Two years ago I wrote a dossier to help people with an application for a short stay visa. Since the publication of the Schengen visa file, I regularly and with pleasure answer reader questions. In the meantime, the rules are still the same, but the procedures have changed. For example, the Dutch embassy has started to work even more intensively with the optional external service provider VFS Global. Consider, for example, the establishment of a Visa Application Center (VAC) and the increase in service costs from 480 THB to 996 THB.
The file is now due for an update. Therefore, I would like to share their experience with readers who have applied for a visa to the Netherlands or Belgium in the past 1-2 years.
Evert's experience and the reactions below are www.thailandblog.nl/ Readers-in-transmission/ Readers' submission-experiences-application-schengenvisum/ were already very useful.
For example, I would like to know:
- Which sources did you use for the application (embassy website, VFS website, IND/DVZ website, …)?
- Was the information provided clear? More importantly, where was it unclear or otherwise flawed?
- What did you encounter when compiling the application?
- How did the procedure go to make an appointment? Did this go through the embassy or through VFS (the choice is up to the applicant but it is clear that VFS is being promoted).
- How long did it take to make an appointment? How long was the processing time between submitting the application and receiving the application back?
- Did you receive the passport and other documents back by post (EMS) or did you pick them up at the embassy?
- What kind of visa was granted? Think of validity period and number of entries (1, 2 or multiple entry).
- How many visas have you applied for in the past and how long were they valid? The starting point is that foreign nationals will receive an increasingly 'better' visa that is more flexible and valid for longer.
- How was the experience regarding the visa application, the trip to Europe, etc.
- All other points that can be useful in improving the file are of course welcome!
Finally, I would appreciate to receive some scans of visas issued in the last 1-2 years. Of course with removal of personal information. This so that I can see with my own eyes whether there are still striking differences compared to the file and possibly to adjust the examples in the current file. The current images still show a visa issued in Bangkok, but Dutch visas in the region are now being issued by the RSO in Kuala Lumpur. An update may be in order here to avoid confusion.
Share your experience below or send an email to the editors of the blog. It goes without saying that I will treat the experiences and information I receive with confidence. I do not share names or other information with third parties, that goes without saying. My goal is simple: to ensure that Dutch and Flemish people who have to deal with the visa procedure are as well prepared as possible with good information about their rights and obligations in order to be well prepared. This way we help each other to enjoy the beautiful things in life together with your Thai partner, children, family or friends.
Thanks in advance and best regards,
Rob V
NB: EU Home Affairs published the latest figures on the issuance of visas at the end of March. It has become a tradition to write a piece about this, but the curious can of course take a look for themselves: ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/visa-policy_en#stats
Dear Rob,
Last week my wife received her new vkv.
She has made the application VFS.
It was a completely new experience for both of us because my wife,
Due to all the activities for her company, seven years ago for the last time in Nl
Has been.
Her intention was to travel to the Netherlands in mid-April and she has an appointment via the website well in time
of Vfs arranged.
So I don't know what the minimum waiting time is for this because they are two weeks ahead anyway
has booked.
Despite the crowds there, she had an appointment at 1300 hours, but was number 88 of all people who had an appointment at 1300 hours to arrange a visa from the Dutch embassy, everything was over for her within 10 minutes.
As before, she had brought 3 copies of all the papers so that the officials on site only had to take what they needed.
It was the first time that I was not a financial guarantee for her and that did not cause any problems either
with copies of her bank statements and credit card copy.
Back home, on Koh Samui, we were tense for ten days because you have no idea whether or not a visa will be issued.
Fortunately, after ten days her passport came back to my wife neatly with EMS (envelope written at VFS herself) With her visa in it.
Now the strange.
New rule seems to be that the visa is issued for the entire duration of the passport.
Maximum stay is 90 days and in my wife's case the visa is valid until 2021.
We also applied for and received a multiple entry visa.
Now yesterday I read on the internet that, with a multiple entry visa, you have to use up the 90 days within a period of 180 days.
What is the point of giving a four-year validity to the visa if you can only use it for 6 months.
Finally, when applying for a visa, you must bring a flight reservation that also indicates the start date of the visa.
