Schengen visa question & answer: Engage the agency for the Schengen visa application?
Dear editors,
Despite the very extensive Visa file, for which we thank you, we still have a question. We want to try to get a Thai friend of ours to come to the Netherlands with a tourist visa at the end of June. We completed a number of documents together last week when we were still in Thailand, as far as possible (because, for example, the departure date has not yet been determined; we are now looking for a plane ticket).
Now he is rather insecure about filling in all the necessary forms correctly. He would prefer to hire an agency to arrange all this. However, we read on various sites that such agencies are quite expensive and it should not be necessary to use them. Who has experience with such an agency in Bangkok and what price tag was attached to it?
We have also entered on the Schengen application form that it concerns a Single entry visa. With this he can travel to all Schengen countries in Europe, right? That was not clear to us.
With kind regards,
Toine
Dear John,
I have no experience with visa agencies myself. I don't know what current prices are, but I quickly think of about 10.000 up to 20.000 baht or more. A well-known agency for people who deal with the Dutch embassy for translations, visas, etc. is SCTrans & Travel Co near -diagonally opposite- the embassy. You could contact them for the (current) prices.
SCTrans & Travel Co.,Ltd
50 Tonson Building, Soi Tonson, Ploenchit road,
Lumpini, Patumwan, Bangkok, Thailand 10330
Tel: + 6622531957
Fax: + 6622531956
Email: [email protected]
I myself remain of the opinion that a visa office is not necessary with a little preparation, the requirements and regulations are clearly stated in the IND brochure “short stay visa” which is available in Dutch and English on the IND website, the country-specific instructions that come from can be read on the website of the Dutch embassy. You still have to arrange all supporting documents yourself, such an agency at most gives a little more certainty as they can go through everything again with the applicant before he submits the visa application. Added value can therefore be found in the fact that the applicant can be put a little more at ease.
The number of entries (1, 2 or multiple) only says something about the number of times you are allowed to enter the external border of the Schengen area: with 1 entry on that visa you can only cross the external border once. As soon as you land at Schiphol or another airport and pass the border guard, you have crossed the outer border. Once you have entered the Schengen area, you can travel to all Schengen countries, provided that your main residence remains the Netherlands. So you can land on a Dutch visa at Schiphol, Zaventem or another airport, spend some time in the Netherlands and take a trip to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, etc.
You could even fly in via, for example, Italy, stay there for a week in a hotel and then travel on a European flight (thus within the Schengen area) to the Netherlands, where you will spend most of your time (main residence). Of course you will have to convince the border guard at the border that you are in Italy for a while, but the main goal will ultimately be the Netherlands. Consider, for example, a hotel reservation and a reservation for a flight from Italy to the Netherlands. Or even better: that the sponsor mentioned in the visa application is already in Italy. To avoid hassle, it is in practice easier to enter the Netherlands or neighboring countries on a Dutch visa and then make a Europe tour after arrival. the traveler will really go to the Netherlands.
Yours faithfully,
Rob V