Belgian Student-Visa Applicants Report 40-Day Processing Benchmark
Family-Reunification Applicants Cite 5-Month Waits as Belgian Summer Slow-Down Starts
Can a Belgium Visa Holder Spend Two Weeks in Spain? Schengen Rules Clarified
Latest News
Multi-Country Coach Itinerary Sparks Visa-Choice Confusion Among Schengen Travellers
A 31 July forum post highlights how overnight coach travel across Portugal and Spain into Belgium blurs the ‘principal destination’ rule for visa issuance. Experts advise counting every overnight stay country-by-country and documenting the business purpose in Belgium to justify a Belgian-issued visa, especially with ETIAS approaching.
Countdown to ETIAS: Belgium’s Companies Urged to Prepare for New €20 EU Travel Authorisation
FCM Travel’s 30 July 2026 update confirms that the EU’s ETIAS travel authorisation will go live in Q4 2026. Belgian companies must ensure all non-EU employees and visitors obtain the €20 permit before short business trips or risk denied boarding and fines. Travel policies, booking tools and employee communications require rapid adjustments because ETIAS will become strictly mandatory after a 12-month grace period.
Brussels Airport baggage belt breakdown snarls departures as Tomorrowland exodus peaks
A conveyor-belt failure at Brussels Airport on 29 July triggered multi-hour queues, missed flights and widespread baggage mis-loads just as 100,000+ Tomorrowland visitors attempted to leave Belgium. Immigration queues already stretched by the new EU Entry/Exit System made matters worse. Airport management has repaired the belt and added staff, but corporates are advised to build extra buffer time and minimise checked luggage.
Brussels Airport faces post-Tomorrowland meltdown: baggage breakdown and 3-hour passport queues
Passengers leaving Brussels after Tomorrowland reported immigration waits of up to three hours and a baggage-handling breakdown on 30 July 2026. The incident highlights chronic staffing shortages at border control just as Brussels Airport handles a record summer peak. Businesses are advised to add significant schedule buffers or route travellers through alternative hubs.
Brussels opens 350-bed asylum centre in Auderghem without prior public notice
An unannounced 350-bed reception centre for single male asylum-seekers opened on 29 July in an Auderghem office complex, after the Brussels Region reclassified the site under an emergency urban-planning permit. Local authorities and residents complain of poor communication and security concerns, while the federal government defends the move as a necessary response to chronic reception-capacity shortages. The incident underscores continuing strains in Belgium’s asylum infrastructure and their knock-on effects for communities popular with expatriates.
New 350-bed all-male asylum centre opens in Auderghem-Watermael, sparking local backlash
A 350-bed, male-only asylum reception centre has opened on Avenue Beaulieu in southeast Brussels, drawing objections from the Auderghem and Watermael-Boitsfort communes over safety and consultation. Federal authorities insist the site is essential to meet court-mandated reception obligations amid Belgium’s ongoing capacity crisis. The dispute highlights continuing pressure on the country’s migration and housing systems.