International student in Belgium: the steps of your first month (commune, A card, health fund, bank)

Information checked on 25 October 2026.

You arrive in Belgium with a D visa for studies. Within 8 working days of entering the country, go to the commune where you live; after a check by the neighbourhood police officer, it issues an A card valid for one year. In the same month, finalise your enrolment at your institution, join a health fund, open a bank account and get a transport pass. You can then work 20 hours a week during term time, and you must apply to renew the card no later than 15 days before it expires.

This guide picks up where our procedure for studying in Belgium from Africa and its version for students from the Maghreb leave off: the visa is granted, and everything now happens in Belgium. For other visas, our page Arriving in Belgium with a D visa covers every case, and the entry page Arriving in Europe with a long-stay visa compares countries.

The first month at a glance

Week 1: the commune within 8 working days

Article 12 of the law of 15 December 1980 requires you to apply for entry in the foreigners' register within eight working days of entering Belgium. The Immigration Office repeats the rule for students: report to the commune administration of your place of residence within 8 days of arrival.

Each commune organises this its own way. Many require an online appointment, sometimes weeks ahead. If no slot is free, go in person or write to the foreigners' department before the deadline, and keep proof of your step (email, acknowledgement of receipt). Our guide to registering your arrival at the commune explains the process and the documents.

Bring:

• your passport with the D visa;
• the enrolment (or admission) certificate from your institution;
• proof of health insurance covering all risks in Belgium;
• the exact address of your accommodation and, if possible, the lease;
• ID photos, if the commune asks for them.

So you need real accommodation from day one. A hotel room or a friend's sofa will not do for the check that follows.

The residence check by the neighbourhood officer

After your visit to the commune, a neighbourhood officer (agent de quartier) from the local police comes to check that you really live at the address you gave. The card is only issued after a positive check. When the officer comes varies from one commune to another.

To make it go smoothly:

• put your name on the letterbox and the doorbell from day one;
• tell your landlord and flatmates;
• if the officer leaves a note, call back quickly.

A missed check delays everything else: the card, the health fund, sometimes the bank account and the student job.

A card or registration certificate: two cases

The Immigration Office distinguishes two situations.

You presented your enrolment certificate and health insurance. If the residence check is positive, the commune issues an A card, valid for one year and renewable. It carries the mentions "Étudiant" (student) and "Marché du travail : limité" (labour market: limited). The commune usually writes to you when the card is ready, with its PIN and PUK codes, and you collect it in person. The price depends on the commune.

You only had an admission certificate, or no insurance yet. The commune gives you a registration certificate (attestation d'immatriculation), valid for 4 months from your entry into Belgium. You must bring the enrolment certificate and proof of insurance no later than 15 days before it expires. Otherwise, the Immigration Office provides for an order to leave the territory. Put the date in your diary the same day.

Finalising your enrolment

The admission that got you the visa is not always a final enrolment. Go to the enrolment office in the first days. You will often be asked for:

• the originals of your diploma, transcripts and equivalence decision (for a bachelor's degree in the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles);
• your passport and, later, your residence document;
• payment of all or part of the tuition fees.

Keep the originals in your hand luggage, never in the hold. The final enrolment certificate is then needed everywhere: commune, health fund, bank, transport pass, student job. Ask for several copies.

Joining a health fund

Health insurance is compulsory, and your residence permit depends on it. Once registered at the commune, join a health fund (mutualité) of your choice or the CAAMI, the public fund. Our guide to joining a health fund as a newcomer to Belgium compares the options.

According to UCLouvain, a student who joins as a student pays a statutory contribution of 78.93 euros a quarter in 2026, the same in every fund. Health funds also offer optional supplementary cover (dental care, glasses, psychologist). The CAAMI offers only the compulsory insurance, with no supplementary contribution. If you arrived with private insurance or cover from your scholarship, ask your institution's social service whether joining is still needed in your case.

