Here is the list of the justificatives to be attached to the visa applications:

Visa application V1

1. The detailed scientific programme

A scientific programme is considered to be detailed when it contains per day:

  • a detailed timetable (not only from 9.00am to 12 noon and from 1.00pm to 5.00pm but per units of 20 or 30 minutes, for example), also mentioning the date of the meeting.
  • and a detailed content (not only the nature of the sessions but also the title of each scientific topic and, if possible, the names of the speakers). The content must be sufficiently clear so that the Visa Bureau understands what it is about. If too much jargon or uncommon abbreviations are used, this should be clarified to enable the Visa Bureau to properly exercise its control powers.

Please note that only programs of a purely scientific nature in the context of the medical and pharmaceutical science are allowed (see FAQ 5.1).

2. A justificative of the cost, the class and the date and hours of the chosen flight

If a flight ticket is sponsored, there has to be a justificatif of 1) the cost, 2) the class and 3) the date and hours of the chosen flight attached to the visa application.

It has to be:

  • either a print screen from the reservation made online. On this document must clearly appear both the cost of the plane ticket and the class (e.g. not just class “E” or “Y”) as well as the date/hour (and if possible the flexible nature of the ticket or not). These information cannot be proven through an email of invoice of a travel agency. We do not expect of course a copy of a definitive reservation since the tickets are booked after reception of the Mdeon visa.
  • or a sworn statement completed by the travel agency the company works with, using the following model: model of sworn statement – flight. After completing the statement, the travel agency must affix a handwritten signature and its stamp (in case of absence of a stamp, it must be printed on the stationery of the agency), then convert the document to PDF and send it to the company by email to be attached to the visa application. Note that this sworn statement only applies to plane tickets booked through a travel agency. If a ticket is booked by the company itself, a print screen must be used.

Be careful:

  • The cost of the flight mentioned in the visa application (section B4) must be the same as stated on the justificatif and if appropriate, converted into euros.
  • A sponsored flight should always leave from Belgium and return to Belgium. An exception may be allowed if the healthcare professional is elsewhere or should be elsewhere for professional reasons (e.g. participation in another conference), which must be justified and documented in the visa application. However, if it is for personal reasons, the flight can only be funded if this ticket is as a result not more expensive (unless the sponsored healthcare practitioner pays the difference in price himself).
  • When working with a print screen, all the above mentioned data must figure clearly in one document. This document cannot be combined with another document.

3. A justificative of the price and of what is included in the registration fee

This justificative is mandatory when the participation to a scientific event organised by healthcare professionals is sponsored, regardless of whether or not the registration is offered and regardless of whether or not there is a registration fee. Indeed, the visa application form asks to attach this justificatif even if the registration is not sponsored.

A justificatif must be added of what is included in the registration fee (lunch, dinner, social activity, etc.) and of its amount. If there is no registration fee, a justificatif of what the organisorganiser offers as hospitality must be added.

The document to be attached has to be:

  • either a print screen from the conference website (no email nor invoice of the organiser), that clearly mentions what is included in the registration fee (careful: make sure that the print screen is large enough to show the source of it)
  • or, in the absence of information on the conference website, the congress organiser must complete the following model of sworn statement: model of sworn statement – registration. After completing the statement, the organisorganiser must affix a handwritten signature and his stamp (in case of absence of a stamp, it must be printed on the stationery of the organisation), then convert the document to PDF and send it to the company to be attached to the visa application.

Example of what is included in the registration’s fee:

Registration fee includes:

  • Access to the scientific sessions
  • Congress material
  • Lunches on day xyz
  • Diner on day xyz
  • Social activity (cost/pp is … EUR)
  • Welcome reception
  • Etc.

Please note that if it concerns a scientific event organised by a pharmaceutical or medical device company (even if it is not the submitting company itself), no justificatif should be added. Although, in that case, every offered hospitality must be detailed (€) in section B4 of the visa application (e.g. price of the offered lunch, dinner, overnight stay).

Visa application V2

  • the detailed scientific program of the event
  • the detailed budget of the event with an enumeration of the different costs and incomes and their amounts. Click here for a detailed model budget.

  • if the visa application is submitted by the logistic organizer of the congres (e.g. a PCO): the declaration of the scientific organizer concerning the allocation of the funds:

“- I declare that the sponsored amounts will only be allocated to finance the actual scientific activities or forms of hospitality which are permissible under Article 5.2 of the Mdeon Code of Ethics.
– I declare furthermore that any advantage realised will be assigned in accordance with Article 10 of the law of 25 March 1964 on medicinal products.
– I undertake to send to the Mdeon Secretariat by e-mail within the three months following the scientific event, the amount and the allotment of the closed account’s result.”