Easiest Schengen country to apply for visa for first time Thai applicant

[cryptotycoon]

I am taking my girlfriend to Europe for the first time for a vacation. Based on other members experience which Schengen countries have been the easiest to get a visa for? I also welcome any tips of the dos and don'ts to reduce the risk of rejection?

Girlfriend has 2 children at school in Thailand, good family ties, but does not have job contract. I am funding the trip expenses. Has travelled to a few Asian countries to get a few stamps in the passport. 

Is is better to apply direct with the embassy or go via a visa agency? If an agency any recommendations. I am in Phuket but happy to travel to Bangkok if needed.

Welcome any help.

Edited June 17, 2019 by cryptotycoon

[kevvy]

Lithuania is the easiest Schengen country to get a visa from, with only 1.3% of the short-term applications rejected in 2018. In total, 98.7% of the applicants for a Schengen Visa to Lithuania received a positive answer on their application.

Moreover, Lithuania is placed somewhere in the middle of the table regarding the total number of short-term visa applications received. This also means you will have to wait less to make an appointment. Unlike for countries as Germany and France, when in many countries applicants need to make an appointment several months ahead of their planned trip to Schengen.(source Google)

[cryptotycoon]

3 minutes ago, kevvy said:

Lithuania is the easiest Schengen country to get a visa from, with only 1.3% of the short-term applications rejected in 2018. In total, 98.7% of the applicants for a Schengen Visa to Lithuania received a positive answer on their application.

Moreover, Lithuania is placed somewhere in the middle of the table regarding the total number of short-term visa applications received. This also means you will have to wait less to make an appointment. Unlike for countries as Germany and France, when in many countries applicants need to make an appointment several months ahead of their planned trip to Schengen.(source Google)

Does Lithuania have to be the place you spend the most time or simply the country of entry and once you are in Europe you can exit from any other European country?

[kevvy]

A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any members of the Schengen Area, per stays up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes

[RichardColeman]

11 minutes ago, cryptotycoon said:

Does Lithuania have to be the place you spend the most time or simply the country of entry and once you are in Europe you can exit from any other European country?

Not without visa for that next country - or else the UK would be flooded even more

[Pilotman]

You must apply to the first country of entry into the Schengen area, but it is hardly ever enforced. Certainly the Dutch Embassy in UK used to be the easiest place to get a SV.  Once you enter the area, you can move between Schengen countries only,  freely. 

Edited June 17, 2019 by Pilotman

[RichardColeman]

Sounds dodgy to me

[cryptotycoon]

2 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Not without visa for that next country - or else the UK would be flooded even more

If you are spending all the time in Schengen countries then that should not be an issue and you can exit out of any other Schengen country......correct? My question is more of whether the country issuing the Schengen visa issues on the basis that you will spend the most time in that country or whether it does not matter...eg. 3 days in Lithuania and then say 2 weeks in Switzerland

[stevenl]

5 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

You must apply to the first country of entry into the Schengen area, but it is hardly ever enforced. Certainly the Dutch Embassy in UK used to be the easiest place to get a SV.  Once you enter the area, you can move between countries freely. 

You must apply to the country you'll be spending most time in.

[stevenl]

3 minutes ago, cryptotycoon said:

If you are spending all the time in Schengen countries then that should not be an issue and you can exit out of any other Schengen country......correct? My question is more of whether the country issuing the Schengen visa issues on the basis that you will spend the most time in that country or whether it does not matter...eg. 3 days in Lithuania and then say 2 weeks in Switzerland

In that case you must apply in Switzerland.

[ThomasThBKK]

35 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Not without visa for that next country - or else the UK would be flooded even more

Of course he can,

UK is not Shengen tho - totally unrelated.

Shengen visa allows entry to all countries including switzerland.

Just apply where you want, no one cares from my experience, this isn't Thailand where tourist under surveillance.

 

We always go to spain first, or italy, and then randomly travel around for months...

[theoldgit]

35 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

You must apply to the first country of entry into the Schengen area, but it is hardly ever enforced. Certainly the Dutch Embassy in UK used to be the easiest place to get a SV.  Once you enter the area, you can move between Schengen countries only,  freely. 

As others have said, you should apply at the Consulate with jurisiction for the Member State where you intend spending the most time, only if you're intending to spend an equal amount of time in more than one Member State should you apply at the Consulate with juristiction for your point of entry into the Schengen Area.
You should give details of your travel plans, including in other Member Sates, with your application, though if you're given a longer term visa you only need to supply details of your first visit, though they often bounce the applications off other countries Consulates..
Yes, you can move freely in the Schengen Area, but there are random checks at borders and on trains travelling from one Schengen State to another.
Yes, the rules re getting a visa from one country and then travelling to another are hardly ever enforced, but that doesn't meen they're never enforced. 

[virtualm]

Or you can take her to Turkey, it's Visa free for 30 days.  And then be smart and catch a flight to North Cyprus but she is not allowed to pass through the buffer zone to the South.

 

Check this website, it's brilliant -  https://visalist.io/thailand/visa-free

Edited June 17, 2019 by virtualm

[Donutz]

For statistics see the EU Home Affairs website:

https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/visa-policy_en#stats

 

 Schengen applications from Thailand see a 90-99% approval rate. Most Schengen countries seem to refuse 2-5% of applications. 

 

I would not base my application in the refusal rate. As others said and as explained in the sticky/faq pinned near the top of the forum one must apply at the embassy of the country one will spent the most time in (main destination ),  only if it ain't that clear cut what the main destination is can you apply at the embassy of first entry.

 

I'd only take the statistics (and general quality of the information as provided on their website etc) into account if you plan to stay say a week in country A, a week in country B and one in C. Then sure, move your plan around a bit so that the most friendly embassy is either the main destination or the country of first entry.