I will try to call the IND about this tomorrow, but these are, in my opinion, considerable contradictions.
I want to take a photo of the visa but I don't know where to send it.
I hope you find this information useful.
Yours faithfully,
Ronald S .
Dear Ronald, thank you for your message. Nice to read something about the period of validity, the official answer from the RSO in Kuala Lumpur where visa applications are handled is very abstract/formal: that they take the various circumstances into account and look per application to see what a correct period of validity is… Yes, that everyone understands, but we also know that the Netherlands tries to be flexible and generous, especially with people with a positive visa history. Practical experiences are then a useful addition to official answers in order to determine something of a rule of thumb.
There is no minimum time for an appointment, if you are lucky you can come the next day. There are maximum limits: you must be able to visit within 2 weeks, although I hear that the appointment calendar is sometimes fully booked for 2 or more weeks during the high season. This is contrary to the rules that state that, as a rule, people must be able to visit within 2 weeks. Or the applicant prefers to come later than two weeks, which is fine: you can make an appointment 3 months in advance at the earliest.
The rule of thumb is that people who have already received a visa before will always receive a better visa. For example, one that is valid for 3 years or 5 years, but never longer than the validity of the passport. The multiple entry visa (MEV) allows your wife to come for 90 days in any 180-day period. So, for example, 90 days in the Netherlands, 90 days in Thailand, 90 days in the Netherlands, 90 days in Thailand, and so on. This as long as the visa is valid. Your love can therefore come to the Netherlands frequently in the coming years with this visa, but never longer than 90 days per 180 days. If she wants, she can travel on and off every 4 days for the next 90 years. Other combinations are also possible, the file goes into this in more detail, see page 13 of the .PDF file:
https://www.thailandblog.nl/wp-content/uploads/Schengenvisum-dossier-januari-2015-volledig.pdf
You can send your photo to the editors: info at tail thailandblog dot nl
We applied for a Schengen visa last week, I think the 4th in 11 years, we fly Bkk to Helsinki and immediately afterwards to Brussels, on the application form they ask where one first sets foot on Schengen soil Helsinki, but what the final destination is, So Brussels Everything was prepared for the Belgian department of VFS, but I was a bit suspicious and contacted them by telephone where this was confirmed. In other words, I was fine!
But nothing was true, since our first final destination is Brussels for 4 days, then 5 days NL and then 5 days on the way back to Bkk in Helsinki. So 1 day more in another schengen country, what if we changed our travel plans during our stay??
So I made an appointment at the Belgian department, with the usual mountain of paper (including very personal financial information every time), even though I have included a letter stating that I will bear all costs, proof of all bookings that have been paid in advance, copies of chanotes, house book ,intinary etc..., where the clerk tells my girlfriend that she has to request the Finds service or the NL,, indeed Brussels is the final destination on the way there, but during our stay in Schengen we spend 1 day longer in NL and Finland.
Incomprehensible because all 3 are schengen. I already knew vfs from 7 years ago for a British visa and friendliness is hard to find there, every Thai woman cannot be a tourist in their eyes, accompanying her partner, for example, something is always behind sought.
On the other hand, applied for an American visa 2 years ago, where I still expected additional questions and papers, it was arranged in 10 minutes, that man leafed through her 3 old passports, saw that the mountain of paper was complete and 2 days later she received a visa for 10 Years, yes 10 years with multiple entry!!! And that of the US that are paranojas but apparently also common sense.
If you can present 3 passports with multiple visas and stamps and that you have returned each time why bother, the first person did not want to look at those passports because we were not in schengen for the last 3 years, my partner is 46 years old. run a business together and have a company together in which she is a director and shareholder, so reason enough for her to come back,
But back to VFS, she was sent to the Finnish section, luckily in the same building with her mountain of papers and old passes. There are 2 local ladies who do not use the same standards, the first wanted a translation of her house book???? translation of the first page of the company documents???? Itinary that was in English but the name of the hotels was not next to it, I had attached all PAID RESERVATIONS to it, but turning the paper over to see that all the evidence was attached to it was too difficult.
As if there is no Thai at the embassy at the visa service who can confirm a name and address.
