Dear Rob/Editor,
In May I want to make a trip through Norway with my Thai girlfriend, she would then fly from Bangkok to Oslo and I would fly from Brussels. We want to travel there for 2 to 3 weeks. Is this possible?
For which country should she apply for a Schengen visa? Norway or Belgium? Do I have to provide the same documents as if she were to come to Belgium?
In 2019 she was in Belgium with me for 2 weeks.
Regards,
Hugo
Dear Hugo,
A visa to Europe must be applied for in the Member State which is the main purpose of the trip. So if you want to go on holiday in Norway for a few weeks, your partner will apply for a visa through Norway. Like most embassies, the Norwegians have used VFS Global to collect the papers. This external service provider then forwards the application to the Norwegians for processing.
Each member state has its own details, but in principle the procedure is comparable to an application for any other EU member state. So you can use your previous experience and the Schengen dossier here on the blog as a general guideline. But be careful and check carefully what the Norwegians want to see. See the Norwegian VFS website for instructions.
Have your partner apply for the tourism purpose of travel and add a covering letter stating that you are in a relationship, that you are hosting her in Norway, traveling around together and bringing her back to the airport for departure back to Thailand. Of course, include a copy of your passport, etc. It certainly does not hurt to mention that she has been to Europe before (and it is therefore likely that she will return home), although the official will also be able to conclude that from the shared visa database and its passport pages.
With the tips from the Schengen dossier, it should be possible to submit the application properly.
Good luck,
Rob V