Statement of the week: Going to the immigration police with your Thai girlfriend is humiliating and unnecessary!
Today I have to go to the Aliens Police in Apeldoorn with my girlfriend. This is because she is staying in the Netherlands with a Schengen visa and I guarantee her. In my opinion, going to the police is humiliating and unnecessary, especially since we already did this once last year and nothing has changed since then.
She is staying here at my house for three months. I am a guarantor and accommodation provider and have had to show my passport several times, including copies. My signature has been legalized at the municipality. My girlfriend handed in all kinds of documents at the Dutch embassy in Bangkok, where the VIS (Visa Information System) of the Schengen countries has already been checked to see if they have done anything wrong. A copy of my passport has also been handed in there, including all supporting documents of my income and a guarantee/accommodation form with a legalized signature.
Upon arrival in the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee checks her passport and visa again. I must report her to the aliens police within 72 hours, otherwise I will be punished.
When registering with the aliens police on the internet, all our details are once again provided by me, such as name and address, passport number, visa number, my name and address details, etc.
Now to top it all off, just like last year, I have to go to the police station with my girlfriend to show my passport and her passport again. Copies are made there again and all data is entered and stored in the computer again. Both hers and mine.
In the meantime I try to convince her that the Dutch are hospitable people and that all this hassle is also for her own protection. Nonsense, of course! We have gone completely crazy here in our fear of unwanted strangers. Of course it should be made as difficult as possible for criminals and some control is good. However, I have a clean criminal record. My girlfriend ditto. Last year we also reported to the aliens police. We then demonstrated that we adhere to the rules properly. Why then go to the police station again? Isn't once enough? Nothing has changed compared to last year. A waste of my time and even more of the police. They can better invest that time in catching crooks.
But maybe you think differently and you believe that all this control is good?
Give your reaction to the statement of the week: Going to the immigration police with your Thai girlfriend is humiliating and superfluous!
About this blogger
-
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 a lover of good music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
My motto: "Don't worry too much, others will do that for you."
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Khan Peter
Completely agree with the statement. I have to go to Goes especially for it, about an hour's drive from Q8 and through a tunnel (back and forth) of 6 euros for passage costs each time. Or for 5 euros each time if I want to stay in the Netherlands, but then I have to make more kilometers again. (Do they have tunnels elsewhere in the Netherlands where you have to pay toll? No, only in Zeeland, which you MUST use as a Zeeuws-Vlaming to get elsewhere in the Netherlands) So lead to old iron. And oh yes, make an appointment in advance by phone, otherwise you will be sent back. Big nonsense everyone........and it takes me more than half a day.
If your girlfriend comes to the Netherlands, take a look at the website of the police region in which you live.
In my case we could just register my girlfriend online, arranged in 10 minutes. Enter some information on the website, 2 days later you will receive a letter that she has to keep with her passport, and hand it in at the passport control at Schiphol upon departure and that's it.
Was a tip from the Maerchaussee at Schiphol, by the way, because I didn't know any better than that you had to go through the aliens police.
@ BA I also registered her online, nevertheless we still had to come to the police station. There we received the green card that must be handed in on departure.
Same experience here. VKV application went smoothly, two questions at the KMar (“why are you here?” “With whom?” to which the answers “holiday with my friend” and “Rob V… *show copy of my passport* ), digital the same day registered viapolitie.nl. Few minutes of work. Received a confirmation letter a few days later. I don't remember whether it stated that she had to show the letter to the KMar when she left the Netherlands. I think so because I no longer have the letter while I neatly keep all documentation about her short (VKV) and long stay (MVV and VVR).
It differs per police region, as I understand there are only a few where you cannot report it online and some who still want to see the tourist as standard after registration. Makes no sense, of course, because a tourist who stays in a hotel, bungalow, camping site, etc. does not have to report either. There, the staff sends a fax of the passport to the VP (at least about 8 years back, perhaps this is already done via a digital internet form).
You even read about home inspection once in a while. But that will be limited to high-risk groups or overzealous police officers (Department VP) who want to feel important. That seems really inhospitable to me because you have already demonstrated to the embassy and the KMar that you are not a risk (danger of establishment: do not return but here illegally).
But I think they can even scrap the digital registration. You have already given everything through the embassy and the KMar often asks a few questions. Once inside, a malicious person can disappear, while a well-intentioned person has to provide all information for the umpteenth time or even accidentally forgets to register and is therefore punishable! So unnecessary bureaucracy.
