Higher Schengen visa fees for Thais from June 2024
Third-country nationals who require a Schengen visa, such as Thai citizens, will have to pay higher fees from June 11, 2024. Adults will then pay €90 instead of €80 now, and for children between six and twelve years old the costs will increase from €40 to €45. This is apparently evident from reports from the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
This change follows a decision by the European Commission to increase the costs for short-stay Schengen visas (visa type C) worldwide by 12 percent. This increase will take effect worldwide from June 11, 2024. In addition to the regular fees, nationals of countries that do not cooperate in the readmission of their illegal nationals into the EU will face a visa fee of €135 or €180, depending on the decision of the Council.
The European Commission itself has not yet announced an exact date for the increase.
The increase in visa costs is justified by the European Commission on the basis of inflation figures and salaries in the Member States. The EU Visa Code gives the EU institutions the right to review visa fees every three years. The last revision took place in December 2023, after a previous increase from €60 to €80 in February 2020.
The Commission based the new rates on inflation rates within the Union and salaries of civil servants in the Member States over a three-year reference period, from 1 July 2020 to 1 July 2023.
EU figures show that Thai citizens will be in 9th place for the most Schengen visa applications in 2023. Last year, 270.504 visa applications were submitted by Thais. This is the top 5:
- China: 1.117.365 applications in 2023; 92.780 in 2022 (22nd place in 2022)
- Turkey: 1.055.885 applications in 2023; 778.409 in 2022 (1nd place in 2022)
- India: 966.687 applications in 2023; 671.928 in 2022 (3nd place in 2022)
- Morocco: 591.401 applications in 2023; 423.201 in 2022 (4nd place in 2022)
- Russia: 520.387 applications in 2023; 687.239 in 2022 (2nd place in 2022)
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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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Excuse me? 'In addition to the regular fees, nationals of countries that do not cooperate in the readmission of their illegal nationals into the EU will face a visa fee of €135 or €180, depending on the Council's decision.'
What kind of pointless coercion or 'punishment' is that because your country does not implement something? Isn't it completely drunk to punish the citizens of those countries for the actions of their government? Because these are often countries where citizens are not allowed or dare to say anything...
Quack talk, but hey, what do you do about it as a citizen? It can't get any crazier!
@Erik Kuijpers, isn't it so strange that people who want to visit another country are judged on their nationality?
Isn't that how it works everywhere and for everyone?
If I, as a Dutch person, want to go to another country, the fact that I am Dutch will first be taken into account, right? And the visa policy is implemented on this basis.
For example, in Malaysia I get 90 days of visa freedom, while my Thai girlfriend only gets 30 days.
These are differences based solely on nationality.
You can call that punishment or reward, but this is the way every country in the world works.
Just name me a country where all nationalities are treated exactly the same if you want to visit them.
Crazy, why? They are in the EU illegally and have deliberately obstructed the immigration process, often by destroying their passports, thereby incurring high legal costs for the EU. These fees are only a fraction of the total costs incurred. Moreover, refusal by countries only applies to those without a passport and where there is doubt about their true nationality. They're right.
Rebel4Ever, have you read the article? These are people who apply for a visa and are therefore not illegal immigrants. Why you drag in illegal immigrants in the EU is a mystery to me.
You start talking about illegal subjects and then you whistle Rebel4Ever back when he reacts to that.
You regularly ask us the unfair question whether or not we have read something. I attach great importance to freedom of opinion and the freedom to respond. I don't think it's very nice to always want to counter this.
Chris2, you didn't understand much of my first response. See also Rob V's response; why punish people for their government's policies?
And that 'always', I challenge you to prove it.
I don't understand your problem.
Maybe read what is said carefully. He is not talking about illegal immigrants in the EU, but about people who entered legally and do not adhere to their visa requirements.
Rebel4Ever rightly has a point there. His response is completely in line with what is discussed in the topic.
After some doubt, one last response: no, this fine does not apply to people who entered legally and did not comply with the visa requirements. In any case, you are what is colloquially called “illegal” if you are overstaying your visa. But it is not the case that those people who have used their visa unlawfully will pay higher fees next time as a punishment/fine. When they leave Schengen, if they are caught by the border guard, these people risk things such as a fine, entry ban or prison sentence, depending on the Member State, nature and extent of the violation. And the illegal overstay is also registered, which makes obtaining a visa in the future much more difficult for those people.
