About Guinea-Bissau

Overview of Consulate

Services Offered:

• Registration in the consular registers, if you live in Ghana;
• Issuance of certificates and attests (residence, registration);
• Issuance of a temporary passport, under specific circumstances and after approval from the Embassy in Abidjan.
• Legalisation of Ghanaian documents

Services NOT Offered:

• Issue ordinary passports or ID cards. To request an ordinary passport or an ID card, please contact the Embassy of Belgium in Abidjan.
• Issue visas: For short stay visas (Schengen), Belgium is represented by Switzerland in Accra. Short Stay Visa enquiries and application for travelers in Ghana should be submitted directly to the Visa Application Centre, VFS
  Global in Accra, operated by the Embassy of Switzerland;
  VFS GLOBAL Visit | vfsglobal – vfsglobal
  Email: info.chgh@vfshelpline.com
  Tel: +233 (0) 30 274 6221
• For long stay (national) visas, please visit the website of VFS Global, your visa application has to be done in Abidjan. You can find all the needed information on the website on the Embassy or on the website of VFS

Operating Days & Hours:

Wednesdays to Fridays, 09:00am to 12:30pm

Appointment Requirements:

Appointments after 11:30am should be confirmed by sending Email to consulate.belgium@yahoo.com, consubel.accra@gmail.com

Key Procedures:

Legalization

Legalization of documents by Consulate of Belgium in Accra at €20 per document. Submissions on
Wednesday to Friday from 09:00am to 11:30am.

For details contact:

Email: consulate.belgium@ yahoo.com & consubel.accra@gmail.com

Registration

Administrative support is only rendered to Belgian citizens who have been registered in the consular population register entitles you to benefit from the same services as those provided by municipal authorities in Belgium, i.e. the management of your administrative file.

Registering allows the consulate to assist more efficiently when issuing an identity card, issuing consular certificates (e.g. residence certificates, registration certificates, certificates of nationality, ‘household composition’ certificates, cohabitation etc.). You may if eligible, also participate in some elections in Belgium (federal general
elections and European elections).

Passport Renewal

Every citizen will have to apply for a new biometric passport in person (from the age of 6) at the Embassy of Belgium in Ivory Coast.

Other options for registered Belgians to renew passports are:

• At any other Belgian consular post (city where you work, when on holiday, etc.)
• At a municipal administration in Belgium:
  • • last municipality where you were registered in Belgium;
    • or municipality where you were born (if you have never resided in Belgium);
    • or municipality of your choice (if you have never resided and were not born in Belgium).

ID Card Renewal

In accordance with European regulations, all identity cards newly issued by EU member countries will now have to contain fingerprints (2 indexes).

NEW PROCEDURE – From Monday, 21 June 2021, applicant must present oneself in person, to submit application for an electronic identity card (e-ID) or Kids-ID (child is 6 years old or older). This is necessary to ensure correct identification and a similar photo and to register fingerprints (from the age of 12), as is already the case for a passport.

Check website for all details https://cotedivoire.diplomatie.belgium.be

Emergency Travel

The Consulate can, under certain conditions, with the authorization from the Embassy in Ivory Coast, issue a temporary passport that is valid for a limited period and does not allow travel in all countries in the same way as the standard passport.

Lost Documents

Call Doc-Stop to cancel your passport and protect yourself against any fraudulent use of your identity:
+32 2 518 2123

Immediately report the theft to the local police (ask them for a statement confirming the theft) and then report to the Consulate.

Pension

You can find all the information on the website of the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs.
Life certificates are endorsed by the Consulate when submitted in person

Important Notices: Embassy of Belgium in Abidjan

Cocody Ambassades, Rue du Bélier, Rue A56
01 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
01 BP 1800

T: +225 27 22 48 33 60

For questions, except visa: Abidjan@diplobel.fed.be

For questions about visa: E-mail: abidjan.visa@diplobel.fed.be

Tel: please contact VFS Global +225 27 20 00 48 78

Opening hours: The Embassy is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The embassy receives only by appointment.

Emergency number for Belgians in need outside the opening hours: +225 05 05 05 67 30

No visa or legalisation question will be answered on this number.

Important information:

The Embassy of Belgium in Abidjan CANNOT intervene in private expenses, such as medical expenses. If you are travelling or living in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Sierra Leone or Liberia, we strongly recommend that you take out medical insurance. By following this link, you will find the details on the services offered by our consular department.

For any other question, please contact the embassy by email abidjan@diplobel.fed.be or by phone +225 27 22 4833 60.

Visit also the Facebook page of the Embassy and the travel advice.
https://cotedivoire.diplomatie.belgium.be/fr• @BelgiumAbidjan

Education in Belgium

In Flemish Community

A comprehensive overview of all possibilities on the website Studying in Flanders (link is external). Higher Education in Flanders(link is external) is a brochure in pdf format that lists and explains the various degrees and diplomas which can be obtained from Flemish educational establishments. The brochure gives a comprehensive overview of higher education establishments and financial information on all types of courses (e.g. grants).

The NARIC website(link is external) and ENIC-NARIC website(link is external) inform you whether your foreign diploma receives the same recognition in the Flemish Community as in your own country.

In the French Community

Venir étudier en Belgique(link is external) provides an overview of opportunities for studying in French-speaking Belgium. The Service Equivalences(link is external) deals with the equivalence of foreign primary and secondary education certificates. To find out if your university degree receives the same recognition in the French Community as in the country where you obtained, you can visit the website of the French Community(link is external).

Allocation d’études(link is external) provides useful information on how to submit an application for a student grant or student loan.

Education in the German-speaking Community

On the website of the German-speaking Community(link is external), you can find an overview of opportunities for studying in German-speaking Belgium.

Belgium Facts / Info

Officially adopted on January 23, 1831, designed to signify Belgium’s recognition as an independent country. Tricolor symbolic of the country’s coat of arms; black representing the shield; gold representing the lion, and red representing the lion’s claws and tongue.

The state coat of arms the Belgian lion with the motto UNITY MAKES STRENGTH.

Royal Kingdom of Belgium, member of EU and NATO

Head of State: HRH King Philip I

Capital: City of Brussels

Date of Independence in 1830

Belgian National Day is the national holiday of Belgium commemorated annually on 21 July. It is one of Belgium’s ten public holidays and marks the anniversary of the investiture of King Leopold I, the country’s first monarch, in 1831.

Kings’ day is celebrated annually on November 15th. I It may also be known as ‘Dynasty Day’, or the ‘Feast of the Dynasty’.

Currency: Euro

Official Language: French, Dutch & German

Languages of Nationals: 60% Dutch, 39 % French & 1% German

Population: 11,559,815 (growth rate: 0.50%)

Geographic Overview:

Borders: between the Netherlands to the north, Germany and Luxembourg to the east, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west.

Area: 11,787 sq mi (30,528 sq km)

The country of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, the Flemish Region or Flanders, and Walloon Region, or Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, is not divided into provinces, as it was originally only a small part of a province itself.

Climate: The average annual temperature is 8°c (46°f); in Brussels, the mean temperature is 10°c (50°f), ranging from 3°c (37°f) in January to 18°c (64°f) in July.

Average annual rainfall is between 70 and 100 cm (28 to 40 in).

Tourist areas: St Peter’s Church & Town Hall, Meuse Valley, Grand Place in Brussels, Waterloo, Ghents Gravesteen, Battlefields of Flanders, Canals & Belfry of Bruges, Machelen old Town, Mons Old Town, Dinant, Port of Antwerp, Atomium, EU HQ.