Opening a bank account

You will need a Belgian account for rent, the rental deposit, wages from a job and your transport pass. Requirements vary from bank to bank: most ask for your passport and proof of address, often the residence document or proof of registration at the commune, sometimes the institution's certificate. There is no official list of banks that open an account for a student before the A card: ask your institution's international office, which knows local practice.

Good to know: Belgian law provides a basic banking service. According to Febelfin, the sector federation, every private individual is entitled to it, and a bank may refuse only in limited cases, for example if you already have a current account or at least 10,000 euros in your accounts. The service is not necessarily free.

Transport: the 12-euro pass in Brussels

In Brussels, STIB sells a 12-euro annual pass to people aged 18 to 24 whose official address is in the Brussels-Capital Region, with no school certificate. If you are 18 to 24 without an address in Brussels, the school pass at the same price requires a certificate from your institution. You need a personal MOBIB card to load the pass. From age 25, ordinary fares apply.

In Wallonia (TEC) and Flanders (De Lijn), reduced fares also exist for young people: check conditions and prices on letec.be and delijn.be before buying. For travel between cities, SNCB has its own offers.

Housing: student lease and rental deposit

If you are still in temporary accommodation, the priority is a lease in your name, at the address you give the commune. The student lease follows its own rules in each Region: twelve months at most in Brussels and Wallonia, different notice conditions. Read it before signing.

The rental deposit is capped at two months' rent in Brussels (leases signed since 1 November 2024) and Wallonia (since 1 June 2023), and at two months for a student lease in Flanders. It goes into a blocked account in your name, never in cash or into the landlord's account: our guide to the rental deposit in Belgium explains why. To search, see how to find accommodation in Belgium and the rules for flat-sharing in Belgium. Never pay for a place nobody has visited.

Working during your studies: 20 hours a week

With an A card marked "Étudiant", the FPS Employment lists you among the people allowed to work, without a separate permit, on two conditions: during school holidays, work is unrestricted; outside them, it must not exceed 20 hours a week and must remain compatible with your studies. The registration certificate is not among the documents that allow a student to work: wait for the A card.

The student contract gives reduced social contributions (2.71% instead of 13.07%) for 650 hours per calendar year, with the counter reset on 1 January. Beyond that you can keep working, but with ordinary contributions. You check your balance on Student@work (studentatwork.be). These 650 hours are a contribution ceiling, not a permission: for you, the limit of 20 hours a week during term remains the rule.

Preparing your first renewal

The A card lasts one year. The renewal application is filed at the commune no later than 15 days before it expires; a late application may be declared inadmissible. The Immigration Office asks for:

• a copy of your valid passport;
• an enrolment certificate from the institution, on the standard form;
• proof of means of subsistence for the length of the stay;
• proof of health insurance covering all risks in Belgium;
• the certificate of study progress, on the standard form.

If documents are missing, the commune gives you 15 days from its request to provide them. Prepare the file over the summer if your card expires at the start of the academic year. Our guide to renewing your student A card details the proofs of means and progress.

Comparing with France? Read our guide to the first month of an international student in France.

Finding your compatriots

The first weeks are easier with someone who has been through the same commune and the same queue. On Compatri, join your community in Brussels, Liège or the other cities in Belgium: Cameroonians in Belgium, Congolese in Belgium and Moroccans in Belgium share useful addresses and meetups there.

Compatri does not carry out any step on your behalf. The commune, the Immigration Office, your institution and your health fund remain the only authorities.

Official sources

• Immigration Office: first residence authorisation for studies (commune, A card, registration certificate)
• Immigration Office: renewing the student A card
• Law of 15 December 1980, article 12 (consolidated text, Justel)
• FPS Employment: employment of foreign workers in a specific residence situation
• Student@work: 650-hour quota and contributions
• STIB: fares and transport tickets
• UCLouvain: health fund for students from outside the European Union
• Febelfin: basic banking service for individuals