No, this EU measure is a collective punishment for EVERYONE who applies from that country. So if there were a problem with the fact that Thailand does not want to take back Thai "illegals" etc., that is why every Thai citizen who applies for a Schengen visa must pay an extra high rate.
So nothing other than how sanctions policy works and the EU recognizes that the left-wing course on immigration can no longer be maintained now that the right has continued to grow in various EU countries for years.
Painting the doom picture that it can also happen to TH if they do not cooperate is correct, but it is just unrealistic. There are already all kinds of mutual treaties at country level and negotiations on a trade agreement with the EU are in full swing.
It is known that TH leaders like to shoot themselves in the foot, but surely they wouldn't be crazy enough not to continue to cooperate?
But why would you collectively punish individual citizens (the higher fees are meant as a temporary measure, a punitive measure)? For example, if Thailand were to refuse to take back its nationals, would all Thais have to pay a fine with double the fees? Would readers here give a thumbs up if Thailand were to multiply visa costs as punishment if the country had a disagreement with the Benelux?
Moreover, in countries that refuse to take back their own citizens, there is more to it than “we are not sure whether they are our citizens” (which can usually be determined with great certainty on the basis of language and accent, knowledge of the region of origin and traces of someone's history there). From a report from some time ago, I believe that it concerns people who would rather lose their country of origin than be rich (for social, political or economic reasons).
Dear Rob,
You answer the question why yourself, right?
The countries in question would rather get rid of the hopeless and that is "settled" with the people who are in good faith.
The last ones who are in good faith should then urge their own government to adopt a different position when it comes to not taking back the hopeless people they wanted to get rid of.
I have been working on an update of the Schengen file since the beginning of April. It was more or less finished at the end of April, and I continued to fine-tune it during the month of May. This week I was able to adjust the draft version because the Belgian minimum standard requirements for guarantees have been increased this May (due to indexation of the minimum living wage between December 2023 and May 2024). And now also the visa fees…
So that is yet another last minute adjustment that I will have to process. Hopefully it will remain quiet for the rest of the year so that the file is up to date until at least 2025. In that year they want to digitize the Schengen visa, but the EU and national government often want to deal with delays, so a new thorough update may not be available until the end of 2025. , or is necessary sometime in 2026. All that constant adjustment can be tiring at times, but I like to do it knowing that it has helped people.
Regarding the Visa issuance. I also have an article in the works about that. I am still waiting for responses from various embassies. The Belgian embassy has been difficult or impossible to reach in recent times. It would be a shame if they again fail to respond at all and thus deprive their citizens of helpful information.
***
Thailand visa figures 2023 in brief:
Austria 13208 applications (2,5% refusal)
BELGIUM 3821 applications (13,9% refusal)
Czech 3183 applications (3,9% refusal)
Denmark 11538 applications (10,2% refusal)
Finland 7567 applications (10,5% refusal)
France 42.715 applications (4,4% refusal)
Germany 40877 applications (7,7% refusal)
Greece 1903 applications (4,5% refusal)
Hungary 1375 applications (6,8% refusal)
Italy 30757 applications (3,9% refusal)
Luxembourg 378 applications (4,4% refusal)
NETHERLANDS 11649 applications (11,8% refusal)
Norway 24.871 applications (9,8% refusal)
Poland 1020 applications (14,3% refusal)
Portugal 2584 applications (4,0% refusal)
Slovakia 121 applications (5,8% refusal)
Spain 11.203 applications (3,9% refusal)
Sweden 18293 applications (16,7% refusal)
Switzerland 43441 applications (2,7% refusal)
Total TH: 270.504 applications (6,7% refusal)
***
Top 20 Schengen visa applications 2023:
1 CHINA 1.117.365 (5,5% rejected)
2 TURKEY 1.055.885 16,1% refused)
3 INDIA 966.687 15,8% (refused)
4 MOROCCO 591.401 23,8% (refused)
5 RUSSIAN FEDERATION 520.387 10,6% (refused)
6 ALGERIA 474.032 35,6% (refused)
7 SAUDI ARABIA 428.954 6,0% (refused)
8 UNITED KINGDOM 405.631 5,7% (refused)
9 THAILAND 270.504 6,7% refused)
10 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 233.932 22,8% (refused)
11 INDONESIA 207.977 5,5% (refused)
12 SOUTH AFRICA 204.221 (4,8% refused)
13 PHILIPPINES 200.973 5,9% (refused)
14 EGYPT 188.581 25,2% (refused)
15 KUWAIT 179.444 6,7% (refused)
16 USA 174.258 3,8% (refused)
17 BELARUS 163.979 (3,4% refused)
18 IRAN 162.026 (30,3% rejected)
19 TUNISIA 159.740 (24,0% refused)
20 KAZAKHSTAN 159.072 (9,0% refused)
Finally:
The announcement of the fees is included in this document, but unfortunately no announcement has yet been made about this as a regular news update on EU Home Affairs.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/NL/TXT/?uri=OJ%3AL_202401415
It is and remains a game of chance, but the stakes become higher and the chances smaller. Even if you meet all the conditions, you can lose the game with a simple refusal and put your plans aside.
