Schengen visa question: Visa for my Thai wife

Dear Editor/Rob V.,

My Thai wife and I are going to Belgium for 2 weeks in May to visit family and then also visit some other Schengen countries. We are only married in Thailand.

Recently there was an article here that showed that a visa for a Thai married to a Belgian or Dutch person would be free and would also entail much less paperwork. However, I can't find any more information about this. Is there a guide or article on this? Do I no longer have to go through VFS?

Thanks for the answer.

Best regards,

Jos

Dear Josh,

There are special rules for family members (such as a husband or wife) of an EU citizen. As a Belgian, you are also an EU citizen, and through marriage your Thai wife can therefore potentially use your EU rights. However, an important condition is that your visa application does not go through Belgium. So for a free Schengen visa with a minimum of supporting documents, for example, the Netherlands or France should be the main purpose of the trip. In that case, you do not submit the application via Belgium, because if you (with you as a Belgian) simply have Belgium as your main residence, you are not eligible for this procedure.

So if you choose to choose a Schengen country other than your own Belgium as your main residence, you can follow the procedure for 'family member of an EU/EEA national'. In that case you can never be obliged to use VFS Global. Not even now that 'ordinary' applicants can be sent to VFS Global. For such a direct appointment, send an e-mail to the embassy you have in mind (is it allowed to advise in the Netherlands?). The embassy of the member state where you want to go must therefore give you an appointment at the embassy itself. You may not wait longer than 2 weeks for such an appointment. The rule of thumb is that the entire procedure is free, with as little paperwork as possible and as quickly as possible.

For a detailed explanation, see page 24 of the Schengen dossier:
'What about special visas/procedures for family members of an EU/EEA national?'
Street: www.thailandblog.nl/wp-content/uploads/Schengenvisum-Dossier-Feb-2019.pdf

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/