Dear Editor/Rob V.,
This month we are going to apply for a Schengen visa for my wife. My wife has my last name, this is also in her passport.
Well I see on the checklist from the website of VFS Global (www.vfsglobal.com/netherlands/thailand/pdf/Checklist-for-visa-application-visiting-family-friends.pdf) at section 2.3: Copy of name change certificate, if relevant.
Do I now have to translate the Thai name change certificate that my wife received from the local Ampur into English at the Department of Consular Affairs in Bangkok?
What is your experience in this? Or does it not apply to us in this case?
Regards,
Klaas Jan
Dear Klaas-Jan,
Papers regarding name change are only required if they are relevant (i.e. necessary) to properly assess an application. For example, if your wife encloses documentary evidence such as ownership of land or an employment contract with the application on which her birth name is stated, the official will have to be able to check that the deviating/old name refers to one and the same person who is making the application. So you can demonstrate this with a document about name change. If all the documents you hand in state her current name, as it does in her passport, then a name change document will not provide any information that will help the decision-making officer to make a good judgment about the visa application. In fact, it creates confusion.
So only enclose a name change document if it makes the application clearer, more understandable for the decision officer. Then make sure that the document, plus English translation, are both legalized by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Embassy.
Please note that the Dutch officials must be able to read her application. Hence the need for Thai supporting documents to be translated into English (or Dutch, German, French). Translating and legalizing it takes time and money, so don't let this requirement drive you crazy. I would not translate a Thai bank statement or something like that, even if you cannot read Thai, it is clear how much THB is on the account. So as long as the civil servant can sketch a good profile about the applicant and can check whether all requirements are met, you're okay.
Regards,
Rob V