Belgium and India inaugurated a bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Brussels on 15 July, pledging deeper cooperation in trade, technology and – crucially for companies – mobility. Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot and Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar agreed to create a joint working group on “facilitation of skilled mobility,” with the goal of cutting processing times for Schengen business visas issued in India and streamlining Belgian intragroup transfer (ICT) permits for Indian specialists. Belgian consulates in Mumbai and New Delhi processed nearly 58 000 Schengen applications in 2025, a 27 % jump on the previous year. Officials say a pilot e-visa portal backed by India’s National Payments Corporation could go live in Q1 2027, eliminating paper forms and allowing biometric reuse for frequent travellers. The dialogue also committed to explore mutual recognition of academic credits, which would make it easier for Indian STEM students at KU Leuven and Ghent University to take paid internships in Belgian tech firms. The initiative aligns with Belgium’s talent-attraction strategy. According to Statbel, India is already the third-largest source of highly-skilled work-permit holders in Flanders; employers such as TCS Europe and UCB Pharma welcomed plans for a "green channel" that could halve turnaround times for Blue Cards. Indian industry bodies in turn asked for smoother short-stay rules for Belgian engineers working on renewable-energy projects in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Both governments will review progress at the next High-Level Economic Mission to Mumbai in March 2027. Until then, companies should track forthcoming circulars from the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Immigration Office detailing new document checklists and timelines.