Dear BA,
That is, if your girlfriend stays for 1 month, but if she wants to stay for 3 months, you must first make an appointment by telephone, you will be on hold for about 15 minutes at 10 cents per minute, then you will get an operator on the line who will put you through to the person in question, already on hold for 5 minutes, then that gentleman will see where there is a place in the short term, I live in Emmeloord, I wanted to go to Zwolle but there was no room left. After a lot of searching I found Utrecht. All this has cost me a lot of time, annoyance and money.
Regards Compuding
That is not true. By the way, I don't think visas are issued for a month, everyone gets 90 days as standard.
My girlfriend stayed for almost 3 months anyway. It was just a matter of filling out a form online and done.
North Holland North Police Region:
https://www.politie.nl/algemeen/formulier/kort-verblijf-formulieren/kort-verblijf-formulier-noord-holland-noord.html
There are 2 visas in the Netherlands. A Schengen C short-stay visa (VKV) for a maximum of 90 days, shorter is also allowed. And a Schengen D visa, an entry visa (MVV) after which you apply for a residence permit here.
Whether you come to a VKV for 10 days or 90 days, the reporting obligation is there for everyone. Except for stays shorter than 3 days or staying in a hotel/camping/bungalow park/..
So you can register online with most police regions (and you still have to visit some of them), but a few districts are apparently not yet connected to the digital highway.. lol.
The embassy does the first check/assessment. If in doubt, they can send the VKV application to the IND. If a visa is issued, this does not mean a guarantee/right of entry. The KMar at the border control is the last safety net to fish people out and refuse entry. That is why it is advised to bring all the evidence used for the VKV application with you so that it can also be shown to the KMar. Once inside is inside. The report to the VP seems to be a remnant from a distant past when there was no European computer network (VIS? I forgot the name) with which the authorities record in a European network who passes through the check. If someone is reported as undesirable in this European system, a light will also come on in the other Schengen member states if a foreign national reports there for entry to that country.
Dear BA
My girlfriend came here April 2, 2013. She was given a visa in Bangkok for 30 days longer, so I had to extend it here for an extra 60 days, I was told.
Maybe it used to be that you get 90 days as standard, but not anymore.
Regards Compuding
There is no standard, you are simply allocated the number of days you request with the CRR application (minimum 1, maximum 90). You can indeed extend this for a fee in the Netherlands (but never more than 90 days within a period of 180 days).
For an allocation, it is of course required that you meet the requirements such as 34 euros per day of stay per person (or someone in the Netherlands who guarantees a sustainable income on at least 100% minimum full-time wage), that you can demonstrate the purpose of your trip and makes return plausible (no risk of settlement). The latter by submitting a return ticket reservation, ties with the home country (such as work, care for family, etc.). Here on TB there is an extensive blog entry that goes into more detail about this.
https://www.thailandblog.nl/expats-en-pensionado/visa/schengenvisum-thaise-vriendin-aanvragen-lees-tips/
A good blog item, which, together with a thorough reading of the information on the embassy's site (including the referral with information about the Schengen VKV visa on rijksoverheid.nl) and the leaflet about the VKV on IND.nl, provide all relevant information which one should need to obtain a CRR visa.
It is true that various Schengen countries are more flexible / stricter than others. In one country, for example, a multi-entry visa is issued more quickly or for a longer period than the other. Some embassies also provide better information on the right of free VVV visas for married people than others (if you travel to an EU country other than your own with your married partner, they are not allowed to charge any fees) etc. There are therefore small points for improvement. invent (more uniformity) but that is something that can be indicated in the EU enquette:
https://www.thailandblog.nl/expats-en-pensionado/visa/eu-procedure-schengenvisum/
I'll leave it at this. All information about the VKV, Kmar and VP seems to me to be covered. Well, except for the contemporary usefulness of the VP report then… someone who has received a sensible answer from the VP instead of “those are the rules” or “that is in your own interest”?
That's not true Rob. We initially applied for 68 days, but were simply given a visa for 90 days. Once in the Netherlands just rebooked a flight when it turned out that she could stay a little longer, we did not have to extend a visa or anything like that.
The fact that they basically give 90 days as standard for a single entry VKV also comes from this blog, I think that came up once with an interview with the embassy of Gringo. Why Compuding only gets 30, no idea. My girlfriend was in the Netherlands at the beginning of this year and she just got 90 days, and not difficult to report to the bureau, etc. in any case.
The only thing I can imagine is that 34 euros, if she doesn't have enough demonstrable on her account. But if you can provide a full-time salary with a permanent contract, that is no problem at all.
Agree, Peter. Overworked bureaucracy. Actually only intended to make the hassle surrounding the visa as large as possible.
Obtaining a visa takes a lot of effort, time and money. That should be enough to enjoy your holiday undisturbed with the visa in your passport.
From what I hear/read here, it varies by region.
