Cohabitation Visa Belgium Q & A section is a recap or archive of all the articles and the table of contents written for my entire series of Legal Cohabitation Visa Survival Series for a Well-Prepared Battle. Click on the link for any question and answer that you would like to know. The link will jump directly to your area of concern.

1) Introduction to Legal Cohabitation Visa Survival Series for a Well-Prepared Battle

Introduction – Legal Cohabitation Visa

1. Brief Relationship History
2. Objective of the Website
3. Research on Cohabitation Visa Process
4. Why is the Procedure So Long and Difficult?
5. Main Referencing Official Website
6. Cohabitation Documents Requirement
7. Cohabitation Visa in Belgium
8. Disclaimer

2) Legal Cohabitation: An Alternative to Marriage

Legal Cohabitation: An Alternative to Marriage

1. Is Marriage Every Girl’s Dream?
2. Long Distance Relationship is always a Honeymoon Stage
3. High Divorce Rate in Belgium
4. Legal Cohabitation on the Rise
5. Who can Enter into a Legal Cohabitation Contract?
6. How to End Legal Cohabitation Contract?
7. Unlawful Act
Sham Marriage and Bogus Cohabitation
Forced Marriage

3) Timeline Events Overview of Cohabitation Visa Process

Timeline Events Overview

1. 2014
• December
2. 2016
• March to June
i) Arrival in Belgium
• July
• August
ii) How I Kill Time with the Orange Card
• September
• October
• November
3. 2017
• March
4. Miscellaneous Notes

4) Register Record in the Commune Database

Creating Impression on First Enquiry Visit in Commune for Cohabitation Visa Process

1. Legal Cohabitation Questionnaire
2. Make Appointment to Visit Commune during Holiday
3. How to Handle Different Answers from Commune?
4. Not All Documents will be Submitted

5) Schengen Type C Travel Visa to Declare Legal Cohabitation

Travel Visa Type C and Long-Stay D Visa: Legal Cohabitation

History, Facts and Benefits of Schengen Area
1. Type C and D Visa: Which is the Correct Visa to apply for Legal Cohabitation?
2. Type C Visa to Declare Legal Cohabitation in Belgium
How to Fill in the Schengen Visa Application Form?
3. Non-EU Citizen who wants to join Non-EU Citizen
4. One Way / Single Trip Air Ticket
5. What is a Type D Visa?
6. General Schengen Information
The European Union Explained

6) Pledge of Financial Support – Annex 3bis Formal Obligation Form

What is Bijlage 3 bis / Annexe 3bis?

1. Sufficient Personal Means of Subsistence
• Financial Preparation Tips
2. Pledge of Financial Support
• Mail Bijlage / Annexe 3bis to Foreign Partner
• At Arrival Airport of Europe
3. Who can be a Guarantor / Sponsor?
4. Types of Formal Obligation Forms
• Annexe 3bis Form – Purpose of Family and Friends Visit
Download Annexe 3bis Form
• Annexe 5 Form – Pledge of Support for Cohabitation
• Annexe 32 Form – Pledge of Support for Student
5. Conclusion

7) Legalisation of Documents: Certificate of Celibacy & Birth Certificate and Sworn Translator

What is a Legalisation?

1. How to Legalise Documents in Your Country?
2. What is an Apostille?
3. Sworn Translators
4. Certificate of Celibacy
5. Birth Certificate Extract
6. What if I do not have a Birth Certificate and not able to get one in my country?

8) Certificate of Good Conduct – No Criminal Record

Certificate of Good Conduct

1. Getting a Certificate of Good Conduct in Your Home Country
2. Getting a Certificate of Good Conduct in Belgium
3. Other Advantages of Possessing a Certificate of Good Conduct
• For jobs involving domestic work
• For the benefits of your future employment

9) Do You Need International Travel Health Insurance Instead to Apply for Cohabitation Visa?

Difference between Travel Insurance & International Health Insurance

1. Travel Insurance (Single Trip)
2. Travel Insurance (Annual Plan)
3. International Health Insurance
4. Claim Issue for Travel Insurance
5. How many Months of Health Insurance to Submit?
6. Cost Analysis between AXA Schengen Visa and IMG Hopper
7. My Health Insurance Plan
• Extension of Health Insurance
• Cost of IMG Hopper
• Visa Letter
8. Can I Be Covered under My Belgian/EU Partner’s National Insurance Plan?

