11, free under 6
VFS service charge	Not published by the embassy; paid on top, in dirhams, at the centre
Processing	At least 15 calendar days, up to 45 for more checks, about 4 to 6 weeks if Brussels decides
Bank statements	Last 3 months, stamped and signed by the bank
Proof of funds	About EUR 45 a day with family or friends, EUR 95 a day in a hotel, or a host's Annexe 3bis guarantee

Who needs a visa for Belgium

Whether you need a visa depends on your passport. UAE citizens have been able to visit Belgium and the rest of the Schengen area without a visa since May 2015. They will need the EU's ETIAS travel authorisation once it starts; it hasn't yet, and the EU says it will announce the date several months ahead.

Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan nationals need a Schengen visa, and so do most other nationalities living in the UAE. EU rules say you apply in the country where you legally live, so UAE residents apply in the UAE, not at home.

Apply to Belgium if it is your main destination, where you spend the most nights. Four nights in Brussels and two in Amsterdam is a Belgian application; the reverse is a Dutch one. See our Schengen visa guide for how the rule works.

How to apply from Dubai or Abu Dhabi

1. Fill in the application on Belgium's Visa on Web portal, then print and sign the form and its barcode page.
2. Book an appointment on VFS Global's Belgium site for the UAE. Family members of Belgian or EU nationals can apply as a walk-in, without an appointment.
3. Attend your appointment at VFS in Wafi Mall, Dubai (Level 2, Falcon Phase 2, Umm Hurair 2) or the World Trade Centre mall, Abu Dhabi (Level B2, Lower Ground). Submission runs from 9am to 3pm; collect your passport between 3pm and 5pm. You hand in your documents, give fingerprints and pay the fees.
4. Wait for the decision. The embassy in Abu Dhabi decides most straightforward files. If yours needs more checks, it goes to Belgium's Immigration Office in Brussels, which also issues every refusal.

There is no Belgian consulate in Dubai: the embassy's consular section is in Capital Plaza Office Tower, Corniche, Abu Dhabi, and it only takes visa questions by email, at abudhabi.visa@diplobel.fed.be, not by phone. VFS's own call centre, +971 4 205 57 16, handles appointment and application questions for both cities. Some websites say Belgium uses TLScontact in Dubai; the embassy's own page names VFS Global for both centres, so go by that. The embassy also says it doesn't work with any visa agent in the UAE, and that anyone selling privileged access to an appointment, or a guaranteed approval, isn't legitimate.

Documents

VFS's checklist for a Belgium tourism or family visit from the UAE asks for:

• The signed Visa on Web application form, printed with its barcode page
• Passport and a copy, issued within the last ten years, with at least two blank pages, valid at least three months after you leave the Schengen area
• UAE residence visa and a copy of your Emirates ID, each valid at least three months after you leave the Schengen area
• A recent photo on a white background
• A letter from your employer stating your position, salary and leave dates, or your trade licence if you are self-employed
• Hotel booking for every night, or your host's address if you stay with family or friends
• Bank statements for the last three months, original and stamped by the bank
• Travel medical insurance with at least EUR 30,000 of cover for the whole Schengen area, including repatriation
• Return flight reservation

Visiting family or friends

Your host can write an invitation giving your address, or complete Annexe 3bis, Belgium's standing-surety form, to guarantee your costs instead of you showing your own funds. To sign it, the host needs stable, declared net income of at least 120% of Belgium's social integration income reference, which works out to EUR 2,173.88 a month as of March 2026, and can't themselves be a foreign national on a limited-stay residence card. The commune's legalisation on the form can't be older than six months on the day you apply. Ask VFS or the embassy which option they want before your appointment.

Children

Belgium's checklists elsewhere ask for the child's birth certificate naming both parents, and a notarised consent letter from any parent not travelling with the child, with a copy of that parent's passport. The UAE centres don't publish their own version of this list, so confirm with VFS or the embassy what they need for your child before you apply.

How much money you need to show

Belgium's Immigration Office publishes a reference amount for short stays: about EUR 45 a day if you stay with family or friends, about EUR 95 a day if you stay in a hotel, for every day of your planned trip. If your host guarantees your costs with Annexe 3bis instead, this requirement moves to the host, not you.

