The State of the Consular (2019 edition)
July 15, 2019
Every year, Minister Blok presents the report 'The State of the Consular', which has now been sent to the House of Representatives. The report describes the state of consular services to Dutch nationals abroad and to foreign citizens and business people requiring a visa who wish to travel to the Netherlands.
It also contains important information for expats and pensioners living abroad. For example, things will change for Dutch nationals abroad who cannot apply for or renew a passport in person due to medical reasons.
Read the report here (PDF): www.thailandblog.nl/wp-content/uploads/kamerbrief-inzake-staat-van-het-consculaire-editie-2019.pdf
About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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About visa applications:
” By realizing this program, the customer will be better served, the quality
of decision-making on visa applications will increase and the costs for the national government will decrease. ”
Read: More use of external service providers (VFS Global), even more discouraging of an application at the embassy itself. The costs for choosing the service provider may then be paid by the applicant.
“Up to and including 2020, regional back offices will be gradually transferred to the Consular
Service Organization (CSO) in The Hague, a central back office where decisions on visa application
questions are taken centrally from the Netherlands”
No news of course, I wrote about this before. Soon all applications will be processed digitally from The Hague. The advantage is that there is no longer a passport from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur and back, which can remain in the embassy.
” The new Visa Code states that Member States
are no longer required to provide an opportunity for a visa application at a post like them
working with EDVs. (…) . It also fits in with the starting point of the Netherlands
to put the customer first” Well, as you can read: extra costs for the Thai traveler. Visa fees will be 80 euros and soon you will no longer be able to go on VFS and their 'service' costs (against 1000 THB). We call this putting the customer first by offering them fewer choices… I would call it putting your own wallet first.
“Regular travelers receive a multiple-entry visa with – the more often they travel”
That has been the policy for a few years now…
” The deadline for applying for a visa before leaving for the Schengen area
will be extended from the current 3 months to 6 months. ” In my opinion, one of the few plus points of the new Visa Code.
The Netherlands considers visa liberalization on a case-by-case basis
is opportune,” A former ambassador had already advocated abolishing the visa requirement for Thai travelers. Unfortunately no word if/when that will ever happen, something that will be decided in a European context.
” To better facilitate (business) travelers from the promising countries, the network of
application locations significantly expanded following the recently concluded new contracts with EDVs,
especially in countries and cities where they have the greatest added value. ” In my opinion, the mandatory use of the external service provider would only become a plus if, for example, people could also submit an application in the far north, north-east and / or south of Thailand.
At the end of 2019 I will update the Schengen file with regard to the new rules. In short, extra costs, being able to submit the application earlier, the process will go a bit faster due to digitization. But almost nothing has come of the wonderful plans that the European Commission had in mind. The Netherlands and other member states are not waiting for a real relaxation of the rules. And if the Member States are uncooperative, Brussels will get little or nothing done.
Some numbers. The report says this
In 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received more than 680.000 visa applications and
incorporated. Of this number, more than 580.000 applications were granted.”
You can find exact figures on the EU Home Affairs website. In 2018, the Netherlands had 683.505 applications for visas A (transit) and C (short stay). Of these, 586.130 have been approved.
Specifically for short stays, there were a total of 682.484 applications, of which 583.137 were approved, the refusal rate was 13%.
Specifically for Thailand, there were 2018 applications (all type C) in 14.673, of which 13.311 were approved. 7,2% rejection rate. Unfortunately, that has been somewhat higher for a few years now, after a drop of 2% a few years ago. I'll come again with my annual 'visa figures under the microscope' blog.
All in all a deterioration in most respects I would say.
A tip for family members (usually spouses and stepchildren, sometimes parents-in-law) of Dutch people.
It is best to go directly to the embassy of another Schengen country. There, these foreigners have direct access and the visa is free. Provided that this Dutchman mainly plans his holiday to that Member State and collects the family member there (or if they fly together, of course).
Family members of Belgians can do the same, but at the Dutch embassy for a trip to the Netherlands.
So: all family members of Belgians a free Dutch visa and all family members of Dutch people a free Belgian visa>
How long would it take these countries to find out that it's a bit impractical for their citizens and they have to do a lot of work for nothing?
In short: more costs, less service, slightly faster turnaround time. You will soon not have lost 60 euros, but 110 (80 euros plus about 1000 thb (25-28 euros)). You can submit the application a little earlier and you gain 2 days on transport, but you lose another day because VFS will be involved. Time savings marginal. Fortunately, your passport cannot get lost in the diplomatic mail, but VFS can of course also make mistakes with couriers between embassy, VFS and customer. The biggest seems not the foreigner but the government.
But we'll see.
I just checked the websites of VFS, Netherlands and You and Embassy of Belgium in Thailand.
VFS for NL:
Fee: ฿2100: Fee: ฿545(+/- 26% of the fee)
Last month it was ฿2160 and ฿570 respectively
Embassy:
Fees: €60 / ฿2160
I think the amount in Baht will be adjusted to ฿2100 one of these days.
When the fee goes from €60 to €80 (+33%), I expect that the VFS fee will also be increased by 33%. At the current exchange rate, that would be ฿730 (฿2800 x 26%).
https://www.vfsglobal.com/netherlands/thailand/visa_fees_at_glance.html
https://www.netherlandsandyou.nl/your-country-and-the-netherlands/thailand/travel-and-residence/consular-fee
VFS for BE:
Leges: ฿?? (depending on the current exchange rate): Fee: ฿800
Embassy:
Fees: €60 / ฿2340(still?)
https://www.vfsglobal.com/belgium/thailand/visa-fees-at-glance.html
https://thailand.diplomatie.belgium.be/sites/default/files/content/2018_09.01_tarifs-tarieven.xls
Thanks Theo. The fees of 60 euros are regularly discussed together so that the embassies ask for the same amount in the local currency (THB). The Belgians and the Dutch would therefore (should) levy the same here.
(By the way: I still find it strange that you can't pay in euros either).
The services of VFS on behalf of NL, B and a number of other Schengen states are also the same. Nevertheless, these costs are discussed per Member State. The costs for NL were for a long time something like 950 thb (I say from memory) and those of Belgium a lot lower. Apparently the Netherlands has negotiated well about the contract. It remains strange that the member states do not jointly agree on a service fee for the standard service (collecting papers, going through the checklist, forwarding the file to the officials of the member state).
In addition, the fact that the standard costs are now being passed on to the customer, I would understand that for extra services. Now you can still say 'the external service provider is a voluntary *cough cough* choice, so let them pay extra'. Soon from the beginning of 2020, the external service provider will be obliged, it would then be to the government's credit to pay the standard costs themselves. That would give them extra motivation to look for the best price/quality ratio. And to keep looking at alternatives such as a visa / services center set up jointly by the embassies where people can go. With civil servants and local staff paid by the Member States. That also saves a commercial substitute. Without a profit-making service provider, you can reduce costs.
Unfortunately, the customer's interest is not paramount.