As in the other two regions, the Covid Safe Ticket is mandatory in the Brussels-Capital Region for access to most events and venues. You are now staying in Brussels and would like to obtain the Covid Safe Ticket. How do you get it? How long does it take? The Expat Welcome Desk answers your questions.
Reminder: The Covid Safe Ticket is the counterpart of the EU digital Covid certificate, which is mandatory for travel abroad. It can take three forms: a negative test certificate, a recovery certificate or a vaccination certificate. The CST uses the same QR-code as the EU digital Covid certificate and can be requested in the same way.
=> Certificate of negative PCR test (within 48 hours) or antigenic test (rapid test within 24 hours)
The PCR or antigenic test must be performed by a legally authorised person.
The antigenic test can be performed in a pharmacy. Event organisers may, but are not obliged to, offer to perform these tests at the entrance.
If you do not have a Belgian national registration number, you must do a PCR test at a testing centre. After the test, the helpdesk of the centre will generate a BIS number for you so that you can download the CST.
=> A certificate of recovery
A certificate of recovery showing that you are cured of the virus after having tested positive more than 10 days and less than 6 months before the event.
· European: this is recognised in Belgium.
· Non-European: this is not currently recognised in Belgium.
=> The vaccination certificate
A vaccination certificate certifying full vaccination with a vaccine recognised by the European Union. This certificate is only valid from the 14th day after the last injection.
To date, only the following 5 COVID-19 vaccines are recognised by Belgium:
- Vaccines certified by the EMA (European Medicines Agency) :
Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty)
Moderna
AstraZeneca/Oxford (Vaxzevria)
Janssen
Covishield
· European: if you have a vaccination certificate issued in a European country, you will have received a certificate similar to the one issued by Belgium.
The EU Member States have agreed on the structure of the document and each European certificate has a unique QR code.
· Non-European: the vaccination certificate issued by the non-EU country can be accepted in Belgium but under certain conditions, pending their equivalence agreement with the EU.
The certificate must contain at least the following information in Dutch, French, German or English:
· Data allowing to deduce the identity of the vaccinated person (name, date of birth and/or identification number);
· Data demonstrating that all the doses provided for in the leaflet have been administered for at least two weeks of one of the 5 vaccines recognised in Belgium to date;
· The name of the brand and manufacturer or marketing authorisation holder of each vaccine that was administered;
· The date of injection of each dose of the vaccine administered;
· The name of the country where the vaccine was administered;
· The issuer of the vaccination certificate with his or her signature, stamp or unique digitally readable certificate identification code.
The recognition of your foreign vaccination certificate will therefore be important to know which quarantine and testing rules to apply during your stay in Brussels.
For some countries outside the EU, there is an agreement to recognise their certificate via the CovidScanBE application. Therefore, no further action is required for vaccination certificates from any of the following countries. These are :
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- San Marino
- Switzerland
- England, Scotland and Wales
- Vatican City
- Albania
- Andorra
- The Faroe Islands
- Israel
- Monaco
- Morocco
- Northern Macedonia
- Panama
- Turkey
- Ukraine
For people vaccinated with a vaccine recognised in Belgium, in certain countries outside the European Union and not included in the above list, there is the possibility of creating a Belgian CST with a validity of one month. This temporary CST can only be used in Belgium and therefore cannot be used for travel. It is currently available for about sixty countries only (e.g. Canada, USA, India, Russia, Brazil, Montenegro...).
To obtain the Belgian temporary CST, the following conditions must be met :
-Reside outside the EU and be over 11 years old,
-To have been vaccinated outside the EU with a vaccine recognised by Belgium (complete vaccination for at least 14 days and up to 1 year);
-Present a passport and an official vaccination certificate, stamped by the issuing country. A sworn translation must be attached if the vaccination certificate is not written in Latin characters.
Your application can be made via the following link by completing the online form: https://coronavirus.brussels/en/belgian-cst-for-foreigners/
You will receive your CST in electronic format after 2 days.
3. How to obtain a long-term CST if you have a non-EU vaccination certificate recognised by Belgium?
You have a national registration number because you are already registered with the municipality : you can present the proof of your foreign vaccination and your identity document to a Belgian doctor so that he or she can register you in the Belgian database, via the Vaccinnet web application.
You do not have a national registration number: you can contact a Belgian doctor who can generate a BIS number for you, as they are able to do so via the Vaccinnet web application and then register your foreign vaccination certificate in the Belgian system.
If your doctor does not know how to use this platform or is not familiar with it at all, he or she can contact the 02/700.63.33 helpdesk explaining each step to access Vaccinnet. This line is only intended for doctors.
If you are a resident of the Brussels-Capital Region and do not have a GP, please call 1710. This telephone line, set up only for Brussels residents, gives access to a dispatching service for general practitioners.
You are currently registered with the municipality: if you are in the process of registering with the municipality and already have a temporary document from the municipality (annex 19 ter, annex 15....): using your BIS number, which was previously activated by your Belgian doctor, you can ask your municipality to create a digital key for you to access the CovidSafe.be application and all the online platforms of the Belgian administrations. If your municipality does not yet organise this system, you can contact the municipality of Uccle (population service), which is competent to create a digital key for a wider public than its own residents.
Your certificate will be ready two days after registration in the Vaccinnet system: you will find it in the CovidSafe application. If this does not work, take your national register number or BIS number and call the call centre on +32 (0)2 214 19 19 to request a paper version.
More information:
• Covid Safe Ticket - coronavirus.brussels
• Acceptance of Covid vaccines administered abroad : under what conditions ?