Documents required for Schengen visa application

[Peter Denis]

When I still lived in Belgium, I invited my thai girlfriend 3 times for a holiday in Europe, which was every time approved.  There was quite some paperwork involved from my side (invitation letter, salary slips, certificate of residence, etc.).  And she had to go to Belgian embassy in BKK for an interview and other necessary paperwork (return flight-ticket, insurance, etc.).

Although my residence is still in Belgium, I stopped working (am 60 years) and now live most of the year in Thailand with her.  And I do have to make the occasional border-run as I am in TH on a tourist visum.  This is the most convenient solution for me, as I need to travel 2-3 times a year to Europe anyway.

What I am wondering now, is what would be the best way of tackling the administration involved, when taking my girlfriend with me on my next Europe-bound trip.

There are 2 options:

1.      I could ask my brother or my parents, to invite my girlfriend.  And ask them to send over all the required and legalized documents (as I did in the past).  And with those papers as well as her own documents, my girlfriend could go to the Belgian embassy and once again be provided with a Schengen visum.

2.      Obviously it would be more easy, if I would invite her myself and accompany her to the Belgian embassy in BKK.  But I am not sure whether I would be able to get hold of the required documents while in Thailand as some of these documents are to be provided from the Belgian municipality where I have my residence (and I it is not certain that my family can get those documents on my behalf).

Therefore my QUESTION > Did anybody already had a similar situation at hand, and provide me with some advice on how to go about?  When I would go with my girlfriend to the Belgian embassy in BKK, I obviously want to be well prepared and have all the required paperwork ready, as it is quite a journey from where we live.

NOTE: I also read about the possibility of applying for a 2-5 year multiple-entry visum, and that would of course be a very good solution to avoid all the hassle every time that I want to go to Europe with my girlfriend joining me.  However, we are not married and my official residence is in Belgium, so I am not sure whether such a multiple-entry visum would be granted (but I could try and if not approved the application could be changed to a one time visum).

Thanks in advance for any help/advice with the above.

 

[Peter Denis]

Hi,

I did not get any replies yet on my post of last Tuesday.

And on re-reading maybe that's because I explicitly mentioned Belgium, being the country where I have my formal residence.

But I am convinced that, with exception of UK, the situation described in my post would be applicable for most SCHENGEN countries.

So please do ignore the 'belgian' outlook in above post.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice with the above.

 

Peter Denis

[Donutz]

I'm on holiday right now so I have been absent the last few weeks and not much time/interest for these forums but I will give you a short reply: it would indeed be most efficient if you have somebody invite you over so they can deal with the paperwork regarding a host. And you or your gf can take care of the financial part: either you act as a guarantor or she shows she has sufficient funds of her own for the duration of the trip. These funds must clearly belong to her so there can be no doubt she has access to this money while on holiday. On the DVZ  (dienst vreemdelingen zaken) you should be able to find details about the financial requirements.

 

Write a letter explaining your situation, plan etc and why you want/need a multiple entry visa (mev). Ofcourse all the official paperwork needs to be in order but an A4 sized brief letter to paint a picture of who you and your gf are, your intentions and insuring you will see to her return to Thailand should help the visa officer in forming a good picture about the applicant (your gf) and you and thus hopefully assist in getting the visa. If they decide against issuing a MEV she will simply get 1 entry.

[Peter Denis]

Hi Donutz,

Thanks for your response and advice.

So a mix-approach would be most efficient > Requesting my stepfather or brother, to invite my girfriend on my behalf, but them providing the 'host' invitation and associated required documents.  And me accompagning my gf during her Schengen Embassy interview, bringing with me also a letter explaining the situation and requesting a multiple-entry visum.

In due time, I will post my experience with the above so that other Forum-visitors can benefit from it.

Cheers,

Peter Denis