Accommodation and insurance

Finding housing can be competitive, especially for international students, so it’s essential to secure a place online before you travel. Don't rely on staying in a hostel and looking for accommodation once you’re here.

Typically, students in Belgium rent a single room in a student house with a shared kitchen, toilet and shower. This type of room is called a kot.

Start by reading this guide from Antwerp’s student centre STAN

Antwerp is a busy student city, so begin looking as soon as you receive your (conditional) enrolment letter.

• Degree students: most rooms become available in April-May
• Exchange students: start once your application is confirmed

What to expect?

Most students rent a “kot”: a single room in a shared house with a communal kitchen and bathroom. If you want your own bathroom and/or kitchen, the prices increase significantly. The later in the year, the more expensive available options become.

Average monthly rent (excluding utilities ~ 80 euros):

• ‘Kot’ (room with shared facilities): 500 euros
• Studio (private bathroom and/or kitchen): 620 euros
• Apartment: 850 euros

It’s a great idea to ask a KdG student about types of accommodation, neighbourhoods or student life in general. They will give you some great advice.

To do this, join our KdG In&Out Facebook group. Here you will also find details of:

• Local students who are going on an exchange and want to sublet their room
• Students looking for roommates
• Departing students selling or giving away their stuff

KdG is not responsible for any accommodation posted in our Facebook group, so please follow these tips:

• Search via Kotweb.
• Found a room on Facebook? Check the address on Kotweb to see if it is indeed a student house.
• Ask for the landlord’s contact details and a copy of his or her ID before signing a contract or transferring money.
• Questions about quality? Request a free quality survey by phone (+32 3 338 75 74) or email: studentenhuisvesting@stad.antwerpen.be.
• You can also contact Kotweb, STAN/GATE15, or Student Services with any questions.

99% of students do not experience any problems, but we advise you to follow these tips.

It is mandatory for all students to arrange health insurance before arrival in Belgium. 

Health insurance means adequate coverage for medical costs in case of illness or injury.

Insurance for EEA-students

If you are from an EU member state, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you should have your own health insurance that already covers your stay in Belgium.

Please check whether that is the case and don’t forget to bring your European Health Insurance Card when coming to Belgium. 

Insurance for non-EEA-students

If you don’t have health insurance yet which is valid in Belgium, e.g. if you come from outside of the EU, there are two ways to get health insurance in Belgium:

• You can register with one of the five health insurance providers (called 'ziekenfondsen' or 'mutualiteiten')
• Register with the ‘Hulpkas voor Ziekte- en Invaliditeitsverzekering’ (HZIV), a public social insurance institution.
  • The HZIV offers only the basic mandatory insurance and does not provide any additional insurance plans.
  • Registration is free if your legal place of residence is Belgium and you have no official income.
  • If you do have an income, then your contributions will be adjusted to your income.
  • Specific conditions apply to students whose legal place of residence is in another country 

Additional insurance

The regular public health insurance providers do offer additional insurance plans which allow you to extend your basic health insurance.

Contribution

You have to pay a contribution for this additional insurance, called the 'mutualiteitsbijdrage' (health insurance contribution). The basic contribution is roughly 8,50 euros per month.

In exchange for this contribution, you will receive additional benefits, services and compensation for payments made, including vaccinations, contact lenses, corrective eyeglasses, personal alarm systems, speech therapy, orthodontic treatment, ambulance transport, osteopathy, chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, some implants, hospital stays, sports club membership, births, adoptions, dental care, youth holidays and care residences.

How to sign up for additional insurance

To sign up for a health insurance provider, you either need to have a Belgian residence permit to be able to get registered as a ‘resident’. Alternatively, you can get registered under a special student statute, in which case you will have to pay a fixed amount on top of your health insurance contribution (approx. 20 euros per month).

After arriving in Belgium, you can then apply for a Belgian residence permit and change your insurance to the resident status.

Insurance providers

All the health insurance providers offer more or less the same services. The following two providers are well-respected and both offer the solution to sign up without having a Belgian residence permit (yet).

It’s up to you to choose one and get in touch with them:

• Helan
  students@healthinsurance.be
• CM
  antwerpen@cm.be 

AON 

You will find more information on how Belgian health insurance works during the welcoming days and on the Intranet.

Third-party liability insurance

We also recommend third-party liability insurance.

• This covers you if you are sued for compensation by a third party, who believes they have suffered a loss due to your negligence or carelessness.
• It covers third-party material damage and physical injury.
• For more information contact insurance@kdg.be