10) Is Medical Certificate Necessary?

Do You Need a Medical Certificate?

1. Leaving the Medical Certificate Behind
2. Making Health Screening Appointment in Belgium
3. Why Go for Medical Checkup?
Download Medical Certificate Form

11) The Day of Declaring Legal Cohabitation in Stadhuis

Declare Legal Cohabitation within 8 Days Upon Arrival in Belgium

1. Newcomer Online Registration
2. Documents Required to Bring When Declaring Legal Cohabitation
3. Stadhuis Keeping My Visit Record For 1.5 Years
4. Signing Legal Cohabitation Agreement
5. Informed of Police Visit after Legal Cohabitation Declaration
6. No Problem Going for Holiday before Receiving Orange Card
7. Call to Districtshuis Deurne
8. Conclusion

12) What are the Cohabitation Requirements and Process from Commune Letters and Email?

Cohabitation Requirements after Declaring Legal Cohabitation

1. First Letter (18 July 2016) – Delayed Registration of Legal Cohabitation
2. Second Letter (18 July 2016) – Proof of Relationship for “Legal Cohabitation Declaration”
3. Email (22 July 2016) – Proof of Relationship for “Investigation of Fake Relationship”
• How do you send your documents?
• How much should you pay?
• How do you pay?
• What happens after receipt of the documents?

13) Proof of Relationship Cohabitation Visa: What to Submit for Belgian Immigration Office?

Proof of Relationship: What to Submit for Legal Cohabitation Visa?

1. What is Considered “Proof of Relationship” for Cohabitation Visa?
2. Different Stage of Document Submission
3. Make Your Presentation Format Clear and Easy to Read
4. Email File Size Limit
5. Do Not Compress The Photo Size
6. Manipulating Photo Dates
7. Submission of Tickets and Receipts
• Air Tickets
• Train, Bus and Paid Carpool Trip
• Hotel Reservation
8. Other Proof of Relationship and Method Used
• Screenshot of Emails, Facebook Photos and FB Messenger
• Generated Chat History
→ How to Generate Chat History from WhatsApp?
• Retrieve Backup Message of Skype and MSN
9. Merge Documents into a Single PDF File Online
• How to Combine and Merge Documents into a Single PDF File Online?
10. My Proof of Relationship Submission
11. Presentation Format

14) What to Expect from Police Visit: Prepare Mentally to Handle Challenging Questions

Manage Your Expectation of Police Visit for Legal Cohabitation Process

1. Why is there a Police Visit?
2. Definition of ‘Resident’
3. Police Visit after Signing a Legal Cohabitation Agreement
4. What to Expect from a Police Visit?
5. What If the Police Did Not Come and Visit?
6. The Long-Awaited Dreadful Police Visit
• Scenario
7. My Police Visit Experience
8. Questions to Ponder for the Police Visit: Opportunity to Know Our Partner Better

15) Legal Cohabitation Approval and Orange Card Appointment: What to Bring

Approval of Declaration of Legal Cohabitation and Things to Bring for Orange Card

1. Declaration of Legal Cohabitation Approved
2. First Obstacle Cleared: Appointment Given for my Orange Card
3. What are the Things to Bring for Orange Card?

16) Orange Card + Annexe / Bijlage 19ter: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

Orange Card + Annex 19ter: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

1. What is an Orange Card?
2. Validity and Extension
3. No News is Good News
4. Purposes of Orange Card
5. How Long Does It Take to Receive the Orange Card after Arriving in Belgium?
6. Is it Illegal to Stay in Belgium after the Visa Expires and Orange Card not Received Yet?
7. Can I Travel with Orange Card?
8. Suggestions to Reduce Travelling Risk
9. Return Visa (Terugkeervisum) – Exceptional Cases to Leave Belgium
10. When Can I Travel Out of Belgium?
11. Can I Study Dutch and Attend Integration Courses with Orange Card?
12. Can I Work with Orange Card?
• Working with Orange Card and Annexe/Bijlage 19ter
13. What is Annex 19ter?
• Bijlage 19ter Listed Cohabitation Documents Requirement

17) Belgian/EU Partner Proof of Income, Health Insurance and Housing

Belgian/EU Partner Proof of Income, Housing & Health Insurance for Legal Cohabitation Visa

