The Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka has announced it will stop representing Belgium for Schengen (short-stay) visas on 1 October 2025. The last day to submit a Belgium-destination Schengen application via VFS Sweden (Dhaka) is 15 September 2025. After that date, applicants are advised to follow guidance from Belgian authorities. (Sweden Abroad)

What changes for Bangladesh residents

• Short-stay (Schengen C) to Belgium: Until 15 September 2025, apply through the Sweden–VFS channel in Dhaka only if Belgium is the main destination. From 1 October 2025, Sweden’s representation for Belgium ends; applicants must follow Belgian instructions rather than applying in Dhaka. (Sweden Abroad)
• Long-stay (national/D) and some specific cases: Belgium states there is no Belgian visa department in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi residents must lodge D-visa applications in person via VFS New Delhi for the competent Belgian mission. (india.diplomatie.belgium.be)

Why many Bangladeshis have to go through India

Under Belgian rules, you apply in person at the competent Belgian embassy/consulate for your place of residence, or (for some Schengen C cases) via a partner country under a representation agreement. Where Belgium uses an external provider (VFS/TLS), applications are filed at that provider’s centre for the competent mission. If a country has no Belgian visa section, the competent post is often in a neighbouring country—for Bangladesh, this is New Delhi. (diplomatie.belgium.be)

How many Bangladeshis go to Belgium? (order-of-magnitude)

EU official statistics provide Schengen short-stay visa totals (by consulate) and first residence permits (by issuing country and citizenship). These series do not publish a single “Bangladesh→Belgium” headline number, but taken together they indicate a few thousand Bangladeshi travellers to Belgium per year across short-stay visitors and new long-stay permit holders—far below the flows to larger EU destinations. Treat this as an order-of-magnitude based on EU datasets; precise counts require extracting Belgium’s consulate-level Schengen numbers and Belgium-issued first-permit totals to Bangladeshi citizens for a given year. (Migration and Home Affairs)

Policy status: Yunus’s ask vs. current reality

Interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus publicly asked EU member states in late 2024 to run visa services from Dhaka (instead of Delhi). As of today, Belgian official channels do not announce any Dhaka-based Belgian visa service; Bangladesh residents are still directed to VFS New Delhi for long-stay, and Dhaka’s Sweden route for Belgium-bound short-stay ends on 1 October 2025. In short: no change on Belgium’s side yet. (india.diplomatie.belgium.be)

Quick references (gov sites)

• Sweden (Dhaka) notice ending Belgium representation: 1 Oct 2025 end; 15 Sep 2025 last submission. (Sweden Abroad)
• Belgium — “Visa for Belgium if you live in Bangladesh” (competence & channels). (india.diplomatie.belgium.be)
• VFS India (Belgium) — D-visa filing in New Delhi for Bangladesh residents. (VFS Global)
• Belgium (FPS Foreign Affairs) — general rules on where/how to apply; representation & outsourcing. (diplomatie.belgium.be)
• Belgian Immigration Office (DOFI/IBZ) — in-person D-visa filing (e.g., family reunification) at the competent post (often via VFS/TLS). (dofi.ibz.be)
• EU (European Commission, DG HOME) — Schengen visa statistics and consulate-level datasets. (Migration and Home Affairs)
• Eurostat — first residence permits series used for long-stay estimates. (European Commission)