When moving to Belgium, many refugees and immigrants have difficulty using public transport. To solve this problem, local authorities have developed programs that give the right to preferential travel. With their help, you can travel relatively inexpensively between regions and cities, as well as travel to other EU countries. In this article we will talk about the features of travel in Belgium for refugees and immigrants.
How to get discount travel
The first rule is that you can get the right to purchase a reduced ticket for a bus or train only after obtaining official status in the country. Contact your nearest OCMW representative. They are also involved in paperwork for refugee status, provide temporary housing, organize food, medical care. At the first stage, a travel document will be enough to move around the city in which you currently live. Then you can order train tickets for refugees to travel through Belgium to other regions of the country.
The procedure for issuing a grant document.
- Submit documents to OCMW, an application completed in the official language. If there are problems with the latter, you will be provided with an interpreter.
- With permission, contact the nearest STIB branch. They are not available at all bus stations.
- At the STIB office, you need to present a passport, a residence permit in Belgium, a photo.
- Within 5-10 minutes, a preferential travel document will be issued.
For questions that arise during the process, you can contact CPAS representatives. They will help you fill out forms and questionnaires correctly, tell you how to make a reduced ticket for children. Now free travel for refugees from Ukraine has been canceled on the territory of Belgium. Therefore, you need to get a travel card according to standard rules.
Important: an attempt to ride a bus or train for free will be punished with a fine. This applies to all categories of refugees or immigrants.
Bus trips
Most of the refugees stop in Brussels or the capital region. In order to receive reduced fares, it is necessary to issue an “A” card or form 15. Based on these documents, a card is issued, the cost of which is 5 Euros. It gives you the opportunity to use the services of a bus or other public transport once. The price of an annual pass is 85 Euro per year for an adult. Children are provided with a preferential travel card – 12 Euro per year. If the child is under 12 years old, you only need to pay the cost of the card – 5 Euro. Buy her Can V nearest Travel Pass purchases and information.
Features of travel in Belgium for refugees in other regions of the country:
- Documents are issued through the local social service. For children, public transport is free. An adult has to pay 51 Euro per year.
- Preferential categories of refugees for whom free travel in Belgium is provided are children under 12 years old and adults over 65 years old. For a child over 12 years old, an annual pass will cost up to 281 Euros. For immigrants from 18 to 24 years old – up to 67.2 Euro per year.
- Central region. To purchase tickets in TIB public transport, you can visit the official website https://www.stib-mivb.be. Here you can find discounted fares for immigrants.
Campaigns are periodically held to improve conditions for local residents, refugees and immigrants. Their goal is to protect the vulnerable segments of the Belgian population, auction fare reductions. Information about this can be obtained from the local OCMW center or from volunteers. It is important to provide documents confirming that you can stay in the country.
Important: you can buy a single ticket at bus stations. However, its cost is much higher than that of annual travel cards.
Refugee train service
Responsible for rail passenger transport in Belgium is the state company SNCB. Most often, railway services are used to transport refugees in Belgium to their place of permanent residence. You need to register in Brussels, in the center Heysel. After providing documents on the right to stay on the territory of Belgium, you will be issued a one-time train ticket Ticket Bulk Fedasil. This procedure is free. It is possible to travel not only within the country, but also to other EU states.
If you need to pass through Belgium from Germany, you need to show Helpukraine. An alternative is any certificate or permission to stay in the European Union. This will allow transit through the country. You can get free travel on TGV and Thalys trains at the SNCB box office. The ticket for refugees and immigrants is free. Eurostar high-speed flights are served at Channel terminals terminal. They are located only at the train station in Brussels.
Tip: it is recommended to arrange travel for refugees in Belgium in advance, there are not always empty seats on passenger trains.
Taxi in Belgium
Sometimes taxi services are required to move around the city or region. However, in Belgium, as well as throughout the European Union, the cost of this service is high. For example, consider prices in Brussels. The cost of landing from 6:00 to 22:00 is 2.2 Euro. At night, from 22:00 to 6:00 in the morning, it is more expensive – 4.4 Euros. The fare for 1 km varies from 1.8 to 2.7 Euro/km. Therefore, it is recommended to calculate the train costs in advance. Most often it is more profitable to travel by public transport. Although it will take longer.
Summing up, we can say that travel in Belgium for refugees is optimal for moving around the city or within the region. However, traveling to other parts of the country will cost more. Before the trip, you need to analyze all possible transportation options, find out the current prices, bus and train schedules. This will help keep travel costs down.