1. Adequate Housing
2. Adequate Health Insurance
3. Proof of Income
• How to derive the minimum salary needed to apply for legal cohabitation?
• Regular or Irregular Income for 12 months or Less
4. What if my Belgian/EU partner does not fulfil the minimum income of €1,739.00 for one year?
• Favourable Benefits as Remedy for Lower Income
• What Kind of Benefits are Not Taken into Consideration?
5. Case Studies
• Scenario 1
• Scenario 2
6. Get Someone to be a Sponsor / Guarantor

18) Legal Cohabitation Visa Template for Documents and Proof of Relationship

Legal Cohabitation Visa Template for Presenting Proof of Relationship & Required Documents

1. Submit a Complete File
2. Upload Photos and Documents in Cloud Storage
• Pros and Cons of Cloud Storage
3. Divide Presentation Template into Rows and Columns Table
4. Introducing Your Relationship
5. Description of Activity
• Activities Highlights
• Cohabitation Documents
6. Air Ticket Record
• How to Label Air Ticket Record?
7. Photo (P) / Document (D) Link
• How to Link Activities to External Photos and Documents?
• Document Test Link from Google Drive
• Labelling of Photos and Documents
8. Location
9. Total Days
10. Folders in Cloud Storage
11. Miscellaneous Information
• Your Blogging Website
• Concluding Sentences
• Contact Details
12. Final Proof Check of Hyperlinks in Template

19) Long-Awaited F Card Triumph: Belgian eID Procedure

F Card: Belgian eID Procedure

1. What is F and F+ Card?
• How Long Does It Take to Receive the Residence Permit – F Card?
• No News of F Card is Good News
2. Things to Bring for Applying F Card
3. F Card Procedure
• No Belgian eID Collection on First Appointment
• Passport-Sized Photograph
• Temporary Paper Identification
• Can You travel with a Temporary Paper Identity?
• PIN and PUK Code of Belgian eID
• F Card Payment and Collection
• Fast Method of Collecting the F Card
4. Bring Forward the F Card Collection Date
5. Travel with F Card
• F Card is not a Travel Document
• Travelling within Schengen and Non-Schengen Zone
• Leaving Belgium for More than 3 Months
• How long Can You Travel Out or Leave Belgium with an F Card?
6. Working Abroad with F Card
7. Final Conclusion

20) Cohabitation Visa Denied: What to Do for Visa Rejection? Reapply the Cohabitation Process, Appeal or Hire A Lawyer?

Course of Action: Cohabitation Visa F Card Rejection

1. Reapply for the Cohabitation Process
2. Appeal
3. Hire a Lawyer

21) 9 Tips for Couples Applying for Cohabitation Visa Later

9 Useful Cohabitation Tips for Couples Applying for Visa

1. Do not rush into a cohabitation contract
2. Use calendar, journal or diary to track important dates
3. Be over-prepared than underprepared
4. Take sufficient photos together
5. Keep air tickets, train tickets and hotel reservation
6. Partner in Belgium to have a minimum income
7. Start keeping all the message threads on your phone app
8. Visit the Town Hall at least once when you are in Belgium for a holiday
9. Avoid applying for your cohabitation visa during holiday or festive seasons

22) Family Reunion Checklist: Moving to Belgium for Marriage and Legal Cohabitation

Checklist of Items to Do and Bring for Legal Cohabitation or Marriage Purpose

1. Download the Checklist from Google Drive
2. Checklist
• Legal Cohabitation Visa Documents
• Things to Bring
• Things to Do

23) You Are Wanted! Guest Blogging | Legal Cohabitation Visa

We have come to the end of the “Legal Cohabitation Visa Series for a Well-Prepared Battle”. Are you more confident to fight the unknown forces and to conquer your residence permit F Card successfully? Share your experience and be my Guest Blogger! Hope you continue to follow my post by subscribing to my newsletter for other useful information.

I am inviting you to contribute as a guest blogger about your legal cohabitation process in Belgium. It is a space for you to share your smooth journey or to vent your frustration. This platform would allow others to make some comparisons about similar or differing processes between different communes or individuals.

Most importantly, your contribution can help others to understand the procedures better. It is especially useful when your cohabitation journey helps other people in your country to get a better idea of what to expect, particularly when a visa application is required before coming over to Belgium.

