Most Updated Schengen Visa Application to Visit Belgium for Indonesian

Are you thinking about applying for Schengen visa to visit any of European countries? You can refer to the following steps and tips. Oh, it's particularly for you Indonesian applying the visa to visit Belgium from Indonesia. 

1. Book an appointment

Considering the packed schedule of the appointment, you better book an appointment at VFS Global Application Center as soon as possible here. There are three centers available, in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bali. Trust me, the slots in Jakarta and Surabaya are fully booked for the next two to three months. Even you need to pay for booking a slot there. Well, it makes sense due to the high demand. Therefore, I decided to book an appointment in Bali. It's free and I found a slot available at the earliest. In August, I received an invitation to be an interpreter at a congress on 2nd-5th of October in Belgium which means I needed a Schengen visa to go there. And, I could only apply for the visa on September 11th the earliest because I was in the UK for two months for a training there. So, more or less I had around 3 WEEKS ONLY for the whole process. Anyways, don't forget to printout the appointment letter that you've received in your mailbox. 

2. Prepare all required documents

I made a mistake here. Maybe because I was too busy, so I didn't spend some time to Google what documents required for the visa application. All that I had was the  documents that I received from the host organization there in Belgium such as 

- Invitation letter, where the organizer clearly mentioned my name to be invited for the purpose of doing an interpretation for Indonesian delegates at the congress. Here, it's also stated that all of my expenses, especially accommodation, transportation and meals are covered by the host organization. 

- Travel insurance, which states that during my visit in Belgium, I was covered by this insurance in case of any accidents or health problems. 

- Flight tickets, which indicates the flight I was going to take two ways, Indonesia <> Belgium. 

- Accommodation, that confirms where I was going to stay during the visit. Well, it's at the congress venue anyway, but still it requires a separate and direct letter of confirmation. 

3. Complete the application form

With those documents ready in hand, I started filling out the form online here. After completing the form, download it to print. It's mentioned on the page that we can apply for a Schengen visa for Belgium at the Netherlands' visa application locations in Indonesia. 

4. Attend the appointment

Get all documents printed on A4 paper, one sided and DO NOT STAPLE. Just leave them the way they are. Also, a physical PHOTO is NOT NECESSARRY, because it'll be taken there along with the our fingerprints. Oh, in Bali, the queue wasn't too long. 

After checking my documents, it turned out I missed some documents such as. 

- A copy of national identity card (KTP)

- A copy of family certificate

- Bank statements from last three months

Oh, I was asked about the employment contract, but I said that I didn't have any as I was a freelancer. If you have any, you better provide it to convince them. 

Because of the incomplete documents, I asked if I could come back later on the same day. Unfortunately, it's not possible. However, thank Goodness! The staff was really kind! He rescheduled my appointment to the next day. You know what? If he would, he could have just sent me home and let me book another appointment which I could not guarantee if any slot available was on the next day. 

I brought all required documents the next day. Interestingly in Bali, the payment for visa application (IDR 1.330.000,00 / EUR 80,00) is also with the SMS service (IDR 30.000,00) and courier (IDR 29.000,00) with the total of IDR 1.840.000,00 including 11% VAT. I asked if I could collect the passport  myself but the center highly recommends all applicants to have it delivered by their courier service instead. I was given numbers to track my application online as soon as my passport is being dispatched by the courier. Oh, you can make the payment in CASH, by QRIS, or via BANK TRANSFER, so don't worry!

We're going to leave our passport for the whole visa application process, so you better not travel abroad. 

5. Track your application online 

Before tracking the delivery of your passport here, what we can do is to track the application status online here,  and I did it almost everyday because I needed the passport as soon as possible and I wanted to make sure that there wasn't any problem in the application. Well, until the day it said it's being dispatched by courier on the page, no information at all anyway if it's approved or rejected. We're left hanging. 

6. Result

In the morning, the courier will let you know that your passport's going to be delivered on that day to make sure you're around to receive it. I couldn't wait to open it as soon as it arrived. This visa mattered a lot to me because it would take me to Europe for the first time. I found a  piece of paper saying that "You've been issued a visa ....", but I couldn't find the sticker. I panicked wondering if there's any problem. It turned out the sticker was put on a blank page at the first few pages of my passport instead of the back ones. Yeay! I got it. It's C category visa to reside in a Schengen Area for 15 days with a single entry only due to my business purpose. And guess what? When did I receive it? It's on 29th of Sept. Quickly, the organizer booked the flight for me to travel on the next day 30th of Sept. 

Applying for a visa can be daunting for some people. 

Take one step at a time. 

Make a list of what actions you need to take and what documents you need to provide. 

All the best!