VLIRUOS funds students to complete one of 20 eligible English-taught ICP Connect study programmes at Flemish universities or universities of applied sciences and arts in Belgium. The 2026–2027 call covered bachelor’s, initial master’s and advanced master’s routes beginning in September 2026.
This cycle is closed. Although the call page gives 28 February 2026 as the call-level deadline, each participating programme set its own opening and closing dates.
Benefits & funding
- The scholarship covers tuition fees, travel, insurance, and living costs for board and lodging.
- Funding covers the full programme duration of 12, 24 or 36 months; partial scholarships and extensions are unavailable.
- ICP Connect scholarship programmes charge no application fee.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be nationals of one of the 29 eligible countries and reside in any eligible country when applying; nationality and residence need not be the same country.
- Eligible countries are Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
- Bachelor’s and initial master’s applicants must be no older than 35 on 1 January 2026; advanced master’s applicants must be no older than 45, and bachelor’s applicants must be at least 19.
- Applicants may submit only one ICP Connect scholarship application per year and may not hold another scholarship or grant for the same or another programme at the same time.
- Applicants must not previously have received a Belgian government scholarship for a study programme or have enrolled at a Belgian higher education institution before 1 January 2026.
- Each institution may impose programme-specific academic and English-language admission requirements; work experience is preferred in some profiles but is not a universal requirement.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
Benin · Bolivia · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Cuba · DR Congo · Ecuador · Ethiopia · Guinea · Haiti
+ 17 more
Indonesia · Kenya · Madagascar · Mali · Morocco · Mozambique · Nicaragua · Niger · Palestine · Peru · Philippines · Senegal · South Africa · Tanzania · Uganda · Vietnam · Zimbabwe
Residence required
Benin · Bolivia · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Cuba · DR Congo · Ecuador · Ethiopia · Guinea · Haiti
+ 17 more
Indonesia · Kenya · Madagascar · Mali · Morocco · Mozambique · Nicaragua · Niger · Palestine · Peru · Philippines · Senegal · South Africa · Tanzania · Uganda · Vietnam · Zimbabwe
Education required
High School · Bachelor · Master
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Application process
- 1Confirm the scholarship criteria and choose one eligible ICP Connect study programme.
- 2Follow the organising institution’s instructions and apply for both programme admission and the scholarship through its website, indicating the scholarship request in the programme application.
- 3Meet the chosen programme’s academic, document and English-language requirements by its own deadline.
- 4The institution reviews and ranks eligible applications before VLIRUOS separately screens its selection list; selected and waitlisted candidates are notified by VLIRUOS.
Program timeline
The 2026–2027 scholarship call was announced.
Oct 20, 2025
VLIRUOS held the scholarship information session.
Nov 17, 2025
Call-level submission deadline; programme-specific deadlines varied.
Feb 28, 2026
Selected and waitlisted candidates were notified.
By mid-May 2026
Programmes began.
Sep 1, 2026