(Almost) welcome to Hasselt University!
The Coronavirus is still managing our daily lives and additional measures are imposed by the authorities in Belgium. We hope to give you the essential information and contact points so that you can come with peace of mind and so that your time at Hasselt University will still be unforgettable. We have listed all information below, please read it carefully.
This page covers:
1. Will I be able to travel to Belgium?
2. Before I travel to Belgium [UPDATED INFORMATION March 3rd]
3. Covid-PCR testing
4. Travel from the airport to my destination in Hasselt, Diepenbeek or Genk
5. Quarantine... and now what?
6. Not feeling well
7. Registration at town hall
8. Vaccination in Hasselt, Diepenbeek or Genk [UPDATED INFORMATION March 3rd]
9. Money - How do I open my bank account?
10. Insurance
11. Contact information
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1. Will I be able to travel to Belgium?
This scheme offers a visual overview, valid for all students + professionals wanting to enter Belgium.
If you have additional questions, please contact traveladvice@uhasselt.be.
2. Before I travel to Belgium [UPDATED INFORMATION March 3rd]
It is mandatory that all international students + professionals complete a Passenger Location Form electronically in the 48 hours before arriving in Belgium. If you are experiencing problems when filling in your PLF, please contact your airline or consult this website.
This form will give you insight in (among other details):
If have been vaccinated against Covid-19, you can need a Covid certificate to travel.
Since the use of public transportation is to be avoided as much as possible when there is a mandatory quarantine, we advise you to take a taxi to your destination. You can book your taxi in advance.
Contact: Taxi Patrick
If it’s not possible to take a taxi, then you can use public transport. You can take a train from the airport to Hasselt. You can buy tickets on this website. Then you can take a taxi from the train station in Hasselt to your destination. Taxis are located in front of the train station in Hasselt. More information: www.uhasselt.be/Contact-and-location.
If your Passenger Location Form indicates you will need to quarantine in Belgium, this will usually be a period of 10 days.
This website defines the concept of quarantine under the question “What does 'quarantine' mean?”. For information about Covid-PCR testing, see above.
If you already know some other students, you can ask their help in doing grocery shopping. Make sure to keep in mind the quarantine measures! They can put the groceries in front of your door for example, to avoid contact.
If you prefer to do your own shopping, you can choose for a home delivery by the supermarket. Take a look at these websites.
If all of these options are not possible for you, please contact dios@uhasselt.be with the shopping you need for during your quarantine. We'll be glad to assist you!
We’ve informed student home owners about the measures. We asked them to make a time schedule for the use of a shared kitchen. If possible a separate toilet and bathroom should be used. If this is not possible there should be all necessary materials to disinfect everything.
If you have any questions regarding the measures in your student home, please contact the owner of your student home.
Medical contacts
If you feel ill, it's not a good idea to go to a test centre right away. Please, have your symptoms assessed first. To get an assessment in English, please contact medical coördinator Els Panjaer: studentsecurex@uhasselt.be.
If you want to contact a general practitioner yourself, you can find the medical contacts here:
If you don't feel well mentally or emotionally, don't hesitate to reach out to our student psychologist!
Please contact town hall to ask them for an appointment. Please mention that you’re an international student of UHasselt. Make sure to respect your quarantine, the appointment can ONLY take place when you are out of quarantine.
Take following documents to your appointment:
After your initial appointment, a local police officer will formally determine your address. Afterwards, town hall will contact you about a second appointment for receiving your A-card residence permit.
Practical information
Here is how you reach the vaccination centre in Hasselt/Diepenbeek. (Google Maps). You might also have noticed the teal coloured road signs pointing to the vaccination centre, when walking/biking around Hasselt.
Here is how you reach the vaccination centre in Genk. (Google Maps).
Important general remarks
If you cannot use your own bank account when you are in Belgium, then you can open a Belgian bank account. Below you can find the process to do so.
In order to speed up the opening of a Belgian bank account we hereby provide you with some more information. Via the link below, you can already start the process for opening a bank account:
www.kbc.be/retail/en/products/payments/current-accounts/gratis-zichtrekening-openen.html
You will have to enter some personal data, as well as upload some documents, so be prepared :
Upon your arrival, you just have to send one more document which you receive after registration at the town hall (this procedure can also be done electronically, more info will follow).