After having done the translations, she returned with the mountain of paper (which was complete from the beginning) to the other clerk who asked her why those 3 documents had been translated? Just lost money and run the ex-colleague's shop.
In the meantime we had paid 1750 baht extra for translations, she had missed her flight back to Phuket because we went to Bkk especially for this, another 500 baht and then all the fees, in the end the joke cost more than 5000 baht. But it was overheard that the person who has her translation office in the same building worked for vfs some years ago.
I was so angry that I first called the Belgian embassy, who contacted VFS to ask them to complete the application that day since everything was complete. I then contacted the Finnish embassy with the whole story where I got on the phone with a very friendly person who listened to the whole story and said that I was happy to get feedback because this is no longer about a visa but about customer service. Finally, it is the embassy that makes the decision. I suspect that after my phone call to the Finnish visa section at their embassy they contacted VFS because suddenly everything went very quickly. That man asked me to scan all the visas and stamps I had already obtained and to email him with the detailed story of that day on VFS.
My partner had a new passport 1 month old as the other had expired the month before, the question came why there were no stamps or visas in that new passport???Is this stupidity or ill will, it was pointed out that she had the previous one passport that was 1 month expired but had to leaf through it.
My conclusion, enter schengen illegally on board a boat or truck and you will get everything right away, but when you want to have everything in order and officially visit europe as a tourist, life will be made miserable for you. I maintain that applying directly to the embassy was, as in the past, much more efficient and cheaper than all the embassies that start spending it one by one on vfs.
A schengen visa is an adventure in itself, now after 5 working days I looked at the vfs website and it still only says that the application has been made, with date, but nothing more. is always such a nest and has not improved over the years.
Dear Erik, I often hear these kinds of stories about VFS. The question is why did you go to the VAC of VFS and not to the embassy? After all, you have a choice and all Schengen embassies neatly report that you can also submit an application at the embassy. What is less neat is that one person "hides" it from deeper than the other. This is how the Dutch report it in 2 places:
– At the very bottom http://thailand.nlambassade.org/nieuws/2015/09/ambassade-besteed-het-visumproces-uit.html
– Point 3 on http://thailand.nlambassade.org/shared/burgerzaken/burgerzaken%5B2%5D/visum—schengen/waar-en-hoe-vraag-ik-een-schengenvisum-aan.html?selectedLocalDoc=dien-uw-aanvraag-in
And the Belgians:
– Also all the way down to: http://thailand.diplomatie.belgium.be/en/travel-to-belgium/visa/visa-needed
My main objections to VFS are:
– deducting costs from the applicant, such as service costs, while the applicant may not voluntarily go to VFS. So what 'service'?? The embassy has less and less budget, but this is just passing on extra costs.
– chance of being offered extra services such as (expensive) extra copies or being tempted to a track & trace service etc. Nice extra earnings so I would fear that not the applicant but the Bahtjes are paramount, after all a commercial company is there to make money to deserve. Government services/public services must be non-profit and at most cost-effective.
– How to escalate? The employees go through a checklist, if your request does not exactly fit into the standard scenarios then you get stuck. The employee has no knowledge of the EU rules (Schengen visa code, freedom of movement directive, etc.) so how can he or she properly respond to this or provide advice? And what to do if the applicant happens to have that knowledge, but the desk employee does not? At the embassy itself you can ask for a knowledgeable manager who knows or should know the regulations. I don't see that happening on an external VAC.
Fortunately, VFS is still optional, but if the current planned changes continue, external service providers are unavoidable: https://www.thailandblog.nl/achtergrond/nieuwe-schengen-regels-mogelijk-niet-zo-flexibel-als-eerder-aangekondigd/
Finally: where the counter employee was right is that you must submit the application to the Member State that is the main purpose of residence. Or if this is not clear, the country of first entry where the border guard will pass. With a stay of a few days in BE, 5 in NL and 5 in Finland, this would be the Netherlands (or Finland). But of course a knowledgeable employee not only pointed this out, but also told you that if you were to adjust your travel planning to a longer stay in BE, you could of course go to the Belgians. It's just a matter of taking out a pen and writing a new one. Once your first overnight stay has been reserved, you will see what happens next, nothing obliges you to have already booked your entire holiday accommodation from A to Z.