Another advantage of having a recorded journey is when your friends or family members ask you about the process that you went through, you can give them the link to your post. Then, you do not have to repeat the process several times. Your friends can read also read your post in detail. The website also provides a translation tool in several languages. The people you care about could read a translated version if necessary.

How to Become a Contributor for the Guest Post?

Criteria

You must either be married or cohabit legally with your partner in Belgium.

Name

Your name can be fictitious if you are not comfortable giving your real name. However, the nationality of you and your partner must be real to provide accuracy to the readers.

Nationality

Your partner can be of any country of origin. It is not important whether he/she is a Belgian or not. But, you have to state your nationality.

Orange Card

You must already be at the stage of having your Orange card approved by email or post though it is not necessary that you have received it. If you have an exceptional case and would still like to contribute, you are welcome to do so.

Photo

Photo submission is optional. You can give one photo of yourself or with your partner if you wish. On the contrary, I respect your decision if you want to stay private and confidential. What matters most is your content and willingness to share the cohabitation visa experience.

Number of Words

Your content should have a minimum of 500 words. Please do not let the number of words deter you from sharing your story. Leave the counting to me. Just concentrate on writing your experience. Thus, with that notion in mind, 500 words should not be a problem.

In fact, I prefer longer content because if a blog post has short content, it may not provide enough information. The post that you are reading now contains <em>700 words</em> but excluding the questionnaire below. It is to let you have a rough idea of how long a post is for 500 words. Not that difficult, right?

Grammar

Ideally, your content should be free from grammatical errors. Again, do not let this point deter you from writing. As we all come from different backgrounds and countries, English may not be your first language or mother tongue.

Two Submission Methods of Guest Post

There are two methods of submission. Choose one that is most suitable for you. No matter which is your preferred style of post submission, the required fields marked * is compulsory to fill up.

Method ➀

Write your story continuously the way you want it to be. Use the questions below as a guideline only. Likewise, you do not have to fill up all the text boxes. Choose one text box (preferably the last one) and paste your content into it. One word of advice: save your writing to your laptop or phone device first before submission in the event of a technical error. Then, submit.

Method ➁

Fill in the questionnaires below. You can answer all or skip some of the questions if they are not relevant to you. Before skipping them, consider whether the questions are of interest to the readers such as waiting time for Orange Card. I created the questionnaire below hoping that you have a fun time filling them up to increase your participation interest.

Are you enthusiastic to share your story now?

Thank you for your time in participating!

Family Reunion Checklist – Items to Do and Bring for Legal Cohabitation or Marriage

Are you moving to Belgium to be with your loved ones for a family reunion? Be it for marriage or legal cohabitation, relocating overseas is always an extremely stressful affair for anyone. This checklist for moving to Belgium will help to lower your stress mentally.

The online checklist targets those who move to Belgium permanently for forming a family reunion. Eventually, you will get your residence permit and make Belgium your home. Since the checklist is meant to apply for a family reunion in Belgium, there will be a list of specific documents to prepare for submission to Belgian Immigration later. You can tick each item off the moment you get one document ready.

The online checklist is my precious baby for the past three months before coming to Belgium. I have deleted quite a number of items. So far, being an organised person, I have not forgotten to bring any documents with me to Belgium. Other than the relevant documents to bring, you may find some other reminders useful and applicable to you.

Download the Checklist for Moving to Belgium from Google Drive

If you like to print out or save the online checklist for moving to Belgium, you can download the copy in Excel (Window) format which I have uploaded to Google Drive. That is without the introduction text and explanations below. It is simply a checklist. You can make changes to the checklist to customise into your own. I appreciate the fact that my checklist for moving to Belgium is helpful to you! 🙂

PS: If there is a compatibility issue with the checklist and you are not able to see or download it, please leave me a comment below.

Checklist

Legal Cohabitation Documents

◯  ­Certificate of Celibacy

The Certificate of Celibacy is the first thing to pass to the commune on the day of declaring the legal cohabitation. Produce within 6 months from the issue date. May require legalisation and sworn translation.

◯  ­Birth Certificate Extract

Do not laminate the Birth Certificate copy. You need to legalise it later. On a side note, many people were not asked to submit this copy. I believe it has to do with your nationality. Those who do not need to apply for a tourist visa to enter Belgium are usually exempted.