Fees and processing time

• Visa fee: EUR 90 for adults and EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 11, the fee the EU sets for a Schengen short-stay visa. Children under 6 pay nothing.
• VFS service charge: paid on top, in dirhams, at the centre. The embassy's page doesn't publish the amount and points applicants to VFS's own fee page instead.
• Processing: at least 15 calendar days for files the embassy decides itself, up to 45 days if it needs more checks or documents. If your file goes to Belgium's Immigration Office in Brussels, which also decides every refusal, VFS's own guidance for the UAE puts this at about 4 to 6 weeks, and longer in summer.
• When to apply: up to six months before you travel, and at least 15 days before. Fees aren't refunded if you're refused or you withdraw.

If you're refused, only the Immigration Office in Brussels can tell you why: the embassy says it can't comment on the grounds for refusal and can't accept extra documents to change the decision. You can appeal to the Council for Alien Law Litigation in Brussels (Conseil du Contentieux des Étrangers / Raad voor Vreemdelingenbetwistingen), by registered post, within 30 days of the decision being announced; the embassy can't help with this. Many applicants instead lodge a fresh, complete application that addresses the reasons for refusal, which has no waiting period of its own.

At the border

Since April 2026, Belgium and every other Schengen country register non-EU visitors in the EU's Entry/Exit System. On your first trip since it started, you give fingerprints and a photo at passport control instead of getting a stamp.

Flights from the UAE

• Emirates flies non-stop from Dubai to Brussels, in about seven hours, on its current daily timetable.
• Etihad flies non-stop from Abu Dhabi to Brussels daily, and is adding extra flights from 15 December 2026, taking the route to 11 a week.

Flights between the UAE and Europe were disrupted for much of 2026, so check your flight with the airline before you book, and make sure the reservation you submit matches your application dates.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I apply for a Belgium visa in Dubai?

At VFS Global's Belgium visa centre in Wafi Mall, or at VFS in the World Trade Centre mall, Abu Dhabi. Some sites mention TLScontact, but the embassy's own page names VFS Global for both cities.

How much is the Belgium visa fee in Dubai?

EUR 90 for adults and EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 11, paid in dirhams, plus a VFS service charge that the embassy doesn't publish on its own page. Children under 6 pay no visa fee.

How long does a Belgium visa take from Dubai?

At least 15 calendar days for files the embassy decides itself, up to 45 days if it needs more checks, and about 4 to 6 weeks if your file goes to Belgium's Immigration Office in Brussels.

Does the embassy in Abu Dhabi decide my Belgium visa, or does Brussels?

The embassy takes in and assesses most files itself. Belgium's Immigration Office in Brussels is the only body that can refuse a visa, so a borderline file, or any refusal, is decided there instead.

How much money do I need to show for a Belgium visa?

About EUR 45 a day if you stay with family or friends, or EUR 95 a day in a hotel, for every day of your trip, unless your host guarantees your costs with Belgium's Annexe 3bis form.

Do Emiratis need a visa for Belgium?

No. UAE citizens can visit Belgium without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180. They will need an ETIAS travel authorisation once the EU starts it.

Planning a trip to Belgium

Three or four days covers Brussels, the Grand Place and the Atomium, with a day trip to Bruges; a week adds Ghent and Antwerp. Amsterdam is under two hours away by train and in Schengen too, so one visa covers both. See our Schengen visa services for help preparing your Belgium application, browse holiday packages, or talk to us about flights and hotels.

Related guides

• Schengen visa for UAE residents
• Netherlands visa from Dubai
• France visa from Dubai
• Germany visa from Dubai

Last checked 9 October 2026 against the Embassy of Belgium in Abu Dhabi's visa, application and refusal-and-appeal pages, VFS Global's Belgium visa centres for the UAE, Belgium's Immigration Office pages on processing time and reference amounts for short stays, the EU Visa Code and fee regulation, the European Commission's ETIAS page, eu-LISA on the Entry/Exit System, and airline schedules and reports. This guide is general information, not immigration advice. Confirm the current requirements with VFS Global or the Embassy of Belgium in Abu Dhabi before you apply.