Dear Rob/Editor,
My 27 year old son has a 25 year old girlfriend in Udon Thani and she has applied for a Schengen visa to come to the Netherlands for the first time in December. For family visits and to be with him during the holidays.
Now the embassy has rejected the visa application because they say she can only leave for necessary travel now.
That is of course a big disappointment for them.
Does anyone know if there are other ways to get approval? She has been vaccinated and has everything else in order.
Thanks for your answer.
Regards,
Thea
Dear Thea,
Thailand has currently been labeled "very high risk" by the European member states with regard to Covid. Travel is therefore only allowed to a very limited extent. This is possible, for example, if the trip is "essential", but also for people who have been fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the Netherlands (BioNTech / Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson). Note: not all foreign productions of these brands are approved. When in doubt, I would contact the CDC and ask whether the vaccine that your son's girlfriend has approved has been approved. Of course, provide proof of full vaccination when applying for the visa.
If the Netherlands does not see her as "fully vaccinated" then there is currently no choice but to wait until Thailand gets a better Covid risk status. Other ways, such as your son traveling to Thailand, legally getting married there and then going on holiday under EU regulations to a country elsewhere in the EU (anything but the Netherlands) seem much too drastic to me.
See also:
https://visa.vfsglobal.com/tha/en/nld/news/fully-vaccinated-traveler
https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/visiting-the-netherlands-from-abroad/checklist-entry/from-outside-the-eu
Unfortunately I can't make it anymore at the moment.
Good luck,
Rob V