Dear Rob/Editor,
While traveling in Thailand I met a girl, Thanaporn, 43 years old and living in Korat. Thanaporn is a simple, very sweet and dedicated girl who works 12 hours a day in a factory and often does 'overtime' on weekends. I have decided to bring her to Belgium, first with a Schengen visa of 3 months, and then to keep her with me in Belgium for good. If possible without a Belgian marriage, if there is no other option with a marriage.
I am wealthy: money is not an issue. I would have liked to speed up the procedure as much as possible. Can Thanaporn alone manage to get the Schengen visa from Korat? And what role can I play to help her in this as best as possible?
And how can we, from the 3 months allowed by the Schengen visa, make her stay in Belgium permanent?
Many thanks for a helpful response!
Regards,
wilf
Dear Wilf,
In most cases, a type C Schengen visa is chosen for the purpose of “visiting family/friends”. You then serve as a sponsor and you will have to arrange, among other things, the guarantor via the obligation-to-indemnification form (3bis). I assume she will want to stay with you, so this is the most appropriate option. A possible disadvantage here is that the Belgian authorities state that you hardly know each other and/or that they are afraid that the applicant will not return to Thailand in time. If you have barely been together in Thailand, the Belgian visa officer will almost certainly see this as a problem. Belgium is very strict in this regard.
There remains another option: if your girlfriend's situation allows it and she has sufficient financial resources herself, she could also come to Belgium independently for the purpose of "tourism". You will then remain out of the picture for the Belgian authorities. The requirement is that she is demonstrably in possession of an amount of 95 euros per day of stay (to be demonstrated via her bank book) and to submit a hotel reservation. She is actually just like any other foreign tourist who comes to see Belgium. However, it is not the intention that she will not stay in a hotel, but will actually stay with you! You will also be weaker in the long term, as it will be more difficult to prove a relationship. The more official and thus “objective” evidence that you two are together the better when it comes to migration.
In any case, whether she comes with the purpose of “visiting friends/family” or “tourist”, she will have to return to Thailand in time. The case officer estimates the risk of illegal residence based on how strong her relationship with Thailand is considered. Think of having a job, real estate, family to take care of, and so on. They will want to see that the chance that she will not return home in time is sufficiently small.
To bring her to Belgium permanently, a completely different procedure applies. Now I don't know the Belgian immigration rules exactly, but I can say that concluding a marriage or registered partnership is a requirement. A procedure for a visa to marry in Belgium is often started for this purpose, but a marriage concluded in Thailand and with the approval of the Belgian authorities is also an option.
Let your girlfriend first visit Belgium for a short time (with the aim of “visiting friends/family”). If you have barely seen each other in real life, I would also advise you to visit her in Thailand first, since the Belgian authorities are not keen on granting a visa to people who have had little contact together. Then you are in a stronger position when applying for a visa for Belgium. You can read more about the short-stay visa in the Schengen dossier here on Thailandblog. See the menu on the left, where you will find a page with a downloadable PDF file. The file is outdated on 1 point: for Belgium, VFS Global no longer handles and forwards visa applications, but TLS Contact. However, it is still a good guideline/overview. Always check the official website for the most up-to-date requirements, starting with the embassy: https://thailand.diplomatie.belgium.be/en/travel-to-belgium/visa/visa-needed
If you read the requirements for a visa on the basis of what the embassy (or TLS Contact) states on its site, and read the Schengen file, then you are already well on your way with the preparations. Arrange the various necessary things, discuss together how you want to go through the procedure and then let her submit the application when you are ready.
I hope this helps. Good luck!
Yours faithfully,
Rob V