From now on, stricter conditions will apply to non-European students who wish to study in Belgium or extend their stay, Belgian Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt (Flemish nationalist N-VA). Has announced. International students will have to demonstrate more quickly that they are making progress in their studies, and they will not be allowed to change their course of study every year without good reason. The new rules are intended to prevent abuse.
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Stricter Belgian rules for international students: must now prove more quickly they are making progress
Colin Clapson
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The bar is being raised in particular for graduate and bachelor’s programmes: after two academic years, at least 60 credits must have been obtained, and thereafter at least 40 additional credits per year.
Clearer limits on the maximum duration of study are also being introduced for master’s programmes, advanced master’s programmes, certificates and doctorates. It will become more difficult to keep changing study programmes and thereby artificially extend one’s stay.
The extension of a student’s residence permit may now also be refused if the student wishes to commence a third field of study during the first three years of their stay, whilst the two previous fields of study were not successfully completed. Students who, after completing a higher-level programme, switch to a programme of a lower academic level without success will also be subject to stricter assessment.
Stricter conditions for music schools and business schools too
It will also become more difficult to obtain a visa to study at, for example, a music school or a business school. These are often institutions that are not recognised by the government and are therefore not subject to official quality and accreditation oversight.
Just think of music or ballet schools, but also certain business schools. The latter often offer courses that closely resemble those within recognised higher education. According to Van Bossuyt, there are fewer guarantees regarding the standard and quality of the course or the value of qualifications awarded at such business schools.
Last year, nearly 14,000 non-EU students applied for a first visa to study in Belgium. 82 per cent of applications where the student wished to follow a course at a recognised institution were approved. For non-recognised institutions, the approval rate was just 51 per cent.