How Much Does It Cost to Study in Belgium? Tuition Fees and Housing
Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.
There is no single Belgian tuition fee. The Dutch-speaking Flemish Community (Flanders) and the French-speaking Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FWB) set their fees under separate laws. For EU students both are low. For students from outside the EU the two systems work very differently.
Fees for EU students
Flanders. The fee is set by Flemish law and indexed yearly. For 2026/27 it is €305.40 plus €14.60 per credit, which comes to €1,181.40 for a normal year of 60 credits. Students with a Flemish study grant pay €139.40, and students just above the grant limit pay €623.40.
FWB. The fee is called the minerval. From 2026/27 it depends on household income: €1,194 at the full rate, €835 for intermediate incomes, €374 for modest incomes and nothing for students with a study grant. The reduced rates must be requested from the FWB's study grants office. A deposit of €50 is due by 31 October and the rest by 1 February.
In our catalogue the EU fee at public institutions is typically €1,194 a year. The one exception is the transnational University of Limburg in Hasselt, which charges all students who are not Belgian, including EU citizens, €2,699.
These rates apply to EU citizens (in Flanders, to all citizens of the European Economic Area) and to some non-EU nationals living in Belgium, for example long-term residents and refugees.
Fees for students from outside the EU
FWB: one fixed amount. Non-EU students pay the minerval plus a fixed supplementary contribution of €4,175. That gives €5,369 a year in 2026/27, and it is what every FWB programme in our catalogue charges.
Several groups do not pay the supplementary contribution:
- citizens of the countries on the UN list of Least Developed Countries;
- at universities, citizens of other countries on a list set by ARES, the federation of French-speaking higher education;
- holders of the FWB school-leaving certificate (CESS) after at least two years at a school in the FWB;
- grant holders of Wallonie-Bruxelles International.
They still pay the ordinary minerval.
Flanders: each institution sets its own fee. The law lets Flemish institutions decide what non-EEA students pay. Some charge them the same €1,181 as Belgians, at least for Dutch-taught programmes: Ghent University and KU Leuven do. Many others charge several thousand euros a year, and some arts programmes cost up to €25,000.
Private institutions
Almost all Belgian universities and colleges, including KU Leuven and UCLouvain, are funded by the government and charge the legal fee. Our catalogue has one private institution, the Brussels School of Governance, at €15,000 a year for all students.
Other costs at enrolment
In the FWB, from 2026/27 hautes écoles and arts schools may no longer charge extra fees on top of the minerval. Applicants from outside the EU often pay an application fee: ULB and ULiège charge €200. In the FWB, the equivalence of a foreign school diploma costs €400. The Flemish entrance exam for medicine or dentistry cost €65 in 2026.
Housing
University housing is the cheapest option, but places are limited. Prices for 2026/27 published by the universities themselves:
| Where | Room | Monthly rent |
|---|---|---|
| Ghent University | Unrenovated room, full year | €391 |
| Ghent University | Renovated room, full year | €501–€521 |
| Ghent University | Studio, full year | €707 |
| ULB, Brussels | Small room, shared bathroom | €248 |
| ULB, Brussels | Room with own shower and toilet | €491 |
The ULB prices include €61 of flat-rate charges. In Ghent, a city student housing tax of €5.50 to €11.80 a month is added from January 2027. Students without a place rent a private room, known as a kot, on the open market.
Money for a visa
Students from outside the EU must prove they have enough money to live on. For 2026/27 the minimum is €1,062 net per month, or €12,744 for twelve months, set by the federal authorities and indexed yearly. You can prove it with a grant or scholarship certificate, a sponsor's formal undertaking (Annex 32), or a blocked account through an approved provider. Tuition comes on top of this sum.
How to keep costs down
- If you are from outside the EU, compare Flanders and the FWB. Some Flemish universities charge non-EEA students the Belgian fee for Dutch-taught programmes.
- Check whether your country is on the LDC or ARES list before budgeting for the FWB contribution.
- Apply early for university housing.
- In the FWB, ask the study grants office whether you qualify for a reduced minerval.
Where to look next
- How to get into a university in Belgium
- All 1,429 programmes in Belgium by city and field
- Blocked accounts and paying tuition
- Finding student housing in Europe
Official sources
- Mes études: coût des études: the FWB minerval (in French)
- Mes études: non-EU students: the supplementary contribution and exemptions (in French)
- Study in Flanders: official portal of the Flemish Community
- University of Antwerp: proof of sufficient means for a visa
- Ghent University: rents in university housing
Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.