As Flanders and Wallonia have expanded the use of the Covid Safe Ticket (CST) and Brussels is tightening its checks from this week, the authorities clarified how non-EU residents can obtain such a pass in Belgium.
Since 1 November, presenting a valid CST to show that you are not infected with the coronavirus is mandatory to gain access to all bars, restaurants, fitness centres, nightclubs and certain events throughout Belgium, as well as certain other places in Brussels and Wallonia.
"The CST aims to protect the health of the population while maintaining an economic and social life," the Brussels health authorities stressed in a press release. "In the Brussels-Capital Region, it applies to anyone who visits restaurants, discos (among other venues)."
How non-Europeans can obtain a CST for activities in Brussels:
- Residents with a valid Belgian national registry number or BIS number have to ask their doctor to register their vaccination in Vaccinnet.
A BIS number is a unique 11-digit identification number for people who are not Belgian citizens in the National Registry but still work in the country. It can be found on people’s tax assessments or residence card, for example.
Once their vaccination has been registered, they can log on to the mijngezondheid.belgië.be platform or use the CovidSafeBE app to obtain their official European vaccination certificate.
- Those who have been vaccinated in an EU Member State should use the official European vaccination certificate issued by the country where they were vaccinated or their country of residence.
- For those vaccinated outside the EU, the official national vaccination certificates of the following countries/regions may be used in Belgium:
- Albania,
- Andorra,
- Faroe Islands,
- Iceland,
- Israel,
- Liechtenstein,
- Monaco,
- Morocco,
- North Macedonia,
- Panama,
- San Marino,
- Switzerland,
- Turkey,
- Ukraine,
- United Kingdom,
- Vatican City.
However, the vaccination schedule (meaning the vaccine that was administered, the interval between shots and the age) used must be recognised in Belgium.
- Those vaccinated in other countries can call the Brussels' Call Centre at 02/214.19.19 and ask for instructions. In this case, they need their passport as well as an English version of the official national vaccination certificate from the country where they were vaccinated.
Vaccination certificates that are obtained this way may only be used in Belgium as a CST, and may not be used to travel to other countries.
Those CSTs can only be accessed via the CovidSafeBE app, and are valid for 31 days. Once that period has passed, they can be renewed following the same procedure.
- Those who are non-vaccinated can obtain an official test certificate by being tested on-site. These official test certificates can be used as CSTs in Belgium for up to 48 hours (PCR test) or 24 hours (rapid antigen test administered and recorded by medical staff) after the date of the test.
Non-residents can obtain a code for a PCR test on mijngezondheid.be, via the link ‘Request a code for a paid PCR test (non-Belgian resident).'
After the test result is registered, the official test certificates become available via mijngezondheid.be (Test result and Certificate via CTPC code) or via the CovidSafeBE app using its test code.
These official test certificates can also be used for travel within the EU, depending on the country of destination. Official European test certificates obtained in other EU countries can also be used as CSTs in Belgium under the same conditions (valid until 48 or 24 hours after the test date).
- Official European recovery certificates can also be used as CSTs between 10 and 180 days after the test date.
