Studying in Belgium from Togo.

The steps to study in Belgium from Togo

1. 1Obtain an admission in a recognised institution (university, haute école or higher arts school) in French-speaking Belgium, lodging the application yourself with your own contact details.
2. 2Have the Togolese baccalaureate recognised through an equivalence with the Equivalence Service of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, on the basis of the final diploma.
3. 3Have the Togolese documents legalised along the required chain: the competent official, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the Belgian post, the honorary consulate in Lomé being the one that legalises Togolese documents.
4. 4Fill in the visa form on VisaOnWeb, book an appointment and lodge the long-stay visa file (type D, study purpose) in person at the VFS Global centre in Abidjan, in Côte d'Ivoire.

Admission and equivalence: what calendar from Togo?

The Togolese student is a non-resident candidate from outside the European Union: for a first university enrolment, the admission form opens in mid-February and the application must be lodged by 31 March at the latest for an academic year starting in September of the same calendar year, with an application fee of EUR 200, payable by 31 March at the latest and non-refundable if the application is refused. Some universities then deduct it from the enrolment fees, others do not, so check with the institution you are targeting. Quota-limited programmes, such as medicine or physiotherapy, follow a separate procedure and separate dates.

The equivalence of the secondary school leaving diploma is prepared in parallel. Togo falls under the Equivalence Service's "countries with reduced fees" category: EUR 150 instead of EUR 400, non-refundable, paid in the applicant's name. The file brings together the baccalaureate and the transcript as certified true and legalised copies, proof of access to higher education in Togo, an identity document, a signed motivation letter in French and the original proof of payment. Lodging opens on 15 November and closes on the following 15 July, the date by which the fees must also have been paid, the dates for the following year being confirmed on equivalences.cfwb.be; processing takes a minimum of 4 to 12 weeks. In some French-speaking African countries, where the issuance of the final diploma is deferred by several years, the Equivalence Service asks for the final diploma rather than a provisional certificate. When the diploma has not yet been issued, the official fact sheet accepts a certificate of non-issuance dated in the current year, issued by the Ministry of Education or the Baccalaureate Office, the final diploma remaining necessary to obtain the definitive equivalence.

For a file from outside the European Union, the equivalence is often issued with restrictions, which limit the studies you can access. Those restrictions are not final: they are lifted by sitting the examination of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles board (DAES). Better to know this before choosing a programme than when reading the decision.

The student visa from Togo: Abidjan, and Lomé for scholarship holders only

The Belgian Embassy in Cotonou is competent for Togo, but it does not handle visas. For a long stay for studies, the Belgian Consulate General in Abidjan is the only competent authority for residents of Togo: the application is introduced on VisaOnWeb, then lodged in person at the VFS Global centre in Abidjan, in Côte d'Ivoire. The consulate general announces appointments available within fifteen days for Schengen applications, a lead time that stretches from June to September, the peak period for student applications. For a long stay, it warns that processing "can take several months": getting the appointment is quick, getting the decision is not.

The honorary consulate of Belgium in Lomé does exist, but its competences are limited and it does not receive students' visa applications, with one exception: holders of a Belgian government scholarship (development cooperation, DGD) may lodge their file there. The consular scale further provides for a free type D visa for students holding a scholarship under a cooperation programme. For every other candidate, the trip to Abidjan is part of the budget and of the planning, out for the lodging, back for the collection of the passport.

If the financial proof goes through a guarantor, annex 32 requires them to justify EUR 2,217.47 net per month for themselves, an amount indexed on 1 September 2026, plus EUR 1,062 per student taken in charge, an amount set for the 2026-2027 academic year, that is EUR 3,279.47 net per month in total for one student. The Abidjan embassy also points out that the websites of the Immigration Office, of the embassy and of VFS Global are the only official sources on Belgian visas. That warning targets the sale of appointments, information, forms and guarantors: the candidate lodges the application themselves, with their own contact details, and the only sums to be paid are the visa fee and the Immigration Office fee, owed to the authorities, plus the service fees owed to the provider. We prepare and check the file, we do not lodge it in your place.

Legalising your Togolese documents

Togo is not party to the Hague Apostille Convention: the apostille does not exist for Togolese documents and the classic legalisation applies. The Equivalence Service describes the expected sequence: a certified true copy by a competent official, legalisation by the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then legalisation by the Belgian post. On the Belgian side, it is Togolese documents that the honorary consulate of Belgium in Lomé legalises: the Belgian Embassy in Cotonou, for its part, only legalises Beninese documents.

The federal consular scale sets legalisation at EUR 25 per document since 1 August 2026, with electronic payments at the counters of Belgian posts. The Equivalence Service also asks for the names of the signing officials to appear legibly, in Latin characters, next to their stamps.

How much do studies cost for a Togolese student?

The enrolment fees in the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles are set at a full rate of EUR 1,194 for 2026-2027. Non-assimilated students from outside the European Union add in principle an additional contribution, set by article 105 § 3bis of the décret Paysage and charged at EUR 4,175 per year for 2026-2027. Togo appears in annex 1 of ARES circular no. 2026-001 of 12 February 2026, which lists the least developed countries: its nationals are exempt from it, while still owing the enrolment fee of EUR 1,194. The circular applies to universities and the ARES may update its lists.

One point deserves to be said plainly, because it saves months of pointless waiting: Togo is not among the ARES partner countries, neither for projects nor for scholarships. The ARES international training scholarships are therefore not open to Togolese candidates, and funding is built differently, through a blocked account, a commitment to take charge, or schemes specific to the chosen institution. According to the latest breakdown published by the Council of Rectors (CRef, 2021-2022), 107 Togolese students were enrolled in the six universities of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

Why get support from Togo

As for the many international students we support, our role is to hold together steps that unfold in three different places: an admission lodged on time from Lomé, an equivalence accepted the first time with the final diploma, a legalisation carried out in the right order, an appointment in Abidjan prepared early enough. The candidate remains the author of their own steps: we prepare, check and orchestrate.

• Institution choice and building of the admission file before 31 March
• Equivalence of the Togolese baccalaureate steered through to the decision, restrictions included
• Legalisation sequence identified, through to the honorary consulate in Lomé
• Preparation of the visa file and organisation of the trip to Abidjan
• A single point of contact, in French, until your arrival in Belgium