With regard to translations: if all goes well, the embassies will indicate which documents they need a translation of. The Netherlands, for example, does not have any staff who speak Thai, so all relevant supporting documents will have to be translated. I don't know if the Finns have staff who speak the language. The employee could probably show the list of demands that the Finns make. The supporting documents should be more or less the same everywhere, but if the Finnish embassy does not have Thai employees, this should be clearly stated in the set of requirements. When in doubt, if you can interpret the checklist in several ways, you could insist on forwarding the request, if something is not right (translation of a document that you consider irrelevant is missing) then you will automatically hear the request of the embassy to deliver/mail items within a certain time (10 working days). So there is an incentive here to have people translate documents unnecessarily.
The Finns state (just like the Netherlands) the following:
“The following documents are required when applying for a Schengen visa to Finland. Documents can be in English, Finnish or Swedish. Any other language should be accompanied with an authorized translation. Arrange your documents according to the list. Please note that personnel at the Visa Application Centre/Embassy cannot assist with translation or completion of forms. The Visa Application Center only receives applications and supporting documents on behalf of the Embassy of Finland, and forwards all documents to the Embassy for processing.”
Source:
http://www.vfsglobal.com/finland/thailand/schengen_visa.html#Schengen_documents
Well .. but I have a problem with this myself, because having all documents (officially) translated can become a very expensive joke. But, for example, have a bank book translated? With several pages, the bill then runs high, while someone who does not speak the Thai language can still derive the essence of information from such untranslated evidence: is the applicant solvent?
With such requirements regarding translation, I am therefore certainly curious how this will work out in practice: which documents have been unnecessarily translated or forgotten to have them translated? How much will the costs increase because various embassies no longer have staff who speak Thai?
Thank you for sharing your experience. It is certainly useful to read about the biggest stumbling blocks in practice. If embassies focus on the customer/guest/foreigner (also good for tourism and therefore the economy, and one should never forget the human dimension, respect and decency) then they too will appreciate such feedback. Like you, I would advise others to share their experience briefly and concisely with the embassy. They may have a shrinking budget but I hope they also think long term and so don't let the visa applicants get bogged down. Perhaps they will then rethink whether external service providers are the best approach…
By the way Eric are you married? If yes, and if you applied to a Member State other than that of which you have EU nationality, you will be subject to relaxed conditions. The spouse of a Belgian who applies to the Finns or Dutch must obtain a visa free of charge and expeditiously with only a minimum of paperwork (ID alien, ID EU/EEA national, marriage certificate and, if necessary, a translation and legalization plus something showing that the couple travels together where a statement is sufficient, but a ticket reservation is also fine).
See:
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/non-eu-family/index_nl.htm
Dear ROB V,
Last year I applied for VKV for my wife (90 days) through VISA STAR in Chiangmai so she didn't have to worry about it. via the Dutch embassy in Bangkok , VSF Global and Visaned , and IND and Thailandblog.nl on the internet you can get a lot of information about applying for a Short Stay Visa, this is personal for everyone, income, etc.;
here is my method;
Visa Star in Chiangmai,
necessary papers
1=Copy of passports of me and my wife, front and back (copies of visas already provided, previous trips to a friend or to you) with signature
2=Guarantee form, both financially or if the person has sufficient money, only a guarantor, to be downloaded from the municipality and have an appointment signed with the official; cost about 27 euros
3 = employment contract employer/self-employed person own income/pension etc
4=employer statement
5=3 pay slips, possibly annual statement
6 = letter of invitation to her/or person for whom you guarantee, why she comes and goes back, how you met her, short but concise, (have an example if necessary)
7= Visa form, she must complete herself, you can help, but she must sign a few things herself, can be downloaded via the Dutch embassy in Bangkok, in both English and Dutch, with 2 passport photos of the person, see requirements dimensions etc.