Make sure to take care of your insurance. More information can be found on this website.
Who can help me when I have urgent questions or when I don’t know what to do?
Please note that all Covid measures in Belgium change constantly, so for up-to-date information, please take a look at this webpage https://www.info-coronavirus.be/en/faq/.
Specific measures for Hasselt & Diepenbeek:
For information on Covid-PCR testing, please consult this webpage.
We should all take COVID-19 seriously. It is important to adhere to the measures to protect yourself and the people you’re living with. We want to advise you to follow all measures to the best of your ability. When you don’t follow the COVID-measures you risk a fine of € 250 - € 500.
Stay healthy!
If you need a test to return to your home country, please notify the test centre explicitly about this before you take your test! They will then make sure that you receive your test result on your smart phone.
Below you will find specific information regarding the corona measures at Hasselt University. If the answer to your question is not listed, please contact coronavirus@uhasselt.be.
Edited 4 February 2022.
Lectures and examinations may proceed on campus. Due to the spread of the omicron variant, it might be possible that your professor or lecturer can't attend physically, in which case the lecture can take place online.
Lecturers will live stream or record their courses whenever possible to give students who are sick or in quarantine the chance to keep following classes.
Check out your schedule via My Timetable. If you have specific questions related to courses or exams, please contact your faculty or school.
As of January 10th, it is obliged to wear a surgical or FFP2 face mask everywhere on campus. Fabric masks are no longer allowed.
During an oral exam both student and examiner must wear a FFP2 mask.
You can only take off your face mask to eat.
If you cannot wear a face mask, you will have to prove so with a medical certificate. In that case you will have to wear a face shield.
It is very important to regularly wash or disinfect your hands. There are disinfectant stations at several places on campus. You can wash your hands as much as needed at the sanitary blocks.
We also pay a lot of attention to the ventilation of classrooms and auditoria. Whenever you are in a room with windows you can open up them yourself. In the auditoria, there is a mechanical ventilation system with a maximum supply of fresh outside air.
Via additional CO2 meters we monitor the quality of the air frequently.
Why do I have to fill in this form?
The purpose of this form is to monitor the number of infections on our campus, in the first place to detect possible "clusters". By this we mean 2 or more positive cases within one group, with a possible link between them.
This will enable us to perform a risk analysis and to take the appropriate measures to protect students and staff of UHasselt.
Your answers will go to the Securex External Prevention Service (medical service) which will process the data, with the guarantees of medical professional secrecy. This initiative comes on top of and does not replace the activities of the federal contact tracers, which aim to notify the contacts of people who have tested positive.
What are risk contacts?
High-risk contact
-A person who was in the same room/enclosed environment as a covid-19 patient for more than 15 minutes (cumulatively), during which time a distance of 1.50 m was not always maintained or a face mask was not always worn properly (check how to wear a face mask).
-A person who has come into direct physical contact with a covid-19 patient.
Low-risk contact
A person who was in the same room/enclosed environment as a covid-19 patient, but was within a distance of <1.50 m for less than 15 minutes (cumulatively).
If you are having mild symptoms, fill out the self-assessment testing tool.
If you are having severe symptoms, contact your doctor.
If you have a positive covid-19 test, please inform Hasselt University via coviduhasselt@securex.be.
Here you'll find more information about covid-19 testing.
In case you will have to go into quarantine during the exams, you can appeal to 'corona exam facilities'. You'll find more details at the reasonable facilities page or contact StudentPoint for more information.
Check your exam schedule regularly, locations may change!
Exams can take place on these locations:
Of course you can study in the campus Diepenbeek Library or the Limburg Law Library in the Hasselt courthouse, but many youth services, municipalities and libraries offer study space as well. You'll find them in this overview.
If you become infected with Covid-19 or another disease, then you will have to follow the regular instructions on what to do if you cannot attend an exam due to sickness. These instructions are listed in the EEL (p.24 circumstances beyond one's control).
The second semester/third quartile will start the same way we have ended the first semester/second quartile.
For each lecture, an online alternative will be made available; this can be a live stream, recording, or both.
For other teaching activities, the most effective approach will be determined for each course unit. Your lecturer will provide you with specific information.