Schengen Visa for Boyfriend

[Jacen17]

Hi All

Have read some threads about bringing a Thai significant other to Schengen and had some questions I didn't see covered.  I am a dual USA/Italian citizen living in USA (all my life) and my boyfriend lives in Thailand but is actually Burmese (not a Thai citizen).  He will apply in Bangkok (we are not yet sure on which country and are ironing out travel plans).

My questions are

1.  Can I sponsor him somehow, being an EU citizen (but not resident)?  He has ~50k baht and its unclear to me if this is sufficient for a 7 day trip, a travel agency in Thailand is recommending 10k baht per day which seems excessive.

2.  If I cannot sponsor him, can I send him money, or will this set off red flags when the embassy sees the transactions into his bank account when reviewing his statement?

 

We aren't dead set on any specific country, really just want to spend a week together somewhere in October, so if anybody has any suggestions for countries that may have "easier" or more fair process would be appreciated.  I have read to avoid Spain and have seen the stats per each consulate in Bangkok for approval rate 2018 (pasted below).  

 

Thanks a lot!

Schengen State	Country where consulate is located	Consulate	Uniform visas applied for	Total  uniform visas issued (including MEV)	Uniform visas not issued	Not issued rate for uniform visas
Slovakia	THAILAND	BANGKOK	240	239
Czech Republic	THAILAND	BANGKOK	10679	10568	111	1.0%
Greece	THAILAND	BANGKOK	3685	3646	39	1.1%
Spain	THAILAND	BANGKOK	13,218	12,928	189	1.4%
Austria	THAILAND	BANGKOK	21487	21174	313	1.5%
France	THAILAND	BANGKOK	62120	60408	1276	2.1%
Italy	THAILAND	BANGKOK	37,391	36,571	816	2.2%
Germany	THAILAND	BANGKOK	58363	56986	1372	2.4%
Hungary	THAILAND	BANGKOK	2069	2011	58	2.8%
Luxembourg	THAILAND	BANGKOK	463	450	13	2.8%
Poland	THAILAND	BANGKOK	2,051	1,991	60	2.9%
Portugal	THAILAND	BANGKOK	1,709	1,581	51	3.0%
Switzerland	THAILAND	BANGKOK	44189	42819	1364	3.1%
Finland	THAILAND	BANGKOK	10078	9587	453	4.5%
Norway	THAILAND	BANGKOK	13,569	12,813	714	5.3%
Denmark	THAILAND	BANGKOK	12831	12011	886	6.9%
Netherlands	THAILAND	BANGKOK	14,673	13,311	1,055	7.2%
Belgium	THAILAND	BANGKOK	5938	5369	513	8.6%
Sweden	THAILAND	BANGKOK	17,516	15,266	1,819	10.4%

 

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Jacen17
added year for stats

[post]

23 minutes ago, Jacen17 said:

.... my boyfriend lives in Thailand but is actually Burmese (not a Thai citizen).  He will apply in Bangkok ....

What is his current immigration status in Thailand?

[nkg]

Interesting statistics, thanks. Did you get them from here?

http://data.europa.eu/euodp/data/dataset/schengen-visa-statistics-2012

 

[Jacen17]

post - He has lived in Thailand on a work permit for 8 years.

nkg - yes, I did and trimmed down the file to relevant info for me

[varun]

The onus will be on him to convince the relevant consulate that he will return to Thailand at the end of this stay in Schengen.
Forget about sending money to "pad" the bank account just before the visa application - consulates are not stupid.

 

At the top of my head, he needs to provide:

 

1) Employment certificate from employer - stating position, monthly salary, years worked at the company and confirmation of leave

2) Copy of passport including re-entry permit and the extension-of-stay

3) Bank statement - not sure how long, but 3 months at least, better 6 months

4) Confirmed itinerary of travel within Schengen

5) Return-ticket reservation - just reservation, no need to buy

6) Travel insurance

 

Also forget about "visa shopping" - the decision to apply to which consulate depends on where you will spend the most time.

If you are visiting multiple member states for some days each, then apply to the member state of first entry - simple as that.