8 = travel insurance is important, can also be taken out in the Netherlands, but my girlfriend did it via Star visa, costs 3100 baht, about 83 euros
9= copy of plane ticket, do not buy in advance, email it to her when she goes there, a copy of plane ticket on condition of visa, pay later, this is called taking an option.
they must also have some papers from the person themselves; ao
1=Housekeeping book
2=(own) home
3 = employer's statement if she works
4=copy passport
5= birth certificate of her and me
6 = married or single certificate of her and me to be picked up at the municipality, but international statement for questions
Furthermore, the papers must not be older than 6 months, including your passport
sent these papers from me via Dutch post expedited in four days to her address, cost = 64,50 or you can do it slower, costs a bit less, but now you are sure that this will arrive
then visa star made an appointment with VSF Global in bangkok, after 10 working days she could fly there, (costs 118 euros), with all papers included, but make copies in advance, even do it at your home, so that if the person arrives in the Netherlands, at customs they ask what she will do, as soon as she shows the papers, they know in copies what papers are part of the visa, and make it a bit easier, also add your telephone number.
then by appointment at VSF Global she was able to return again in about ten minutes, and after 5 days she already had the visa, I would be happy to hear any further questions, Maarten Rider
Dear Maarten, thank you. Legalization costs may differ per municipality, so these costs will be lower or higher elsewhere. In my own municipality it was about 12 euros. You live in a more expensive municipality. 😉
The supporting documents that you mention under her own papers, these are mostly in Thai. Which documents have you included a translation of? At the RSO they do not speak Thai (and I would think it would be excessive to translate everything, a short statement 'look, this is a deed about ownership of a house, ownership of land, ownership of your own business' already makes everything clear. about the financial ties with Thailand. In my opinion, having everything officially translated from cover to cover is an expensive joke that adds little for the decision official. But how does this work out in practice? The RSO asks for documents that are not in Dutch or English can be provided with a translation... This could mean that they will sort out all the Thai documents at the counter or send you to a translation service (see Eric above, among others).
A birth certificate is not necessary for an adult applicant or referent, I would not know what that would add to the application. In children this can be used to demonstrate the family connection, but adults do not have to provide such documents. Possibly only if some documents have a different name due to a name change, then it makes sense to provide a paper trail to demonstrate the old and new name so that it is clear that all documents are about the same person. This also applies to papers on marital status, which are generally not relevant for a short-stay visa and are therefore not necessary.
The rest of your comments are in line with my tips from the file: multiple copies, make sure that the sponsor and foreign national have each other's contact details, etc.
To date, we have used VFS twice to apply for a Schengen visa. Making an appointment via the digital calendar was no problem. Not even at very short notice (2 days). The first time my wife got some of the papers back “because they weren't needed after all” ???. Although I don't think I had too much paperwork. I did exactly what is described in the Schengen dossier of Thailand blog. The staff there are (according to my Thirak) not particularly friendly. The first time she got a 2 month Visa. And the 3nd time a Visa for 2 year with multi entry (unsolicited). Both times we received an email in the evening that the documents had been handed over to the NL embassy. You can follow the progress via a tracking code that you receive (when you make an appointment). After 1 days we received an email that the passport was on its way to the Thai postal service, which would deliver it to our home. It is not stated whether the application has been granted or not. I wonder what will happen in June when we go there again for a Visa application. ps Thank you very much for the excellent information regarding the application for a Schengen visa.
Dear Pieter,
Was the choice for VFS conscious? Or was it just as important to use this optional service provider instead of the embassy itself? Or was the option to go completely outside VFS not clear (the information provision has unfortunately been fragmented in the last 2 years, you have to search carefully on the VFS site, various corners of the embassy website and also the IND to really clarify the procedure to get!)?
Glad to hear that you were able to stay within 2 days, which must not have been in high season. I am also curious about people who could not be seen on time (within 2 weeks).
The first time a normal visa, then for a year. Good chance that she will now get one for 3 years (maximum is 5 years), I guess. But I have not yet been able to establish a real rule of thumb with sufficient certainty. My suspicion now is that the first time a visa will be issued with 1 entry for the requested period of time or possibly for 1 year and all subsequent times it will be valid for longer periods of time, up to a maximum of 5 years. Naturally, this will differ depending on the profile (travel history, etc.) of the applicant. So I'm curious which visa your sweetie will get next time.
