Studying in Belgium from Ghana.

What are the steps to study in Belgium from Ghana?

1. 1Secure an admission in a recognised institution of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (university, haute école or higher arts school): for universities, the form opens in mid-February and must be lodged by 31 March at the latest.
2. 2Apply for the equivalence of the WASSCE with the Equivalence Service of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, between mid-November and 15 July, enclosing proof of access to higher education in Ghana (EUR 150).
3. 3Have the Ghanaian documents legalised locally: notary, Judicial Service, Legal and Consular Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the honorary consulate of Belgium in Accra (EUR 25 per document).
4. 4Take the medical examination with a doctor approved by the embassy, in Accra, and gather the proof of means of subsistence as well as the EUR 251 administrative fee already paid.
5. 5Lodge the long-stay visa application (type D, study purpose) on VisaOnWeb, then file it in person at the VFS Global centre in Abidjan, in Ivory Coast.

How do you get a Ghanaian WASSCE recognised in French-speaking Belgium?

The Ghanaian secondary school leaving qualification is the WASSCE, issued by the West African Examinations Council, the body shared by the English-speaking countries of West Africa. To enter a first year of higher education in French-speaking Belgium, it must be the subject of an equivalence issued by the Equivalence Service of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. No condition specific to the WASSCE is published: no number of subjects, no minimum grades, no list of fields opened. The general rule on the sheet applicable to Ghana warns that for a school record obtained outside the European Union, an equivalence with restrictions is likely, that is, a recognition that does not open every field of study; those restrictions are lifted by passing the maturity examination of the DAES, the secondary school examination board of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. The Service recommends enclosing any proof of access to higher education in Ghana.

The file consists of the diploma and the transcript as a certified true copy that has been legalised, proof of access to higher education, an identity document, a motivation letter written in French by the applicant and the original proof of payment. As Ghana appears on the list of countries eligible for official development assistance, the fees are EUR 150 instead of EUR 400, non-refundable and to be paid before 15 July. Filing opens around mid-November and closes on 15 July (from 15 November 2025 to 15 July 2026 for the 2026 start of the year; the 2027-2028 dates are to be confirmed on equivalences.cfwb.be), for an announced processing time of 4 to 12 weeks, with the first decisions issued from 1 March.

The language question comes up early for a Ghanaian applicant, whose qualification is obtained in English. No decree imposes a level of French to enter a bachelor's programme, apart from teacher training courses, but each university may ask for proof, often at B2 level, when the qualification was not obtained in French: it is better to aim for a test as early as the WASSCE year. At master's level, programmes taught in English exist in Belgian institutions and it is at that level that the offer is widest; a language test, TOEFL or IELTS, is then required in the language of the course.

Where do you lodge your student visa application when you live in Ghana?

This is the distinctive feature of the Ghanaian journey: no Belgian long-stay visa can be filed in Ghana. The Swiss embassy in Accra receives only short-stay applications, up to 90 days, and transit applications; the honorary consulate of Belgium in Accra, for its part, does not issue visas. All other applications, including the study visa, come under the Consulate General of Belgium in Abidjan, the only competent authority for residents of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The application is prepared on VisaOnWeb, then filed at the visa application centre indicated by the embassy in Abidjan, VFS Global, personal attendance being compulsory: the trip to Ivory Coast is part of the file's calendar. We confirm the provider and the address with the embassy before every trip, as the organisation of the centres may change.

For Schengen visa appointments at its VFS Global centre, the embassy announces a maximum waiting time of a fortnight in normal times, longer from June to September, notably because of student applications; no waiting time is published for long-stay appointments, which should therefore be booked as early as possible. At filing, the applicant gives their fingerprints and answers a questionnaire designed to check the consistency of their academic background and of their study project in Belgium. The medical certificate, however, is obtained in Ghana: in Accra the embassy approves the Akai House Clinic (Doctor Adrian Oddoye, near the United States embassy) and the migration health assessment centre of the International Organization for Migration, in Roman Ridge. Visa fees are paid in cash, in CFA francs, at the bank counter of the filing centre, and service fees are added: their amounts are to be checked on the embassy's and the centre's websites before travelling. Holders of a Belgian government scholarship may, for their part, file directly at the embassy in Abidjan by appointment.

How do you legalise Ghanaian documents for Belgium?

Ghana is not party to the Hague Apostille Convention: no apostille is possible, the classic legalisation applies, and it is carried out entirely in Ghana. A Ghanaian document first goes to a Notary Public, then to the Judicial Service, then to the Legal and Consular Bureau of the Ghanaian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and finally to the honorary consulate of Belgium in Accra, where it is presented in person or by a representative. The cost of the Belgian legalisation is EUR 25 per document. The honorary consulate, located in East Legon, receives on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in the morning, from 9 am to 11.30 am according to its legalisation page, until 12 pm according to its contact sheet, and outside those hours by appointment: the opening times are to be confirmed with the consulate before travelling. For the equivalence, the Equivalence Service adds its own requirements: the true copy must be made by an officer of the municipal administration, those made by the police, by the school, by a notary or by a Belgian embassy being refused, and the names of the signatories must remain legible in Latin characters.

How much do studies in Belgium cost for a Ghanaian student?

The registration fee at the universities of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles is EUR 1,194 at the full rate for 2026-2027 (a four-tier scale set by the decree of 5 June 2026, Moniteur belge of 24 June 2026: EUR 1,194, EUR 835, EUR 374 and EUR 0, the reduced rates being reserved for students who are residents or whose family works in Belgium). Students from outside the European Union who are not treated as residents must in principle add a supplementary fee of EUR 4,175 per year. Ghana appears in annex 2 of ARES circular 2026-001 of 12 February 2026: the Ghanaian student is exempt from it, while remaining liable for the registration fee, EUR 1,194 at the full rate. This exemption has a limit worth knowing before choosing an institution: the circular applies only to universities. In a haute école or a higher arts school, the fee of EUR 4,175 remains due.

The official costs of the journey add to the budget: EUR 200 in admission application fees (non-refundable, deducted from the registration fee by some universities but not by all), EUR 150 for the equivalence, EUR 25 per legalised document, the visa and service fees paid in Abidjan, the administrative fee of EUR 251, the trip to Ivory Coast and the proof of means of subsistence. As for scholarships, the MASTER IN programme of Wallonie-Bruxelles International does not list Ghana among its priority countries: funding therefore rests on family resources or on Ghanaian schemes. The Ghanaian community remains small in the universities of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles: 13 enrolled students according to the latest breakdown published by the Council of Rectors (CRef, 2021-2022), one more reason to check the language of instruction of each programme before applying.

Why get support for this journey?

As with the many international students we support, the Ghanaian applicant lodges their own admission application, equivalence and visa application, with their own contact details: that is what universities and the embassy alike expect. Our work takes place before and around that: turning an English-language background into a file that a French-speaking service can read, making a legalisation in Accra, a medical examination in Accra and an appointment in Abidjan fit together, and checking every document before it goes out.

• Identification of the programmes genuinely accessible with a WASSCE, in French as well as in English, and building of the admission application before 31 March
• Equivalence file prepared document by document, with the proof of access to Ghanaian higher education, then followed through to the decision and to the possible lifting of restrictions
• Legalisation sequence in Accra organised for a single useful visit, from the notary to the honorary consulate
• Full check of the file before the trip to Abidjan: means of subsistence, administrative fee, medical certificate from an approved doctor, criminal record extract, insurance, consistency of the study project
• A single point of contact, in English and in French, from the first exchange until arrival in Belgium