Tourist visa for my gf and marry her in my country?

[Higuita]

Hi,

 

Me and my gf are planning to get married and move together to my home country. If we marry in thailand and we apply for her visa, chances are that we have to wait for 6 months. Instead of staying apart for a long time, I want to get her to stay with me as soon as possible.

 

I heard before that if I get a standard tourist visa for my gf, and we marry during her stay in my home country, that she can stay in my country indefinitely? Is this true and what is the catch?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

[ubonjoe]

Moved to here.

Which country? Each country has different rules.

[Higuita]

The Netherlands.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

The catch is probably that she will never get a tourist visa.

[7by7]

@Donutz is our resident expert on all things Schengen, and is also Dutch. Hopefully he will be along to advise.

 

One thing I can tell you is that as you are Dutch, you cannot use the EU Freedom of Movement Directive to live in The Netherlands with her; she will need to apply under the Dutch immigration rules. Unless you first live together in another EEA state while you exercise a treaty right and then move to The Netherlands from there using the Surinder Singh judgement.

[Donutz]

You have a few options:

- short stays for up to 90 days  (per 180 days). I would suggest she atleast once visits the Netherlands for a short stay to see if she doesn't want to turn around and run away in agony right after crossing the border... most Schengen visas are granted with a refusal rate of a few % (2-3% annual refusals). 

-- processing time for a short stay is usually 7-15 days. With preparation and waiting for an appointment make that atleast a month. But not 6!

-- yes she can marry here in NL on a regular short stay visa (this is different for each country, Belgian authorities for instance will very much not be amused if you do this but Dutch authorities are fine with it). But she cannot apply for residency after being married! 

 

- immigration: can be done as a married or unmarried couple. As a married couple you submit the documents that proof you are married. As an unmarried couple you need to show that the relationship is genuine. It's fine if you have known each other for just a few months but they want to see you two are seriously committed to the relationship. So they may wish to see a photos of you two together and communication back and forth  (no need to submit entire chatlogs, you don't need to give up any real privacy). To immigrate you need to meet the income requirements and she will need to have passed the civic integration exam abroad  (pass a test at the embassy). You apply with her being in Thailand and getting the entry visa (type D, MVV) after a positive decision. This can take anywhere between 1 week to 90 days. It's a bit of a lottery but expect it to take 2-3 months.

 

- third option is to marry and move to an other EU/ EEA country and make use of directive 2004/38. This is also known as the EU route or Belgian route (Belgium is a popular destination for Dutchies who go down this route. In the UK this is known as the Surrinder Sighn route.

 

I wrote guides in Dutch on both applying for a short stay visa and immigration. You will find them on the blog of a large Thailand orientated Dutch community. Maybe you get lucky if you Google 'immigratie Thaise partner'.

 

Mind you that both marriage and immigration are no small steps! So take it easy. Obviously you want to be together ASAP but these are not things you arrange on a Sunday afternoon. Luckily you can skip the marriage part if you are not really up for that (yet).

Edited September 17, 2017 by Donutz