<p>My grad school DS has been offered a 6-month co-op in Brussels, beginning in late September, which he is very excited about. He/we are working on flights, housing, and visa. </p>
<p>I come to this wise group for suggestions on health insurance (our family coverage is only for US + DS has a chronic disease).</p>
<p>Also what kind of banking, if any, will he need to set up there? I can't imagine that he can go for that lenght of time with a credit card and ATM card. Won't he need checks on a bank in that country? Will he be allowed to set up banking in Belgium?</p>
<p>I may have more questions later as we get this together!</p>
<p>I would encourage you to check te website of the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, a town just near Brussels. The town is famous for having one of the oldest universities in the world, and an even older brewery. Yes, those are the guiys who just bought Budweiser.</p>
<p>On a serious note, there is a lot of information on this site.</p>
<p>In general terms, someone could do well without a bank account as the ATMs are ubiquitous and debit cards are accepted everywhere. This said, it should not be very hard to open a local bank account. However, you can expect to pay substantial fees for transferring money between the US and Belgium. By all means avoid Western Union. Also note that there are few places that change dollars into Euros, and most are very expensive (Western Union, airport, etc.) Your best bet will be around the Brussels Stockmarket (Bourse) at one of the places that serves immigrants. Check your current bank for ATM debits. </p>
<p>For a while, I considered studying in Belgium and found plenty of information on the university websites. It should be one of the easiest countries to navigate as a foreign student.</p>
<p>Health insurance - will he be an official employee? If so employers will deduct health insurance contributions from his pay and he just needs to tell them which mutuelle (health insurance fund) he’s chosen to register with. Most people choose one with an office near work/home. NB this cover pays for a large percentage of costs for most things but some hospital fees are not included and you need to pay for a separate hospitalisation insurance. If his status is not clear-cut, I’d suggest he asks the organisation for advice or possibly give the Belgian consulate a ring.
Banking - checks don’t exist in Belgium, it’s all done electronically so theoretically your son could cope if he’s got on-line banking or could get it on his normal accounts. He’ll need to be able to make international electronic transfers. Belgian banks charge quite a bit each month to have an account, and as a non-EU citizen, it takes time to set things up (anti-terrorism/ money laundering rules). However, if he plans to rent an appartment, he will have to brave the Belgian banking system as the deposit for a rental is held in a joint account between renter and rentee. How good is his French / Dutch? If not so good, Ing or Fortis are probably the best to go to as some at least of their info is in English.
This website will be a very useful resource if you haven’t already found it:
[xPATs.com</a> Homepage](<a href=“http://www.xpats.be%5DxPATs.com”>http://www.xpats.be)</p>
<p>I live about two hours from Brussels and go there every few months. I love the city! I think it would be quite possible to get by with an ATM and credit card for six months, but I also noticed a CitiBank in Brussels the last time I was there, so maybe that would make it easy for your son to set up an account in the states and use it here.</p>
<p>I think apartment leases are generally for a year, but maybe a sublet would be possible. Or perhaps through the co-op there would be some housing recommendations.</p>
<p>How about travel arrangements? I recently had to buy a ticket to the east coast unexpectedly at the last minute (actually about two weeks out) and was dismayed by the price. I think the more lead time you have, the better price you will get. </p>
<p>Where did you hear that checks are no longer used in Belgium? As far as I know, checks are still used by many people in daily life throughout Europe. They are becoming rarer, just as they are here, as debit cards, automatic withdrawals and transfers are more and more used. However, they are still available and used by many, particularly older, people. </p>
<p>That said, there is really no reason your child couldn’t survive for that period of time with just a credit card & an ATM card. The only question would be paying rent/utilities. That is usually handled through a transfer/automatic withdrawal from a bank account although there may be other ways.</p>
<p>Usually companies that do co-ops have information available on insurance/housing or can at least put you in touch with someone who is doing the same thing now or recently and can answer questions.</p>
<p>Tango14 - I’m afraid you’re rather out of date as far as Western Europe is concerned. I’ve only ever seen cheques in use in France, UK and Ireland in the last ten years and certainly in the UK, it’s now becoming rare tp pay be cheque as some big shops no longer accept them and companies charge extra fees if you pay bills like gas/electric with cheques. Neither my Belgian nor German bank when I lived in those countries issued personal cheques at all.</p>