 

 

Edited August 6, 2019 by varun

[Jacen17]

Thanks for the info Varun.

To clarify on "visa shopping", you have it backwards for what we are trying to do - the country where we will spend the most time is going to be the country that is "easiest" to obtain a visa.  We will then fly into that country.

 

I agree that padding the bank account is a pretty obvious maneuver which is why I'm hoping I can sponsor.  There are several users in this thread that indicate you can add yourself as a sponsor on the application and provide financial statements as evidence of means to support both myself and partner.

 

 

So I guess that is the remaining question, is my sponsorship possible or worth anything, as an EU person living in the US.

 

[varun]

8 hours ago, Jacen17 said:

Thanks for the info Varun.

To clarify on "visa shopping", you have it backwards for what we are trying to do - the country where we will spend the most time is going to be the country that is "easiest" to obtain a visa.  We will then fly into that country.

 

So I guess that is the remaining question, is my sponsorship possible or worth anything, as an EU person living in the US.

 

I don't have it backwards.

You specifically asked for suggestions as to which consulate had a fair or easier process for a Schengen visa application

and specifically said that you didn't have a preference for any member state - the implication being that as long as the visa process was easy, any would do.

 

Anyhow, you being an EU-national does not carry additional weight, because you and your partner are not married.

There is no difference between bf/gf of EU-national and bf/gf of non-EU national, in terms of a visa application.

Maybe, some consulates will be a little more relaxed in this regard, but don't count on that.

 

A Type-C visa is what is needed and the Purpose of Visit is "Visiting Friends/Family".

There is a section on the application form - "Cost of traveling and living during the applicants stay is covered"

where your partner can either indicate either "Self" or "By a Sponsor".

Even if it is specified on the application form that all expenses during the stay will be covered by you (host/sponsor),

your partner may still need to provide evidence that he has sufficient funds himself.

Best to check with one of the consulates.

Maybe I'm missing something - is there a reason why your partner can't support himself for this trip?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rasg]

The OP referred to her partner as her "significant other" and my guess is they are not married. Being married makes quite a difference to what is required for a Schengen visa. A lot less information is required. If they plan on getting married any way it would make getting a Schengen visa a lot simpler. Just an idea...????

[Jip99]

6 minutes ago, rasg said:

The OP referred to her partner as her "significant other" and my guess is they are not married. Being married makes quite a difference to what is required for a Schengen visa. A lot less information is required. If they plan on getting married any way it would make getting a Schengen visa a lot simpler. Just an idea...????

 

 

We are not married but I have never felt that I had to supply any more information than a married person would.

[theoldgit]

 
 
We are not married but I have never felt that I had to supply any more information than a married person would.

Some Consulates will allow unmarried couples the same rights, the Dutch do, at least did, they certainly allowed my then girlfriend a Schengen Visa as we were able to satisfy them that we were in a subsisting relationship.

[Jacen17]

Haha, no we are not married yet.

 

12 hours ago, varun said:

Anyhow, you being an EU-national does not carry additional weight, because you and your partner are not married.

There is no difference between bf/gf of EU-national and bf/gf of non-EU national, in terms of a visa application.

Maybe, some consulates will be a little more relaxed in this regard, but don't count on that.

 

A Type-C visa is what is needed and the Purpose of Visit is "Visiting Friends/Family".

There is a section on the application form - "Cost of traveling and living during the applicants stay is covered"

where your partner can either indicate either "Self" or "By a Sponsor".

Even if it is specified on the application form that all expenses during the stay will be covered by you (host/sponsor),

your partner may still need to provide evidence that he has sufficient funds himself.

Best to check with one of the consulates.

Maybe I'm missing something - is there a reason why your partner can't support himself for this trip?

 

My boyfriend doesn't have enough money in his bank account to satisfy the 10,000 baht/day requirement according to a travel agency he spoke with.  He is hovering around that minimum (70k baht).  To me that seems like plenty of money for a 7 day trip but the agency insisted it was not...

