Studying in Belgium as a Greek citizen.

Does a Greek student need a visa for Belgium?

No, never for studies. Free movement applies, and the only residence formality is a municipal one. A stay of less than three months is declared to the commune within ten working days. For a full programme, the student requests a registration certificate (annexe 19) from the municipal administration of their place of residence, no later than the expiry of the three-month period following their entry into Belgium; going beyond that deadline exposes them to an administrative fine of EUR 200. The Greek student community in French-speaking Belgium remains small: the Conseil des rectrices et recteurs (CRef) counted 231 Greek students in the French-speaking universities there in 2021-2022, according to the latest published breakdown.

The municipal file rests on three items: enrolment in an organised, recognised or subsidised institution, health cover (European Health Insurance Card, S1 form, private insurance or Belgian health insurance fund) and proof of sufficient resources. Since 1 September 2025, an incomplete file is not taken into consideration. The commune may itself recognise the right of residence and issue an annexe 8ter, followed by the EU citizen residence card; where the file is passed on to the Immigration Office, the decision comes within six months. Since 3 August 2026, national identity cards issued in the Union must also carry a machine-readable zone: a document of an older model can complicate the border check.

Is the apolytirio enough, without the Panhellenic examinations?

In Greece, the lycée apolytirio (Γενικό Λύκειο or Επαγγελματικό Λύκειο) certifies the completion of secondary education, while the Panhellenic examinations are the admission procedure to Greek higher education: these are two distinct things, the second being compulsory only for those aiming at a place in Greece. Registration moreover takes place from the end of the previous calendar year, well ahead of the tests.

On the Belgian side, the sheet "Pays de l'UE (traduction nécessaire)" (EU countries requiring a translation), under which Greece falls for want of a national sheet on equivalences.cfwb.be, asks for "your baccalaureate diploma and the transcript of marks that goes with it" and makes no mention of the Panhellenic examinations. A rule of law reinforces this reading: article 1 of the royal decree of 20 July 1971, in its version in force, rules out for qualifications issued in a member state of the European Union two grounds of refusal, the one drawn from the fact that the studies aimed at would not be accessible in the country that issued the diploma, and the one drawn from access conditions additional to the general conditions in force in that country. Now the Panhellenic examinations are precisely an additional admission condition. The absence of a place obtained in Greece cannot therefore, on its own, found a refusal. As the practice of the Service on a specific file is not published, we have it confirmed case by case whether a certificate of participation in the Panhellenic examinations is expected, rather than letting a candidate discover it after filing.

The rest of the file is that of every European diploma, none of which is exempt from equivalence apart from the European baccalaureate, the baccalaureate issued by the International Baccalaureate Office, the SHAPE CESS and schools following a Belgian curriculum abroad: diploma and transcript of marks as a certified true copy, proof of identity, a signed letter of motivation in French stating the type and branch of studies aimed at, and the original proof of payment of EUR 400, non-refundable (the reduced rate of EUR 150 only covers the countries on the official development assistance list). Filing, by ordinary post, sending everything in a single registered parcel being advised, or by appointment, opens around mid-November and closes on 15 July, payment included; decisions go out at the earliest from 1 March, for a processing time of 4 to 12 weeks minimum. If the apolytirio is proclaimed late, that closing is not a wall: article 5 of the royal decree of 20 July 1971 postpones the filing deadline to 14 September where the proclamation of the results took place after 10 July, on official proof of that proclamation and provided that the file is complete by that date. A second derogation, of five working days, covers the candidate who has just passed an admission examination, which covers medicine and dental sciences but not the programmes subject to a draw. The filing dates for the 2027-2028 session have not yet been published: they are to be confirmed on equivalences.cfwb.be. A decision carrying restrictions can be lifted through the examination for admission to higher education (DAES) of the Jury of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

Greek is not among the languages accepted without translation: a translation into French by a sworn translator is required, with the stamp and signature straddling the original and the translation, as an original paper copy. Carried out in Greece, the sworn translator's signature must bear an apostille, the country having been a party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 since 18 May 1985. The "Pays de l'UE" sheet, for its part, describes a legalisation by the competent Greek authority and then by the Belgian embassy or consulate: the two official pages diverge, and we have the applicable route confirmed before commissioning the translation. Carried out in Belgium, it must come from a translator entered in the national register of sworn translators, on paper. For copies, certification by a δήμος is not accepted on its own: the official's signature must bear an apostille, unless the originals are presented to the Equivalence Service or to the Belgian commune of residence, which makes the certified true copy and renders the apostille unnecessary, the Service moreover accepting that the original documents be attached to the file as they are.