Last Friday my girlfriend came and immediately signed up in the afternoon
online at the police in my Kennermerland region and everything was in cans and jugs.
Then called, and a letter is sent where she had to leave
fill in and hand it in, confirming that she is leaving the Netherlands.
The regulation has been in existence for decades that one must report to the aliens police. We have always received a very friendly welcome and always helped quickly. My partner and I have never found it humiliating. It is simply a Dutch regulation that has been around for years.
We have the same experience at the time with the immigration service in Alphen ad Rijn.
Always friendly and fast service.
Yes, every approved application is a new file and must therefore be treated as such. This is simply regulated by law and therefore falls under rights and obligations.
So just be happy and happy that your partner can stay here for 3 months and take this little inconvenience for granted.
We had no problem with it and were happy to do so.
Cor Verkerk
I don't find it humiliating, I've lived in Thailand for eight years and have to go every 3 months
Korat four hours of travel there and back. Apply for a year's visa every year, with all your data
about residence and income. And the immigration service in Thailand are not the kindest for farangs either, they ask the shirt off your body.
Greetings Leen.Egberts
Lee Egberts,
With regard to traveling to Korat every 3 months, you can also do so in writing. Just 1 time
request a form from the immigration service….you can simply get copies of that form
make and send 3 every 1 months. The immigration service will then send you the bottom strip
of the form you filled in,
To extend our annual visa, we have to go to the immigration service every year.
Well, asking the shirt off your body is not too bad. When you have all the documents with you, you will be gone within 5 minutes and with the annual renewal you can also be gone in no time. They have never asked me the shirt off my body.
Moderator: Your comment is off topic. Respond to the statement.
My wife comes every year for 3 months. 2 weeks before she comes I request a registration letter from the Tilburg Aliens Police. If she returns it, she always gets it back with a stamp. She was arrested 2 years ago upon arrival at Schiphol, it appears that she had not handed in that paper for years. going back. Small conversation was also resolved,
.
Moderator: your comment does not comply with our house rules.
I also live in Apeldoorn and am dealing with the same situation. I should also note that these officials also only carry out their work and that they are very friendly.
That's right, they're very friendly. Still, that makes no difference to me. It costs me time and it is a bureaucratic hassle that can also be handled online via the internet. Can scan the whole thing for them, then I don't have to leave the house.
I completely agree with you that it's unnecessary hassle. Wealth can be saved if these bureaucratic procedures are reduced. After all, as you yourself indicate, the whole situation has already been 1000% examined and checked.
I don't find it humiliating. Humiliating is something completely different in my eyes.
But oh how stupid and REDUCEABLE yes!!
And we criticize Thailand because in our eyes everything happens so old-fashioned and slow….we are no better here!!
It is very similar to Thailand, as a foreigner I have to undergo that every 90 days. So it's just very normal that people also do that in the Netherlands.
I don't agree that it's humiliating, but superfluous.
Just like Gerrie, we also had to go to Goes. My wife came to the Netherlands 2* on the basis of a tourist visa and 1* with my sister-in-law, who came over for our wedding.
We have taken it positively and have made it a fun day every time, shopping, madurodam, Neeltje Jans, etc.
As far as digital registration is concerned, we are still a bit behind in Zeeland…haha.
And as far as hospitality is concerned, try building a future with your foreign partner in the Netherlands.
Every country has its own rules and customs, I think.
Let us realize that the entire scheme is there to prevent abuses. Most of us let their Thai girlfriend come over to the Netherlands with all good intentions. But unfortunately there are still many "gentlemen" who bring a woman here with completely different intentions. The process is tricky but, again, unfortunately necessary. And I agree with previous comments that it is a lot easier to comply with the notification obligation through the intranet.
My Thai girlfriend is staying with me in the Netherlands for the second time this year for 3 months. Last year during her first visit to the Netherlands at Kmar Schiphol, she was delayed for more than an hour due to bureaucratic red tape with questions and requests for documents that had already been handled at the embassy in Bangkok. .Although the Kmar spoke to us correctly, I found this repetition exercise incomprehensible and unpleasant, all the more so because people were waiting for us.At VP Alkmaar, however, we were spoken to very correctly and friendly with a cup of coffee at the time.During the second visit to Everything ran smoothly in the Netherlands. There were no delays at Kmar and registration with VP was done via the internet. The postcard that must be handed in on departure at Schiphol was neatly sent home. So this time there is no reason to complain, and some understanding that they are trying to do something to the major problem with illegal immigrants and human traffickers is appropriate.
That can happen to you, I did too.
I was waiting at Schiphol myself, received a call from the Kmar that they would pick me up.
Along the way they ask some questions, where do you know her from, how long have you known her, they wanted to know what I earned, when she went back, etc. In this way they cross-check what is on the documents that have been provided.