Issuing a visa is a favor and not a right. (Quote 3bis)
Fortunately, Thailand does not treat us Europeans as certain Schengen countries, including Belgium, treat Thai citizens, and we can always stay for 30 days without a visa.
I find it very humiliating as a Thai to almost have to beg to obtain a Schengen visa.
To be continued
Mrsgr Jan
Dear Jan, just because a regular visa is a favor does not make it a game of chance. Anyone who meets the conditions and has the paperwork in order will almost certainly obtain the visa. No, you are not 100% certain, but it is close. Game of chance suggests that officials simply decide on an application by throwing some dice or turning the wheel of fortune. So that is very exaggerated. If you see that 90-95% of the people get the visa and there are certainly applications that are not perfect (in terms of profile, composition, etc.), I would never call it a game of chance.
That the service is not the same as a warm, flexible, fast and easy thing, yes I would agree. It is a hassle and it would certainly be nice if the visa requirement were abolished.
By the way, there is a category of Schengen visa that is not a favor but a right (provided you are not a threat to state and have not committed forgery and the preparation has been done correctly): the “facilitating visa” for foreign family of a Union citizen. It can therefore be attractive for EU-Thai couples to spend their holiday together elsewhere in Europe, because that visa cannot actually be refused.
That “facilitating visa” is actually just an appearance.
Why should I spend my holiday with my Thai wife somewhere else? If I want to go on holiday in my OWN country, that should be a right and the visa should be free.
People have no right to restrict my freedoms if I am officially married. This is a real shame.
This inequality towards citizens who want to stay in their own country for a holiday (or migration) with their own spouse arises from the history surrounding European agreements. To put it simply: visas and migration were initially something that the Netherlands, Belgium, etc. arranged themselves. Until the end of the last century, it was often relatively easy to have the official partner come here for a holiday or migration. Often even obtaining nationality was quite easy to obtain. But because Europeans started moving within the EU to stay/live there for a short or longer period of time and this gave rise to a tangle of rules regarding migration, visas, etc., the member states felt that a common policy should be introduced here.
For example, rules were drawn up regarding the residence of non-European family members who went to stay elsewhere in the EU together with a European family member. The rules were not too strict, but often somewhat more difficult than for those who had their spouse come to their own country.
Then, since the turn of the century, the residence of foreigners in many countries has become a thing. The call for stricter rules for migrants, people of foreign origin, etc. So then the rules for migration from one's own non-EU partner became stricter. In the area of visas, the member states discussed a common visa policy and from 2009 the Visa Code was introduced (revised in 2020). And so it happened that because of all those objections, ifs and buts, the desire for stricter policy, it has become more and more difficult for people in their own country with a foreign partner. Even more difficult than Europeans who reside elsewhere in the EU with their foreign partner.
And yes, countries such as the Netherlands (and I believe also Belgium) actually see this use of the "easy" European rules as a kind of abuse or at least as not so neat and less desirable. They would prefer to see the European rules stricter, but then all member states must be unanimous about this. The Netherlands has often requested this in Brussels, so far without success.
Anyone who considers this inequality unfair has two options:
– Convince the national government that the requirements for its own citizens with a foreign partner are exaggerated. But given that visas, migration, asylum, children of guest workers and so on are often lumped together (all a problem...) relaxation will not happen quickly.
– Get together in Brussels and decide that living and working for EU citizens (and non-EU family) must be stricter. That will not happen quickly as long as there is at least 1 Member State that is not interested in stricter policy.