 

I am reading the visa application (we decided on Italy by the way) and see the section regarding who is paying costs - self or sponsor. My thought was to check both "tourism" and "visiting friends/family" and to also check both "self" and "sponsor" for who is paying and then provide supporting financial documents from both my boyfriend and me, but we are afraid this will complicate things and maybe best just to leave me out of it.  That's what we are trying to decide.

 

Thank you Varun/others for comments.

 

[theoldgit]

12 hours ago, Jacen17 said:

My boyfriend doesn't have enough money in his bank account to satisfy the 10,000 baht/day requirement according to a travel agency he spoke with.  He is hovering around that minimum (70k baht).  To me that seems like plenty of money for a 7 day trip but the agency insisted it was not...

I'm not sure why you're asking a travel agent about the minimum subsistence levels required for various Shengen States visa requirements, and taking their word without question?

 

The minimum financial requirements vary from State to State and vary depending on the type of trip, do you intend staying in hotels, private accomodation or hostels, if the accomodation is pre-paid, they are usually more relaxed. For instance the Netherlands expect the applicant to attest, provide proof of, €34 a day, the Italian Consulate about €45 on average a day and the French up to €120 a day, if no evidence of pre-paid accommodation as been provided, your "agent" is suggesting an amount in the region of €285 per day, which I would suggest is way off the mark.

 

Whilst I agree that you shouldn't pad his account, and with the funds he has available you shouldn't need to, the fact remains that you intend travelling together and, providing you can provide evidence of your relationship, there's no reason why a Consular Officer wouldn't look at the bigger picture including your contribution to the cost of the trip.

 

I think a properly thought out application would in all likihood suceed, and by that I mean details of your relationship, details of your proposed trip, affordability as a couple, and the reasons you want to spend time together in Europe rather than, maybe, Thailand. do you intend travelling to Thailand first, or meeting each other in Europe?  

[rasg]

On 8/7/2019 at 11:01 AM, theoldgit said:

Some Consulates will allow unmarried couples the same rights, the Dutch do, at least did, they certainly allowed my then girlfriend a Schengen Visa as we were able to satisfy them that we were in a subsisting relationship.

The Dutch have always been fairly broadminded. ????????

 

If they surely her husband would be regarded as a family member for schengen visa purposes? NO financial info needed. A free expedited visa. Etc etc.

[Jacen17]

12 hours ago, theoldgit said:

I'm not sure why you're asking a travel agent about the minimum subsistence levels required for various Shengen States visa requirements, and taking their word without question?

I'm certainly questioning it which is why I'm asking for all your advice ???? .  As I understand it, the Thai travel agencies want their applicants to succeed because its good for business (visa rejections = bad reviews).  One of the most common reasons Thais get rejected is lack of funds, so they overcompensate when advising applicants on how much is needed so that they have a higher visa approval success rate .  Not saying its good practice but I think that's where the inflated number comes from.

 

We would meet in Europe, so I would plan to provide my flight itinerary to coincide with his arrival to Schengen.  Additionally we would make sure hotel reservations are in both our names.  We would be doing budget accommodation and thought about doing hostels to demonstrate our travel costs would be low compared to say a five star hotel.  

 

We tried for a US visa last month and he was rejected, which we expected, so fingers are crossed for better luck with a Schengen visa.  

 

I think you convinced me it can only help to provide my information as well on the visa application along with a letter explaining our trip purpose and relationship.     Thank you all!

[ColinWilki]

In case it helps---

When I got my Thai boyfriend his first UK tourist visa 10 years ago we made no attempt to show he could support himself.

What I did was provide a statement that I would pay all his costs and provided evidence in the form of my bank statements and salary slips that I could afford to do so.

We also submitted photographic evidence of our relationship including photos with his family.

Varun has posted above that a letter from his employer is required- I believe that this was very important and in our case included words that his job would be kept open for his return - If possible the employers letter should exclude any reference to bar work.

Along with this we gave full details of his family in Thailand and his closeness to them

 

Good luck (by the way we are up in Bangkok next week applying for the same guy who is now my UK Registered Civil Partner a US tourist visa)