Is French required at enrolment?

No decree imposes a level of French for entry into a bachelor's degree: proof of command of the language is required by the regulations only for the teacher training bachelor's degrees, generally at level B2 of the European framework, evidenced by a DELF B2, a DALF B2, a TCF B2 or a TEF level 4. Each university nevertheless retains the option of asking for proof where the diploma was not obtained in French, and practices differ: UCLouvain requires an official certificate in the bachelor's file, ULB does not ask for one. A Greek candidate therefore checks the requirement of the institution they are aiming at before booking a certification session.

At ULB, a second date is worth noting: where the equivalence decision is not yet available at the time of application, it must be provided no later than 1 December of the academic year. This deadline is planned together with that of the Equivalence Service, whose processing takes 4 to 12 weeks minimum.

Quota-limited programmes: the non-resident quota in practice

A Greek student who settles in Belgium for their studies is a non-resident: they meet none of the eight residence criteria of the decree of 16 June 2006 (permanent right of residence, main residence for three years, fifteen months with a professional activity or a replacement income, the situation of a parent, a guardian or the spouse, among others). This status has no bearing on the minerval, but it governs access to the quota-limited programmes listed by ARES, including those of most interest to candidates coming from a country where health places are scarce.

These percentages are ceilings calculated on the first-time enrolments of the previous year, not reserved places. A non-resident's application is filed with the chosen institution, electronically, over a three-day window, in the last days of August (25 to 27 August 2026), at the rate of a single application in a single institution: Mesetudes.be is the ARES information portal, not a filing platform. The entrance exam for medicine and dental sciences took place on 27 August 2026, its registration having been open from 18 May to 5 July 2026; the decree sets it each year between 16 and 31 August. These two windows have nothing to do with each other and are easily confused. In all other programmes, enrolment closes on 30 September, payment included.

How much does a year of study cost for a Greek student?

The 2026-2027 minerval is EUR 1,194, set by the programme decree of 5 June 2026 published in the Moniteur belge on 24 June 2026; the minerval covers the academic and administrative organisation of the studies, no additional charge being allowed for enrolment, courses, assessments and certificates. The supplementary contribution of EUR 4,175 does not concern a citizen of the Union: it targets non-European Union nationals who are not treated as residents. Beware of a frequent confusion: the amounts of EUR 835, 374 and 0 are not a European rate, they are reduced rates reserved for students who meet the conditions for study allowances, tied to residence or to a family working in Belgium. A student arriving from Greece for a full programme therefore pays the full rate, the application for a reduced rate being able to be lodged with the Direction des allocations d'études of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, from 1 July to 31 October.

On the health side, the European Health Insurance Card issued by the Greek body is accepted by the commune at the time of registration. Depending on the length of the stay and the personal situation, the S1 form or membership of a Belgian health insurance fund may be more suitable: the question is settled with the home fund before departure.

Why get support

The Greek file turns on points that nothing announces: the exact status of the qualification presented, the legibility of the stamps in Latin script, the question of the Panhellenic examinations, which the law settles but which no page of the Service comments on file by file, and two late August windows that are confused one time out of two. You lodge your own admission application, your own equivalence file and your own registration with the commune, with your own contact details; our work consists in preparing, checking and setting the pace, as for the many international students we support.

• Qualification of your diploma (ΓΕΛ or ΕΠΑΛ) and prior clarification with the Equivalence Service where the case warrants it
• Specification of the sworn translation, the certified true copies and the apostille, with the name of the official legible in Latin script
• Reverse planning of the deadlines: closing on 15 July, decision expected within 4 to 12 weeks minimum, submission to ULB by 1 December
• Analysis of your non-resident status and strategy on the quota-limited programmes, draw and entrance exam
• Preparation of the visit to the commune: annexe 19, health cover, proof of resources, as a complete file from the very first visit