It is therefore also important that your girlfriend has a copy of each document with her. Kmar then said that that was 100% okay with us, but they still come with such a cross-examination. Takes a while, you'll be at the Kmar in about an hour.
Every year I return to Thailand from my holiday in Europe at a time when my annual visa expires after about 6 weeks. So I have to go to immigration twice in quick succession, the first time to extend my annual visa and the second time for the 2 days. I always sit there complaining and wondering why this hassle is necessary.
The big difference with what is described here for the Netherlands is that at Thai immigration you spend hours waiting for your number with a few hundred foreigners in the same room, which makes it all less personal. In the Netherlands it is a personal event, which creates a humiliating feeling.
However, the purpose of all that bureaucracy in the Netherlands and Thailand is exactly the same, namely to make life as difficult as possible for the bad guys. The good guys always have to suffer. It remains a rotten system for the good guys and it misses its target because it doesn't really keep the bad guys out.
Dear Peter,
I am a loyal fan of your Thai land blog, and I am also a fellow citizen of you, I would love to have a beer with you sometime, for example on the terrace of cafe de Paris at the Raadhuisplein, I hear nothing as good friends, I hear something, very nice. leg Jan.
I totally agree with you. a visa has been issued, which is valid for three months.
If foreigners fill in a landing card with residence address upon arrival, this should be sufficient. This is how it works in almost all countries. But in Europe we think we know everything better. the system in Thailand is good. Everything goes straight into the computer with a photo taken at immigration.
Our son's girlfriend has been coming to the Netherlands every year for 5 months for 3 years and is then our guest.
I (so father-in-law) take care of the necessary papers, such as signature legalized at the municipality, copies of my last 3 months salary, letter with guarantee from me and my wife, send to Thailand, she will take it to the Embassy in Bangkok, receives a visa and comes to the Netherlands. Upon arrival in the Netherlands, she has never had any problems and has never been to the aliens police and has never registered her there. Never had any problems at Schiphol on the return trip to Thailand. Hence my surprise at all the negative comments.
Remarkable that you have never heard anything from the authorities while reporting to the VP is mandatory. Was lucky? The embassy in Bangkok indicates this even more clearly on the piece of paper (in English and Dutch) on which all obligations and requirements are briefly stated (such as medical travel insurance, etc.). That sheet that they staple with the visa sticker is an extra service. Other embassies don't. Then you should have read the leaflet about Visa Short Stay (downloadable from http://www.IND.nl or have read the information on rijksoverheid.nl carefully, because there has also been a reporting obligation there for a few months (not previously, but I pointed this out to them).
I have already read various items on ForeignPartner.nl about people who did get into (minor) problems. Were not aware of the obligation to report, or the KMar had forgotten to forward any green card to the VP, etc. etc., so that the tourist was called to account on a later visit that the obligations had not been fulfilled.
TIP:
After several visits, I would consider applying for a MULTI entry visa. Then you do not have to apply for a new visa every time. As long as you can prove at the border that you meet the requirements (accommodation, sufficient financial resources at 34 euros per person per day of stay, medical travel insurance, etc.). You may stay within Schengen for a maximum of 90 days per 180 days after first entry. Doesn't have to be contiguous. So 2x 45 days is also fine.
Dear Adri, this means that you do not comply with the aliens law. The chances are not great, but if your son's girlfriend were to be arrested, this could have (minor) consequences. One of the documents that one receives from the embassy in Bangkok is a letter that you must report to the foreigners police.
Moderator: Your comment is off topic.
I totally agree with you. Pure bureaucracy and does not relate to the principle of one-time data request. I also asked the same questions when my wife had to appear at the aliens police for the umpteenth time 2 weeks ago. She also stays here based on a tourist visa. I got a meaningless answer as an extra check and that it is in her favor. Just stupid talk and even stupider procedures. As you say, the embassy does not just issue a visa. Subsequently, upon arrival, the Marechausse again asks whether it has enough means for accommodation. I'm slowly getting a bit annoyed with this country with its excessive regulatory greed
In many municipalities you can register a short stay digitally. In other municipalities you can call 0900-8844 for the correct information.
I think it is normal that you should report your girlfriend to the immigration police.
In Thailand you have to report to immigration every three months. Whining about nothing again.
In all the above discussions regarding this topic about a temporary stay in Thailand or in the Netherlands, you might notice that the pot calls the kettle black:
There is no gigantic bureaucracy in both countries, but things are always a little different in both countries.
A big difference, however, is that in Thailand you always have to deal with official law enforcement officers who are always ready to receive corruption money and fortunately we don't have that in the Netherlands.