Visa

1. General information

    a) When to apply ?

You can apply a maximum of 180 days and a minimum of 15 working days before your planned travel date. The time it will take to treat your application is highly dependent on your application and the volume of applications we are processing. There is no fixed timeframe, nor a maximum or minimum.
Please note that during peak season (April to August), appointments may not be available immediately as we are regularly fully booked for up to three weeks or more.
It is always advised to make your appointment early.

   b) Payment of visa application fees

Payment must be made before you submit your application to our Embassy.
Proof of payment must always be submitted with your application.
For more information on payment methods and visa application fees.

   c) Biometric information

All applicants for short-stay Schengen visa must appear in person to have their 10 fingerprints and their photograph registered.
These data are stored for 59 months in the VIS. The applicant is not obliged to present themselves in person to give their fingerprints again if he/she applies for a new visa within these 59 months. In this case only, the application may be sent in by courier service (please enclose a prepaid return). The photograph has to be taken or scanned and integrated in the VIS with every new visa application.
Attention : if the Embassy has any doubt as to the identity (e.g. the quality of the fingerprints taken at the time of the first application is not acceptable), or if the applicant is no longer exempt from giving their fingerprints when submitting the new application (e.g. when submitting the first  application, he/she was temporarily unable to give their fingerprints), the Embassy has the right to demand that the applicant presents themself in person.

The fingerprint registration procedure only takes a few minutes and identifies you with certainty as the sole licensee of the visa. It protects you against falsification or abuse of your identity (for instance, if your passport is stolen) and optimizes the border crossing. For more information, we refer you to the website of the European Union.

Although fingerprints for children younger than 12 years old are not taken, children still need to appear in person.

  d) How to determine your main destination

If you travel to different countries during your stay in the Schengen zone, you need to determine which country is your main destination, in order to know at which embassy you should apply for your visa.
In general, your main destination is the country where you will spend most of your time or that is your reason for travel.
If you spend an equal number of days in different countries, your main destination will be your first port of entry in the Schengen zone.

Should you be in doubt, we advise you to send us your full and detailed travel plans by email (kingston@ diplobel.fed.be) for further advice.

   e) Transit through the Schengen zone

If you are transiting through the Schengen zone to a final destination outside of the Schengen zone, it is possible that you will need a visa.
Always check with your airline whether you will need to leave the transit area at the airport to check in for your ongoing flight. The Embassy is not responsible for your itinerary and is therefore unable to help you determine whether you will be transiting through or entering the zone.
If you are leaving the international transit area, you are actually entering the Schengen zone and you will need a visa C. If however you do not have to leave the transit zone, you will not need a visa, if you are Jamaican. Some nationalities are required to apply for a visa A for transit. You can read more on : information on transit.

2. Required documents

All required documents are to be printed or copied and submitted with your application at the Embassy at the time of your appointment.

Submitting an incomplete application will lead to a refusal.

Your original passport needs to be submitted and is retained by the Embassy during the treatment of your application, along with copies of the data page and all used/stamped pages.

• Tourist visit (PDF, 97.18 KB)
• Visiting family or friends (PDF, 124.29 KB)
• Business travel (PDF, 114.03 KB)
• Seamen – to join ship (PDF, 87.96 KB)
• Artist - music, dance,… (PDF, 102.98 KB)
• Sporting event (PDF, 104.2 KB)

3. Applying for a short stay visa on Visa On Web

Please proceed to Visa On Web to start the application process.
Once on the website, you can register as a new user or log onto your existing account, after which you will need to fill out the application form online, submit it electronically and then make an appointment online.

Note the following:
When registering as a new user, you need to create a password. Your password should be a combination of letters and numbers with at least one capital letter and at least one symbol (#, @, $, *, %, etc.).
Applicants cannot submit their application by email.
Applicants who do not have an confirmed appointment will not be allowed access to the Embassy.
 

4. Preparing for your appointment

Please pay attention to the following instructions:

• All applicants must be seated inside the Embassy on time but maximum ten (10) minutes before their appointment time.
  They should bear in mind that they will need to sign in at the security before entering.
  They will not be allowed to enter for the appointment once the appointment has started, in order to not disrupt other applicants.
   
• Applicants must turn off their phone fully before entering the Embassy. If the applicant does not comply, he/she will be asked to leave the Embassy.
   
• There is a fixed time for each session. As a result, applicants must ensure that all their documents are in order and are ready to be submitted (see "required documents"). No extra time will be given, due to time constraint and out of respect for other waiting applicants
  Applicants cannot be organizing their applications during their appointment, this must be done before you present yourself at the Embassy. If they are not ready to submit their application when it is their appointment time, they will have to make a new appointment.
   

More information

If, after reading all the information on our website, you cannot find the information you need, please send us a clear email with your information so we can best guide you (kingston@ diplobel.fed.be).

Due to the high volume of e-mails received each day, if the visa information you require is provided on our website, you will not receive an answer to your e-mail. Only e-mails requesting specific visa information that is not detailed on the website, or regarding different matters, will be answered within 5 working days.

Visa questions are not answered by phone.