-
Last updated on
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Consulate General officers do NOT answer visa questions over the phone.
Any question for which the answer is not on this site can be addressed to montreal.visa@diplobel.fed.be
General information
Applying from your country of residence
Short stay visa applications must be lodged from your country of residence.
You should NOT apply from Canada unless you are a temporary or a permanent resident in Canada or you hold a travel document issued by Canada (for instance if you are a protected person).
Applications by non-residents (e.g. visitors) can only be accepted in duly justified cases of force majeure.
Applying with the country of destination
You must lodge the application for a Schengen visa at the Embassy or the Consulate of the country that you intend to visit.
If you intend to visit more than one Schengen State, you must apply at the Embassy or the Consulate of the country of your primary destination (i.e. main purpose of stay or longest stay).
If you intend to visit several Schengen States and the stays will be of equal length, you must apply at the Embassy or the Consulate of the country whose external borders you will cross first when entering the Schengen area (i.e. first point of entry).
Prepare your application file: requirements and supporting documents
Depending on the purpose of your travel, please refer to the following lists of supporting documents:
1. Tourism
If the purpose of your travel to Belgium is tourism, please use the following checklist:
Checklist 'Tourism' (PDF, 127.11 KB)
2. Business
If the purpose of your travel to Belgium is business, please use the following checklist:
Checklist 'Business' (PDF, 152.96 KB)
3. Visiting Family / Friends
If the purpose of your travel to Belgium is to visit a family member or a friend, please use the following checklist:
Checklist 'Visiting Family/Friends' (PDF, 133.84 KB)
4. Culture / Sport / Conference
If the purpose of your travel to Belgium is to participate in a cultural event, a sports competition, a conference or a seminar, please use the following checklist:
Submit your application form and make an appointment
To start the application procedure, you have to fill out and submit your application form online.
When you have completed your electronic application form, make sure you book an appointment on VisaOnWeb in order to present your visa application in person at the Consulate General in Montreal. The functionality “make an appointment” will only appear on VisaOnWeb when your application has been submitted online.
Exceptionally, applicants who have already applied for a Schengen visa and whose biometric data can be duplicated from the Schengen Visa Information System (59 months maximum) do not have to make an appointment with the Consulate General. They can submit their application online and then send a complete application package by express mail (Xpresspost, FedEx, UPS, DHL, Purolator) with a copy of their previous Schengen visa. However, if your data was recorded at an earlier date, it is no longer valid and you will have to get it recorded again to be able to lodge your new application.
WAITING TIMES
PLEASE NOTE:
(1) Waiting times to obtain an appointment are approximately 3 months. There is no point in writing to our services to request an early appointment, at the risk of overloading our already heavily requested services.
(2) Officers at the Consulate General do not take calls regarding visas.
Apply
In order to formally lodge your visa application, please bring your entire application file on the day of your appointment at the Consulate General of Belgium in Montreal.
During your appointment, you will be asked to pay the fees and provide your biometrics (fingerprints and photo). You will also need to provide a copy of all supporting documents mentioned in the checklist which corresponds to the purpose of your trip.
PLEASE NOTE: incomplete applications can be refused.
Applicants who hold a previous Schengen visa and who wish to apply by post must add two recent ID pictures to their file and pay the visa handling fee by certified cheque or bank draft (issued by a Canadian bank), or by Postal Money Order (issued by Canada Post). KINDLY NOTE: this is only possible if your biometric data was recorded in the last 59 months before your intended travel. If your data was recorded at an earlier date, it is no longer valid. See top of this page for more details.
Consider processing times
Current processing times are available on the website of the Immigration Office.
It is strongly advised to apply between 3 weeks (minimum) and 6 months (maximum) ahead of the planned travel date.
Please be informed that applicants traveling on non-ordinary passports (e.g. Travel document for refugee) will be subject to longer processing times.
Processing times will also be extended:
- when consultation of other Schengen States is required (this concerns a limited number of nationalities);
- to travelers whose last Schengen visa application was refused.
Spouses and dependents of EU/EEA nationals may be entitled to an accelerated visa procedure free of charge if they meet certain criteria at the time of application: European Directive 2004/38/EC
Status of your application
In cases where your application has been transferred to Brussels for decision by the Immigration Office, you can check its status online