There is therefore a greater chance that in a few years Thais will no longer be subject to a visa requirement. Arising from, for example, an economic cooperation agreement between the EU and Thailand. Although there is still the chance of refusal at the border. Everyone, including an American, Japanese, Malaysian, etc., may be exempt from the visa requirement, but at the border they can be asked to prove that the trip is affordable, there is accommodation, the travel plan/purpose is considered plausible, etc.
I read a few times and also heard it on Thai TV in the news that negotiations were underway to give Thai citizens the opportunity to travel visa-free to the Schengen countries for a shorter period.
Just like we and some other EU countries can go on holiday to Thailand for 30 days without a visa.
My Thai stepdaughter has already made several trips with her husband and son to countries such as Turkey and South Africa, where Thai citizens can travel for a short time without a visa.
In the ASEAN treaty countries including Indonesia Japan Korea Philippines Singapore Malaysia there is also visa-free travel for a Thai citizen.
Even for a two-week visit, a Thai can go on holiday to Russia.
Better to do something, with all that visa nonsense and money grabs.
Nothing more than a paper tiger.
All those refugees who are currently flooding the EU and also the many who are now fleeing from South American countries to the USA do not have visas, they keep coming and do not go back.
Jan Beute.
I think all these Visas are nonsense.
If a Thai wants to travel to the Eurozone and does not want to return, whether or not he or she has a visa will not stop him/her.
I would like to see the figures on how many foreigners are staying illegally in the EU zone who had an official visa.
This whole thing is indeed a big money grab that will only cause headaches for many of us. A visa for a 30 day holiday should be abolished everywhere.
Dear Willy, I just looked up how many people have been arrested within Europe for illegal residence. And how much of that is due to a visa overstay.
These are the results for 2023:
Illegal in the EU (27 Member States): 1.265.350 people of all nationalities
In Belgium: 10.825
in Germany: 263.670
In France: 118.975
In Italy: 194.750
In the Netherlands: 6.530
From the above the number of people in overstay of all nationalities:
In EU 27: approximately 195.500
Belgium: 25
Germany: 0
France: 4.455
Italy: 1.830
Netherlands: 0
****************************
FIGURES RELATING TO THAI NATIONALS
Thai overstay visa in 2023:
EU 27: 1505
Belgium: 5 (of which 0 overstay, 5 other)
Germany 1005 (of which 0 overstay, 160 illegal entry, 845 other)
France: 50 (of which 20 overstay)
Italy: 25 (of which 0 overstay)
Netherlands: 55 (of which 0 overstay, 55 other)
All illegal Thai (overstay, illegal entry, other etc.) by gender:
EU27: 1110 women, 395 men
Belgium 5 female, 0 male
Germany: 735 women, 265 men
France: 25 women, 25 men
Italy: 15 women, 10 men
Netherlands: 35 women, 15 men
************
If you want to know more, see Eurostat for data on “Third country nationals found to be illegally present”:
- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_eipre/default/table?lang=en
- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Enforcement_of_immigration_legislation_statistics#Non-EU_citizens_found_to_be_illegally_present
Although this remains an indication. For example, who falls under “other”? And was the reason for overtay? How long was that? And so forth. If you really want to know the ins and outs, you will have to look up reports, studies and reports. There will probably be interesting things there, but I don't have the time or inclination to delve into them.
In the hope that within a few years no visas will be required anymore….
https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/tourism/40036427
https://www.pattayamail.com/travel/the-thai-dream-to-have-visa-exempt-travel-to-europe-is-a-likely-scenario-455231
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are countries where the income is much higher than in Thailand and where one has to deal with many illegally staying and illegally working Thais (South Korea mentioned more than 150.000). This is exactly what they do not want in the EU because many countries there are struggling with too many refugees and asylum applications and they do not want a hundred thousand or more illegal Thais per country. South Korea, Japan and Taiwan take in 100 refugees, they do not go there anyway, and that is the opposite with the EU or the US. That is why there will never be a visa exemption for Thais as long as there are large income differences between Thailand and richer Western European countries where they do not want more illegally staying Thais after a holiday who did not return.
Of course, Schengen is not looking for more illegal residence, and let's not pretend that Thailand only has sweethearts. On the contrary, Thailand has a bad reputation among its neighbors, especially South Korea and Japan. Thais tend to set this to infinity at the end of their legal stay. Immigration South Korea is extremely suspicious and skeptical towards Thais, Japan has issued various warnings before.