Schengen visa question: let Thai girlfriend come to Spain
Dear Editor/Rob V.,
I am Belgian, 61 years old and live in Spain. Have a government pension of Euro 1711 net and no debts. So be a resident of Spain (resident), and have a property here.
I have been deregistered from the population register in Belgium, but I retain all rights as a Belgian, also with regard to health insurance. Now I want to bring my Thai girlfriend, whom I have known for several years, to Spain for 2 months. She is 41 years old and has an 8-year-old daughter who lives with her mother.
I have already booked the flight ticket (there and back) in her name. Since I have not found a direct flight from Bangkok to Spain, she has a ticket with 1 transfer in Paris, and from there to Malaga (airport).
Please help with the necessary documents that I need to let her come to Spain.
Can someone help me on this as I am not finding the right information.
Regards,
Kidney
Dear Rene,
In short, it means that your girlfriend has to apply for a Schengen visa from the Spaniards. Because you are not faithful, the normal rules apply (in the case of a marriage, a visa would have been free and with a minimum of paperwork). You will therefore have to apply for a regular short-stay Schengen visa for Spain (travel purpose: visiting family/friends). Spain has outsourced the front door process to BLS. BLS is an external service provider (just like VFS Global is for the Dutch and Belgian embassies). Your girlfriend can also find the instructions for applying for a visa on the BLS website:
https://thailand.blsspainvisa.com/
Here on the blog is a Schengen file for a visa to the Netherlands or Belgium, that of Spain is similar. In the background, the same rules apply to the entire Schengen area. I think the general information and tips from my file will be useful for you to make a good application together with your girlfriend. You can find my file via ThailandBlog in the menu on the left, or click here:
- https://www.thailandblog.nl/wp-content/uploads/Schengenvisum-Dossier-Feb-2019.pdf
Very briefly, the Spanish decision-making officials will want to know who she is, why she is coming to Spain, what she is going to do, whether she has accommodation there, whether the travel costs are covered (with her own money, or whether you act as a guarantor), whether she has travel insurance and -important- whether it is likely that she will return to Spain in time (are there enough reasons, enough ties with Thailand, for example because of a job that she has to return for). I explain this a little more in my file, which is why I recommend that you at least read it. But for correct delivery to the 'Spanish' counter, see BLS site.
Good luck,
Regards,
Rob V
NB: New Schengen rules have been applicable since 2 February. Not much has changed (you can go earlier, a visa will cost you more money). An update of the file is ready, but is still missing the dots on the i. For those who want to know the differences, see: https://www.thailandblog.nl/visum-kort-verblijf/nieuwe-regels-voor-het-schengenvisum-per-februari-2020/