The Belgian Embassy in Japan has overhauled its guidance on D-visas for non-EU nationals planning to enter Belgium to establish “legal cohabitation” with a Belgian citizen or lawful resident. The online notice, revised on 12 March 2026, consolidates documentation requirements and reiterates that both partners must normally be at least 21 years old, though applications may be accepted from 18-year-olds who can prove they have lived together for a full year abroad. A key operational change is the embassy’s shift to cashless processing: since 1 March 2025 only electronic payments are accepted, but the update stresses that applicants should budget for additional administrative fees that the Immigration Office now collects upfront. The embassy warns that incomplete files will be refused without an invitation to supply missing documents – effectively raising the bar for couples who rely on couriered paperwork from multiple jurisdictions. Practical additions include a detailed list of supporting evidence of a “lasting and stable relationship”, ranging from joint lease contracts to photographs, and new guidance on translating birth certificates into one of Belgium’s official languages. Applicants must submit two complete physical sets of all originals and notarised copies, organised in strict order, or risk delays exceeding six months. For global-mobility teams the tightening means longer lead-times when relocating staff whose partners do not qualify for simplified family-reunification routes. HR should reserve appointment slots as soon as the six-month filing window opens and budget for potential sworn translations and apostilles, particularly for Japanese-language civil-status documents. Although the notice is issued by the Tokyo post, Belgian missions worldwide are gradually harmonising D-visa check-lists ahead of the planned merger of consular IT systems in 2027. Companies should therefore expect similar documentation templates – and cashless payments – to appear at other embassies in the coming months.
