Thailand visa question No. 031/20: Does my wife need a visa?
Questioner: Alex
Subject: Visa
I am married to Thip. Now, we have been married in Belgium for 20 years and my wife lived in Belgium for 13 years, then we moved to Thailand. We are still in order in Belgium and have a reference address.
Now we want to visit family this year for about 30 days, but my wife's ID card has expired. The bank must rescan her card. The question now is, does my wife need a visa to travel to Belgium together?
Reaction RonnyLatYa
If by an ID card you mean that this is a Belgian ID card, then she also has the Belgian nationality and she should not have a visa. A valid Belgian passport or Belgian ID card, otherwise she won't be able to leave, I'm afraid. She can then apply for this at the embassy on the basis of her Belgian nationality if you are registered there. If not, you can still do that.
A reference address can only be used as an official address by certain persons and in certain situations. So watch out for that. A reference address is not the same as an address to which you send your correspondence. That is a correspondence address and anyone can create it, but it has no value as an official address.
www.vlaanderen.be/referenceadres
If she only had a Belgian residence permit, she does not have Belgian nationality. The question then is whether that residence permit is still valid. If not, she will have to apply for a visa.
Actually, this has nothing to do with Thai visas, so those who can provide him with additional information … ..
Regards,
RonnyLatYa
Dear,
To give you decent information, some important data are missing:
1: Does your spouse have Belgian nationality?
2: are you and your wife still domiciled in Belgium? (in this case she lives in Belgium and I would not know why your wife needs a visa if she already officially lives there)
3: the reference address as you describe is technically impossible, it is only rarely allowed for periods in which you must clearly document this, beware if you have been absent from Belgium for more than 6 months per year, you may be officially written off, normally every municipality where you are domiciled is obliged to officially deregister you if you are absent for longer than 6 months.
4: if your wife is officially domiciled in Thailand and this is also stated on her Belgian ID card, the bank cannot read her passport and all the effort is for nothing (I've had it myself at 2 banks)
Good luck and travel pleasure
Philippe
Dear Alex,
If your wife is Belgian, ie has a Belgian passport (expired or not), she is Belgian and can travel back to Belgium without a visa (if necessary (expired passport) pick up a new passport at the Belgian embassy.
Provided she has an expired Belgian ID card, she will probably also have a Belgian passport>
If your wife is not Belgian, she does need a visa. In your situation the Embassy will not make a fuss about this.
Greetings from the chilly Belgenland - here by the sea heavily cloudy and 5 degrees warm but dry.
Dear Philippe, keep in mind, if you request a new ID card for your spouse at the Embassy of Belgium, it will take more than 2 months before she will have the new ID card. I've personally experienced it.
Remark. Live in Belgium. My Asian wife has a Belgian ID. But no Belgian passport. So one clearly coexists with the other.
Some people, many media, talk about 'possession of a (Belgian) passport', where possession of nationality is meant. If you are Belgian you can either have a passport or an ID card, or both or neither.
As a Belgian, you have the right to enter Belgenland, but then you must be able to identify yourself at the border with an ID or passport.
If someone says/writes that he/she has a Belgian passport, he/she has Belgian nationality. Otherwise you can't have that passport.
Possessing an expired passport is not a basis for refusing a Belgian in Belgium. Insofar as you can prove the identity/nationality in another way
“As a Belgian, you must have a valid passport or identity card if you want to leave/enter Belgium. According to Belgian law, you can also enter Belgium (again) with an expired passport, if you can confirm your identity and nationality in another valid way.”
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/expired-lost-passports/belgium/index_nl.htm
Sounds like a bus Ronny, that also applies to Dutch people to NL, Thai to TH and so on. But with an expired ID you can still (unjustifiably) have problems with check-in staff. It is therefore preferable to carry a valid ID with you if possible.
I don't think you will leave anywhere without a valid ID/passport.
This just says something about coming in.
If your wife has a Belgian ID, she also has Belgian nationality and that is sufficient in Belgium. That's all they need in Belgium. Just like you.
However, do not confuse a Belgian ID card with the ID cards that justify a stay.
These are cards issued by Belgium, but they do not make you Belgian.
https://sif-gid.ibz.be/NL/lijst_belgie.aspx
But if she has Belgian nationality, she can also apply for a Belgian passport at the municipality if she needs one to travel. Is often much more convenient to travel to certain countries than her Thai passport.
If she is a Belgian national, she will have no problem entering Belgium, but may have a problem boarding a plane, with an expired IK.
If she has a foreigner ID card (A through F+)(I'm guessing an F or F+ card, seen a long time together) that has expired, she will NOT be allowed in, if she gets on the plane at all. She must first have a new card or a visa to enter.