Passport

What is a Belgian passport?

A passport is an official, worldwide recognized and usable travel document in the format of a booklet issued by the relevant authority in a particular State to its nationals. A Belgian passport has a validity of 7 years (5 years for minors). Any Belgian citizen can be issued his or her own passport starting at birth.

The passport must not be confused with the identity card that - as the name says - consists of a card. With an identity card you can travel to around 50 countries. The passport allows you to travel to all countries in the world, if necessary after obtaining the required visa.
 

Where to apply?

You must be registered in the consular population registers in order to apply for a passport.

You can submit your application at the post where you are registered, but also at another embassy or in Belgium. For more info, read other possibilities on the SPF Foreign Affairs website.
 

How to apply?

The procedure you need to follow depends on the age of the person who needs a passport.
 

Children younger than 6 years

1. Print and complete the passport application form for children under the age of 6.

2. Add a passport photo of the child - in color and without staples.

3. Send all this to the Belgian Embassy in Bucharest.

In some cases, the post may ask you for some additional documents before delivering the passport.
 

Adults and children older than 6 years

1. Print and complete the passport application form.
    
2. Make an appointment via e-appointment: choose a day and hour to come to the embassy and choose the option Application passport
    
3. Pay in advance by bank transfer. You will find payment details and rates here.
    
   In some cases, the post may ask you for some additional documents before delivering the passport.
    
4. During the appointment, we will register your biometric data:
   • A facial photograph at the consular post (from age 6). If you have a recent colour picture, please take it with you. We give priority to photographs taken on site but in exceptional circumstances a picture can be scanned.
   • Digital fingerprints of 2 fingers (from age 12).

Required time

Your passport will arrive at the consular post where you submitted your application within 10 working days.. We will notify you when your passport is ready.
 

Register your biometric data before you need a new passport

Are you going to a city for work or vacation, where there is a Belgian Embassy or a Belgian Consulate?

You do not need a passport right away, but do you want to use your passage to have your biometric data registered?

In that case you can use the "pre-registration".
 

You are registered at the Belgian Embassy in Bucharest?

1. Send us the application form back to this address.

2. Make an appointment via e-Appointment

3. During the appointment, you can pre-register your fingerprints, photo and signature free of charge.

4. You then have 1 year to send us your passport application by correspondence. You must pay the passport by bank transfer at the time of the actual request (the usual price of a passport, no additional charge to use the pre-registered data).
    

You are registered in a different post than the Belgian Embassy in Bucharest and would you like us to pre-register your data?

1. Send the application form to the post where you are registered 

2. Make an appointment via e-Appointment to pre-register your fingerprints, photo and signature free of charge.

3. You then have 1 year to send your passport application by correspondence to the post where you are registered. You must pay the passport at the time of the actual application (the usual price of a passport, no additional charge to use the pre-registered data).
    

You had your data pre-registered, but you have lost the application form that you were then handed over?

In that case you can fill in the emergency form and send it back to the post where you are currently registered.