Thank you for your compliment, if everyone can help each other in a certain area, then we will make it a little more pleasant and fun for all of us in this world, won't we? 🙂
Dear Rob. Normally I do not respond to thailand blog, but I enjoy reading all the articles, but now you are asking for information yourself. I applied for a short stay visa for my girlfriend using your manual. I made an appointment at vfs global in bkk. That was very easy. My girlfriend went there with all the documents you indicated, she was received very kindly and helped. After that everything was fine. And within a week her passport with visa was sent to her home in Rattanaburi. Surin sent home We requested a single entry from 12-01 to 19-03. But got a multi until 26-04. She went home again on March 19. And will apply for a new visa before August 6. A multi for a longer period of time We have only had good experiences with vfs global. Kind regards. You can always email us for more information
Dear Jan-Willem, thank you for your response and I'm glad that everything worked out well, thanks to the file. Was the choice for VFS a conscious one? For example, because you could go there earlier than at the embassy (and possibly therefore worth the 995 THB that costs you)
Thank you for clearly stating the visa type (1 entry, multiple) and validity period.
Dear Rob
yes, that was a conscious choice. You can make an appointment well in advance. On their site you can see exactly where you need to be and where your fingerprints will be taken. Visual tour will walk you through the forms and see if everything is complete. was a problem, so then the money doesn't really matter, gr Jan-willem
Dear Rob, applied for visa through VFS for my girlfriend. Documents supplied that were listed on the Ind. Passport back within a week via EMS. Because we applied for this visa for a 2nd time, my girlfriend automatically received multiple entry, which we had not applied for.
Dear Ed, thank you for your comment. Can you also say how long the first and second visa were valid for? For example, was the first visa valid for 1 entry and slightly longer than the requested length of stay* and the second multiple entry and valid for a year?
* For example, if you request a visa for 90 days, you will receive 90 days with a validity period (from… to…) that gives you an extra 15 days so that you can move the arrival or departure date slightly. Of course you may never exceed the number of days of stay, you can only literally move your indicated holiday period slightly forward or backward.
Twice applied for a business visa through vfs
Fine
Was very busy last time March 14. Appointment 11.30, but only helped at 1400
Passport both return within a week
What is not listed at the embassy is
That the evidence of the company in Thailand lct
Must be no later than 3 months old and translated into English. Available at any Kaisikorn bank in the city where the company is registered. Then have it translated into English by a recognized translation agency.
Just say the Chamber of Commerce extract in the Netherlands
Should e-mail it the first time .. The lady in question said that this happened regularly
So Ned embassy please mention this on your website
Due to the rejection of my Lao girl friend's visa by the French embassy in Vientiane, I will be applying in Bangkok next month.
So will read this all carefully, and post an update in due course
Our experiences with VFS are mostly positive.
Some small points:
– The waiting time was very long the last time, an hour and a half.
– It is also impossible to determine whether you can wait inside (air conditioning) or outside, in the hallway and whether or not you can kill time with your phone.
– When scheduling an appointment, it is in principle not possible to only register a child for an appointment.
It was advised to enter the year of birth incorrectly, making it appear to be an adult.
Although you can officially go to the embassy, they try to send you to VFS (by mail contact). So we did, we have more interest in a smooth application than a pyrrhic victory.
And, also important: the Tom'n'Toms on the ground floor is closed.
Dear Rob V.,
As I wrote recently, my girlfriend (with me) will go to the Consulate at the Embassy in BKK on April 6 to apply for a Schengen. Then I will write you what we experienced.
Thanks for the feedback. Also, people who get stuck with, for example, missing translations or documents? Or who just take a paperwork and get half back? Other ambiguities, setbacks, windfalls? Requests to be included in the update?
Already applied for visa 3 times via VFS. Can always make an appointment within 2 days. She always took the necessary documents with her to the Belgian Embassy and within 2 days we received an email from VFS that the passport was on its way to her. Never had to wait for an interview. Last time she had an appointment in the afternoon and walked into the embassy in the morning and was outside again within half an hour, smiling. The most important document was the “responsibility” and further about our relationship and what she did for work. So very good experience with VFS and the Belgian embassy.