◯  ­Legalisation of Document

Birth Certificate Extract, Certificate of Celibacy or other marital status documents requiring legalisation. Legalise first from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then go to the Belgium Embassy. €20/copy from the Embassy of Belgium plus the legalisation cost from your authority.

◯  Sworn Translation of Official Documents

If your documents are not in Dutch, French, German and English language, you need a sworn translator. Do the translation after legalising the documents.

◯  Certificate of No Criminal Record

Ask for a ‘Letter of Introduction’ from the Belgium Embassy in your country. Subsequently, introduce your request for the Certificate of Good Conduct to the State Police. Present within six months to the authority from the date of issue.

◯  ­Biljage/Annexe 3bis

Annexe/Bijlage 3 bis is a Pledge of Financial Support applied by the partner in Belgium. After the commune endorses, your partner can send it by registered mail to you. This form will come in handy if you encounter a customs check at the arrival airport. Subsequently, you can show it to the customs officer if they ask for it. Hence, hold it with you in your hand-carried bag. Valid for 6 months from the date of issue.

◯  Purchase Travel Health Insurance

It is compulsory to buy and then submit the health travel insurance to apply for the cohabitation visa. The minimum coverage amount is €30,000. You can get it from IMG Hopper from Pacific Prime because it offers the lowest insurance after some research at that point in time.

◯  ­Medical Certificate

If you do not need to apply for a Schengen visa to enter Belgium, it is not necessary to get a medical certificate before going to Belgium. You can opt not to bring it over to Belgium first and read my experience. Many people were not asked for it either.

◯  Passport with Valid Travel Visa (if applicable)

The passport should have more than 6 months of validity before going to Belgium. It is even better to have more than a year of validity. You are going to be grounded in Belgium for more than six months while holding your Orange Card.

Things to Bring

▢  Academic Qualifications Paper

Bring all your original copies of academic certificates, transcripts, professional working diplomas for the sake of the employment in future. You can ask for the Equivalence of Diploma from the Ministry of Education and Training in Belgium. An ‘Equivalence Statement’ is a document that equalises the overseas academic certificates to a grade on a par with the Belgian education system.

▢  Medical Record History of Health Screening and Vaccination

It is always critical to bring along all the records of medical history or vaccination that you have done over the years. The doctors in Belgium can assess quickly on your existing medical conditions better when the need arises

▢  Medication Prescription

Although the health care system in Belgium is one of the best in the world, it is beyond the reach for most of us at a subsidised rate as a newcomer. Seeing a doctor as a tourist or foreigner status in any country is always costly. Furthermore, the clinic or hospitals may not have a particular brand of medicine that the patient is currently using. Therefore, bring your medication or top up the supply before coming over to Belgium. I prepared my medical need for one year.

▢  Eyes Related Products

You might find it strange at the mention of these items here. The optical products in Belgium are expensive as compared to what I can get in my country. Especially the contact lens and the saline solution. I made a pair of new spectacles, purchase a few boxes of the contact lens before moving to Belgium. As for the saline solution, due to its weight and size restriction for the luggage space, I did not bring many bottles.

▢  Air Ticket

Start monitoring the airfares to Belgium 3 months before your departure. CheapAir conducted a study based on 1.5 billion sold airfares and nearly 5 million trips made, the best period to buy the cheapest airfare is on average 47 days. Take it as a guideline. From my personal travelling experience on long-haul flights, the best time to buy the cheapest air ticket is 30 – 45 days. When the departure date draws closer, the airfare will go up again. I usually monitor the airfares of three airports in Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam to compare the air ticket prices.

▢  Train Ticket

When I travelled from Singapore to Antwerp to visit my boyfriend for the past 6 years, I landed at Brussels Airport 20% to 30% of the time only. The rest of the time was arriving in Paris or Amsterdam airports. For me, the airfares direct to Brussels Airport is usually more expensive. Consequently, I need a train ticket from the airport to Antwerp. I would recommend getting the tickets online be it a domestic or an international train journey to avoid the long queue while moving around with a heavy suitcase.

Things to Do

▢  Change of Address Overseas

In some countries such as Singapore, it is obligatory to inform the Immigration Department about relocation. Also, to provide them with an overseas address as a record. After notifying the Immigration Department, in future, you can receive the official documents at your registered address in Belgium too. Check with your Immigration Department to see whether your country has such a law.

