Any friends or relatives who’d like to study in Belgium? Here are some tips

Institutional Organization: the Communities

Some of you might be familiar with the complexity of the institutional system and Federalism in Belgium. When it comes to education, neither the Federal authorities nor the Regional ones are responsible. The communities, which refer to the language, are: the French community, the Flemish community, or the German-speaking community. In need of information, one should be in touch with each Community authority.

Formal requirements

What happens for non-Belgian people? If you are an EU national, no worries, it is not a big deal. You are entitled to study in Belgium after you have filled some documents with regards to residency, reasons for coming etc.

If you’re not an EU national, you need a visa to enter and study in Belgium. You should contact the Belgian embassy in your country of residence, and you’ll be given all the papers and documents you need to fill out.

What to do?

If you’re not familiar with the Belgian educational system, you can browse through some of the courses you can take. These websites might help you to find a degree of interest:

Programs in Dutch:

http://www.studyinflanders.be/

Programs in French:

http://www.enseignement.be/index.php?page=26036

Programs in German:

http://www.ostbelgienlive.be/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-107/

Some programs in English:

https://www.vesalius.edu/admissions/entry-requirements-2/

http://www.studyinbelgium.be/en

Cost

Education in Belgium is somewhat cheap if you plan to study in one of the three official languages. An academic year at the university will cost you a couple of hundred Euros.

You also can benefit from grants. The Development Cooperation has a list of all the official bodies which offer grants in Belgium. You also can have a look at some EU programmes, such as Erasmus or Leonardo da Vinci.

Where to stay?

Many rooms and universities have rooms for students. Specific departments in each university will offer support for that. You also can joinig a ‘kot’ (with flatmates), which can give you an overall idea about the student life in Belgium.