TLS Contact Trip Report

[JayBird]

Sort of trip report. 

 

Okey, I'm not from Europe but I have a house there and my GF (Thai) wanted to visit it with me.  I decided to go through TLS.  French embassy kept pointing me to TLS (despite the law saying they should help me).  Rather than force them to do their job (and increase a chance of denial), I went with TLS.

 

1) Booked a flight with Thai Airways, direct.  Choose the 'cancellable' version (about 5k THB fee).

2) Booked a room with Agoda that is also cancellable.

3) Filled in the form that TLS gave including her passports, and bank information.

4) Wrote a letter indicating I was inviting her and who I am

5) Included a copy of my passport ID page.

 

(Note: Technically you do not heed to book a hotel but as I am in france I would need a letter from my Mayor saying it's cool for her to stay in my house.  Since my Mayor doesn't like me, that was a no-go.... small villages in France... bleh).

 

I told her to get the VIP Lounge upon arrival.  Now, what does this include?

 

Well, it's not really a LOUNGE per se.  It's just that you can sit at the desk with the person who works there.  BUT it does mean:

 

1) The person there double checks your paperwork

2) Makes adjustments to paperwork if there were any issues

3) Helps with any additional photocopies or pictures needed

4) Will service you immediately (rather than at your appointment time)

5) Allow you to leave quickly (in case you arrived earlier than your appointment time you can complete early and leave early).

 

Overall, worth it.

 

Here's the weird bit, two days latter they sent her an SMS/E-mail saying they needed additional information:

 

1) *MY* Bank Statement from Thailand O.o?!

2) *MY* Passport Photocopy showing me entering & leaving Thailand.

 

I can try to guess #1: As I'm hosting, do I have enough money to do it?

As for #2... not sure why they need to see enter/exit stamps for Thailand.  Perhaps an assumption that I'm bad and they want to see if I'm on overstay?  Don't know.

 

Sadly, she had to travel herself all the way back there (they do not accept Fax, E-mail or Mail for this).  She gave the documents.

On the plus side, got an SMS the very next day that the Passport was ready for pick-up.

 

All in all, less than a week from start to finish, no real problems, no attitude issues, and the correct visa on the passport.

 

P.S.: For those curious, the bank account is an active one showing in/out and my passport shows plenty of stamps from various countries around the world.  Hers also shows multiple stamps to Singapore and Malaysia.  So these may all have played a factor.

 

Hopefully this will be of use to anyone else desiring to apply for a visa.

 

Thank you.

[Donutz]

Thanks for your feedback. Sounds like the French violate their own instructions (there used to be instructions on the embassy website on how to get an appointment at the embassy), and Schengen legislation  (since as you know as a rule they need to let you come to the embassy within 2 weeks unless for unforeseeable legit reasons cannot reach this deadline).

 

Would it affect your application if you reminded the embassy of its own instructions and EU Schengen rules? Unlikely. The people at the front desk are not the same as those deciding over visas in the back office. Even if they are the same person, the appointment would in no way be a thing that is a point of consideration when it comes to checking if you meet the various requirements. 

 

Having said that, I can understand that if the French act against the rules it would feel pushing your 'luck' if you insisted (though luck has no role in visa decisions). You may wish to share your experience with  EU Home Affairs department: 

JUST-CITIZENSHIP {at} ec.europa.eu

 

As for TLS. Going through the paperwork to check if it's complete is simply part of the job. Advice on the application isn't (they are just paperpushers, a glorified mailbox). But if the VIP service acts like a Visa Agent would, I suppose that might suit some people who feel more secure by receiving feedback before actually making the application.  But it would just be advice, TLS are not officers who rule over application and they don't know the decision og the French officers back at the French embassy. 

 

The French officers not accepting fax/mail/e-mail and requesting your financial info and travelstamps are probably due to love of red tape.