▢  Online Banking

Do you use any online banking system so that it is convenient to check the bank account even when residing overseas? You can check with your bank and set up one.

▢  Update New Particulars with Your Bank

Since you will be living with your partner in Belgium, you can already provide your Belgian address to your bank. Likewise, if you already have a Belgian SIM card, update the mobile number in your online profile database or change it personally at the counter.

▢  Closing of Additional Bank Account

Any inactive bank account that you would like to close so as to concentrate the resources in one or two banks. The good news is that you can bring more cash to Belgium.

▢  Renew the Credit Cards

Check the expiry dates of all your credit cards. They should have at least one year of validity. Renew the terms of the credit cards before leaving the country. The banks would likely replace them even when the cards have several months left to their expiry dates. Or, terminate some credit cards if you do not use them often to avoid annual subscription payments. For security reasons, many credit cards are deactivated for overseas use unless you activate them intentionally.

▢  Redemption of Reward Points

Redeem the rewards points from the credit cards, phone bills or from pumping petrol accumulated over the years. Don’t let it go to waste.

▢  Selling Vehicle

Give yourself more time to get the best offer in the market from potential buyers. If you sell the car last minute, you might be forced to accept a low price that someone offers. After selling your car, check with the insurance company whether it is possible to get a partial refund back of the car insurance.

▢  Cancel Vehicle Speedpass

If you are using some form of contactless payments for pumping petrol or gas for your vehicle, terminate it if necessary.

▢  Termination of Long-Term Subscription

Do you have any long-term financial obligations that you would like to terminate? Eg. Insurance plan, financial investment, subscription plan, monthly donation, mobile subscription plan, fixed expenses. For a start, you might not be able to find a job so soon to support those financial commitments for an indefinite period in Belgium.

▢  Cancel or Renew Mobile Plan

Some people want to terminate their mobile plan permanently in their home country. On the other hand, some wish to keep their number. You can consider changing your SIM card from a postpaid to a prepaid plan to avoid paying every month. Terminate the phone line earlier to allow the final bill to reach you in time and make payment before you move to Belgium. Check with the operator to ensure that the roaming is activated for your local SIM card.

Or, simply get one prepaid SIM card in Belgium. Curious to know more about various prepaid SIM card plans in Belgium? Check out this article on various prepaid SIM card plans in Belgium to make a smart choice. Finally, are you ready to move to Belgium with the checklist?

9 Practical Tips for Couples Applying for Legal Cohabitation Visa

Are you thinking of applying for a cohabitation visa at a later date? This article provides 9 tips for couples who are researching for information on legal cohabitation visas. Most of all, they do not want to start cohabitation right now and most probably have not arrived in Belgium yet.

Being someone who has already gone through the cohabitation process smoothly, I would be able to offer some insights. My advice is to gather and prepare as much information as possible while you still have the time. Here are some of the things that you can do before applying for a cohabitation visa.

1. Do Not Rush into Cohabitation Contract

Do not enter into a cohabitation agreement just to be together. The longer time you take to apply for a legal cohabitation visa, you are proving to the authority the strength and stability of your relationship. That is to say that you will get the approval of your Belgian eID F Card more easily.

If you cannot prove a minimum of a two-year relationship with your partner, you are heading for failure. Other ingredients of cohabitation visa rejection are meeting your partner less than three times and below 45 days in total.

2. Use Calendar, Journal or Diary to Track Important Dates

Personally, I use Google Calendar and Microsoft OneNote to record important dates over the years. I form a habit of jotting down my daily activities and blogging, especially with my boyfriend when we are together. This good practice will help you tremendously in recalling all the events when it comes to submitting proof of relationship timeline for the authority to review your relationship.

Remember you have to show the earliest date of your document backdated for at least two years at the point of document submission to the authority. An easy and practical method is to take a screenshot of the initial date when you first knew each other. The screenshot can be of any email, document or photo. You have to recall which is the earliest proof that you can find.

Whenever we met and took photos for the past six years since 2010, I uploaded them on Facebook albums. By referring to the albums’ dates, I can convey our many years of relationship history to the authority with ease. If you use Instagram or any other social media application that shows the date, the screenshot will work as well.

