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- Rudolf: Quote: What are the current estimated costs of building a house per m². That just depends on what kind of requirements you meet
- Johnny B.G: In the 50s-80s/90s, Dutch regularly grown food also contained poison and yet there are 20% elderly people in the Netherlands and in TH that is also the case.
- Johnny B.G: The interpreter bases himself on a number of sources, but there is of course much more to it. In Isaan since 50-60 years ago r
- rob: On average I stay in Thailand 6 to 8 months a year and enjoy the food there every day. I will never, ever be told
- Eric Kuypers: Robert, do you know how big the Isaan is? Say NL three times, so it makes sense if you give a little bit of direction like the pro
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- RonnyLatYa: Also take a look at this. https://www.iqair.com/thailand/kanchanaburi Also scroll down a bit and they will also give you some explanation
- Peter (editor): I also enjoy the Thai food and yes, the price is very attractive. But it's just a fact that Thai farmers are unbelievable
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- GeertP: Dear Ronald, I completely agree with your story, I also enjoy Thai cuisine every day and even after 45 years of Thai
- Eric Kuypers: Wilma, bad air is not in all of Thailand. Thailand is more than 12x the Netherlands! These are the big cities (traffic) and some
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Home » Reader question » My girlfriend from Thailand would like to come to Belgium, but how?
Dear readers,
A friend of mine, yes she is a katoey, would like to come to Belgium to study and work. But what steps should be taken for this? On the internet I find so much information (also often disinformation) that I can no longer see the trees for the wood. Where can she take Dutch lessons and can she work there? Can she then start studies at the university? What about health insurance and residence? Can we live together?
Getting started as a working student is normally not a problem in Belgium, but this is all new material for me as well.
Many thanks in advance,
Regards,
Rolf
Dear Rolf,
Has your girlfriend ever been to Belgium for a short stay? I would first let her experience Belgium/Europe a few times, get to know your friends and family and pick up some of the language. For example, she can do a short language course (from 0 to A1 level: a vocabulary of over a thousand words). You are not allowed to work on a short stay visa and stay longer than 90 days is excluded.
In any case, it is often advised - especially for Belgium - not to apply for a stay for more than one or 3-4 weeks for the first time on the basis of a 'visit friends/family' visa. For more details, see the Schengen visa handbook in the menu on the left. Don't forget the extensive PDF downloadable version.
I have not eaten much cheese from migration to Belgium. That is only one step further, by the way. I believe this is possible if there is a 'durable and exclusive relationship' that is equivalent to a marriage or registered partnership. In Belgium, the bar is set at a relationship of 2+ years or cohabitation of 1 year (source: migration/integration agency Crossroads). DVZ itself is a lot vaguer in its description: depends on individual circumstances and factors… But Flemish readers can probably tell more about that.
Have a par come over to Belgium. Then have it come over and make a statement to the population service of your municipality (foreigners affairs) that she wants to stay with you. You must take full responsibility for her. There will be a police investigation and then you will get a decision.
I think you already have a problem with your girlfriend's passport when you enter Belgium:
In the Netherlands, as a transgender, ladyboy or similar, you can apply for a new passport as a woman instead of a passport. Man.
You can't do that in Thailand…
I don't know if the photo on her passport shows her as the ladyboy/katoy she is now? If so, it probably won't be a problem. But her passport does state (in Thai) that she is a man.
If they have strict checks at the airport, this could be a problem
Nonsense, at least for NL immigration. My partner is also listed as a man in the passport and has very clearly entered as a woman, never even had a question. Luck??? No idea, but a fact. Now in possession of a Dutch passport, certainly no questions. Gr. Paul
Good luck with the Belgian bureaucracy. Yep, no typo. belgium without capital.
My wife has requested a visa of 1 to 3 months several times to be with me for a while. Just declined. Reason ……..” Applicant (that is my wife) has not put forward enough elements to guarantee her return to home country !!!!!! ”
Two children (19 and 13) who go to school in Thailand. Has a house and is married to me.
“No madam, because you don't work and you have no income. ”
So I just gave up all that crazy stuff and am getting ready to emigrate to Thailand for good.
So in terms of “having it come over a few times to…”
Good luck again.
Dre, I'm sorry, but if you are married, the DVZ simply cannot (continue to) refuse family reunification. Family reunification is a worldwide right in so-called developed countries!
Rolf,
If not married: most Thai people cannot provide an employment or servant contract. DVZ always fears that the applicant will not return. A purely routine bullying response.
Rolf, therefore a suggestion: In Bangkok at the Belgian embassy, perhaps have your girlfriend declare that she works in a seven / eleven and give her brother's telephone number in Isaan as an employer?
And start with a request of max.3 weeks!!!!!
Also read Herman's answer above!
Good luck!
Stan
Success I would say. Already applied for 2 short stay visas for my Thai girlfriend. Denied 2 times. Despite the fact that I provide my financial guarantee and we give the reason that she wants to meet my family and get to know our culture and country, always the same reason “we are not sure that Mrs. will leave the country again. I then work for DVZ, of all things.
Dear Rudi, then you will certainly know that an application revolves around the foreign national and the sponsor has a supporting role.
The decision official must give a yes/no in a few minutes, even though he does not know the foreign national and sponsor. On the basis of the pieces of paper, we must see whether the likelihood that the applicant and sponsor will comply with the booklet. A short, strong cover letter is recommended.