3. Be Over-Prepared than Under-Prepared

It is better to (over) prepare all the documents stated on the official website than to under-prepare yourself. You do not want to end up missing one document which you can only get in your home country. I refer to the Certificate of Celibacy, Birth Certificate and Certificate of Good Conduct (No Criminal Record). If the commune asks for it and the foreign partner does not bring that copy, then you are not able to produce it. Save your headache and bring everything over.

I have also prepared a checklist for moving to Belgium with all the essential documents that you should bring with you. You can also download a copy of the spreadsheet for your own use.

4. Take Sufficient Photos Together

Do not be surprised that there are some couples out there who do not have a lot of photos taken together. Indeed a problem when you need to submit them as proof of relationship later. Make it a habit of taking wefie at different places whenever both of you meet up.

Another tip is to keep the size of those images minimum. If you take high-res photos for every shot, you might have a problem submitting them by email. There is a 25 MB email file size limit. Even after you zip those files, you may still exceed the limit. Fortunately, I have provided you with another solution for the legal cohabitation visa template if the email file size exceeds.

5. Keep Air tickets, Train Tickets and Hotel Reservation

Keep the useful receipts, invoices or past email records. You would need to submit them as proof of relationship later. Air ticket record is one of the best ways to show that both of you are sincere to meet each other on a constant level. The date of the air ticket cannot be fake whereas you can manipulate the dates on the photos. I am revealing to you this dirty little trick to cheat on your photo dates.

6. Partner in Belgium to Have Minimum Income

As last seen on 7 March 2019 update in the Belgian Immigration website, make sure that the Belgian/EU partner has a stable job of at least 12 months fulling the minimum income. It is another crucial factor where many couples failed to apply for the visa successfully.

Contract jobs without full-time employment will be taken into consideration if the Belgian satisfy the two conditions stated. There are always some solutions for not meeting the criteria of a minimum income requirement as suggested by the Belgian Immigration Office.

So, if you do not read French in the first place or perhaps the Belgian partner is from the Dutch-speaking community, most people would never have discovered these remedies in the first place. Let’s just say that most non-EU citizens applying for a family reunion in Belgium are not French speakers.

Go to Belgium only when your partner has a job. Otherwise, the percentage of a denied cohabitation visa is almost 100%. If going to Belgium is a priority for you regardless of whether the partner joined has a job or stable income or not, at least get a sponsor or guarantor from his family to take charge of your stay financially in Belgium.

7. Start Keeping All Message Threads on Your Phone App

If you use a phone app like WhatsApp, do not delete the conversation thread. Start keeping all the messages between you and your partner from day one. You can generate the chat history of WhatsApp into a .txt (text) file later. Then, submit the conversation thread file as proof of relationship submission.

If you want to change to a new handset later, you can back up the text messages to your cloud storage on your old phone first. Android phone users can use Google Drive. Apple Users can use iCloud Apple. Subsequently, WhatsApp will prompt you to retrieve back the backup messages in your new handset. Click «OK».

If you do not want to back up the old messages on your new phone, alternatively, you can choose to start a new conversation thread. Subsequently, your phone will create another new .txt file. Later, repeat the same procedure to convert the second file into another .txt format and so on.

8. Visit the Town Hall At Least Once

When you are visiting your partner just for a holiday in Belgium, make it a point to go to <em>Stadhuis</em> if you have a chance. Get some information about legal cohabitation visa requirements and procedures even if you have nothing to ask.

The idea is to make them take your passport and key inside their system as a record. It may help you in the future when both of you declare a legal cohabitation. Besides, I reaped such an advantage by chance. Therefore, I would introduce you to a similar benefit. This method is even more relevant when your partner is living in Antwerp.

9. Avoid Applying for Your Cohabitation Visa during Holiday or Festive Seasons

The reason is obvious. Many people go on vacation in July and August which is also the summer holiday. So, there will be fewer people working and processing the application. The duration of the procedure will be even longer. Likewise for December when people take long leaves to celebrate Christmas and New Year too.

Despite that, I applied for my cohabitation visa on 15 July 2016 in Antwerp city. However, I had never experienced any delay in handling my case. In conclusion, The Belgian Immigration Office website also cited the following:

Do not wait until the last moment to apply for a visa. The period in which you receive a decision is longer at certain times (summer, holidays). Therefore, submit your visa application early enough.