You probably know that the Belgian government is one of the more difficult Member States to obtain a Schengen visa from:
https://www.thailandblog.nl/visum-kort-verblijf/afgifte-schengenvisums-thailand-loep-2016/
This does not mean that an application has no chance, more than 90% of the Thai people receive a short-stay visa for Belgium. But the DVZ/embassy's glasses seem a bit darker than many other member states. Keep it to a short stay (even though 1 day stay in Belgium is enough to dive into illegality for those who have such idiotic plans). The Belgians also tend to turn sour when the relationship is only short (even though a short holiday together in Europe is a nice way to see if a relationship has a chance of success after a first short stay together in Thailand). And yes, if you think about it: many Thai people can only leave work for a few days, so 1 month or 90 days of vacation actually makes no difference because the Thai will have to resign: but that immediately shows less commitment (reasons make that return plausible).
If, despite the tips and explanations contained in the Schengen dossier, it does not work, consider a holiday elsewhere in Europe together. That also shows good for a follow-up application to Belgium and visiting Belgium is also allowed on a visa issued by, for example, the French.
The best thing is to lodge an objection in the event of a rejection, in the Netherlands that has a reasonable chance (especially if a good aliens lawyer does that, but you can also request the file yourself and submit a nice objection), in Belgium this is unfortunately often without a chance according to various sources, including Kruispunt. If a rejection remains, then - unless the circumstances have evidently changed - a Member State can easily reject a new application again with reference to the previous rejection.
Nb: an update of the Schengen figures for 2017 has been almost ready since May, but I am still waiting for a comment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands. The RSO released me after weeks of waiting
surprisingly knowing that this time I have to be in The Hague for comment and I've been waiting for that for a while. An update of the Schengen file is also almost ready, but is still waiting for the dots on the i.
And yes, nothing is more sour than as a couple with nothing but good intentions and after a lot of effort to get the lid on the nose. But don't give up!!
Refused 3 times for girlfriend and she always took her papers and belongings with her to the embassy I finally got someone on the phone in brussels at the ministry and told the lady what was going on and asked her if she wanted to see why my girlfriend wasn't could come she said I can't say anything about that what is in the comp but will have a look for you. A little later she said yes see that she has nothing and she will disappear into the iligality they think, but do not see anything of her property and sick mother papers and so on so she said if it is true what you told me write an email to the Belgian consul and tell everything in it, I did and at night at 2 o'clock I sent the mail was six hours difference so in bangkok it was 8 o'clock in the morning 2 hours later I received an email back because I had also written that black money had to do with it there at the consulate because in the shops there they advertised that you would get your visa 99 percent if you paid there so I thought further and also wrote that in my mail, so I received an answer from the consul that he could no longer do anything about the third refusal because Brussels had decided this, but whether I wanted to have my sweetheart do everything a fourth time and so apply back to the embassy and if I wanted to notify the embassy when she was there so that's how it was done and a few days later my dearest got her visa brought home then she came here and yes we applied for marriage talk to the police and so on got from the municipality where I registered them for the 3 months a letter that she had not gone back after 3 months and she had to leave the country within seven days ok have a lawyer appeal and yes that takes 2 years here so was already built for that on the court in Brussels has been happily married for 4 years now and now I also know if you apply for marriage or legal cohabitation you can also get an extension every month until a decision has been made here in Belgium all people of all ages can enter but one a couple in love are considered to be gangsters very sorry for typos have not had a higher school but work from in my youth greetings herman
Three years ago also requested a visa for a short stay from a friend. Also declined, same reason as with Dre. You can almost forget about this option. Due to Belgium's ignorance and abuse of applicants, Belgium almost always refuses such a visa.
Yes, you will also have to make a choice: either apply for a short-stay visa, or a student visa. Do not mix both, otherwise visa will be refused. In other words, if DVZ gets wind that your girlfriend wants to come to Belgium under a student visa but already has a boyfriend in Belgium, they will do everything they can to refuse the visa.
I do not know the conditions for a student visa, but I suspect that if the student cannot prove that he and his family can afford the costs of studying and staying in Belgium, no visa will be issued.
Sorry for the rather pessimistic image I paint. You and your girlfriend will have to bite really hard to succeed. It will really test your relationship. The fact that she is katoey should not play a role in the decision to grant a visa, but I fear that the DVZ will do their best to find a reason.
And indeed, help from the official authorities is virtually impossible. Some lawyers can help, but it is difficult to determine in advance whether the lawyer will go for it, or just let the procedure drag on and chase the money out of your pocket.
If you are determined, you can marry in Thailand and then live in Belgium. This is possible for a visa if you are well prepared and follow the correct procedure. Perseverance is not to be missed.
You could also try to apply for the visa through another Shengen country. Of course, you must have someone who is Guarantor for her in that country. We have done this too. First refused in Belgium. Then a German friend did this for us, and now she has received a Shengen visa through the German embassy for 4 years in a row. Of course you also have to comply with the return guarantee. But that is not a problem. Own company, land in her name plus car.
That is only legal if Germany is the main destination. And no one has to act as guarantor, the foreigner can also suffice with sufficient own resources. For details: see the Schengen dossier.
If the German family indicates that they will travel all over Europe with her, it is also allowed. In chiang mai they know that she is not mainly in germany. They do have pictures of her and the German family there.
That is possible, but then there must be no main destination and Germany must be the first country of entry. As a Thai you can then drop by in Belgium, but not go there as an obvious primary reason (longest stay). A great option if an ordinary friend comes to say hello. But if you want to be with your sweetheart for a large part of the holiday, this is not the correct way.
Or you have to tour Europe together, but then you as a partner act as a sponsor and then you apply for the visa at the country of first entry of the foreign national.