stevehaigh Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 hi, we are planning to visit france, italy and switzerland this summer. since all are covered by the schengen visa now, i wonder where is the best place for her to apply for a visa? she should qualify without a problem since we've been married several years, have money in the bank and ties to thailand and she has a US 10 year visa, but i don't want to take any chances. which embassy is likely the most easy going? thx steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boney Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 hi, we are planning to visit france, italy and switzerland this summer. since all are covered by the schengen visa now, i wonder where is the best place for her to apply for a visa? she should qualify without a problem since we've been married several years, have money in the bank and ties to thailand and she has a US 10 year visa, but i don't want to take any chances.which embassy is likely the most easy going? thx steve I cant really help you much but I am in the same boat. My girlfriend is going to apply at the Italian visa seciton. Sounds like your in a better position than me as your married! but if you do it, let me know how you got on please as I will when I do it next month thx stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJo Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Does not matter IMO as your wife will qualify in any case. Maybe worth looking how long it takes in each embassy and if some of them have interviews etc. Then again i believe you need to get a visa from same country that you are entering shengen area. I.e. if your flight from Thailand is to France, you need to apply from French embassy ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connel707 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Does not matter IMO as your wife will qualify in any case. Maybe worth looking how long it takes in each embassy and if some of them have interviews etc. Then again i believe you need to get a visa from same country that you are entering shengen area. I.e. if your flight from Thailand is to France, you need to apply from French embassy ? You can enter at any country covered by this visa if you are in Transit and have an ongoing ticket within the next couple of days, to the country that issued the visa. Most of your 90 day stay is also supposed to be in that issuing country.! But once there , whatever. And if you miss that flight , can always cash in the ticket . Greece and Portugal seem to be the most relaxed, but they are so far away from real life...better to try where you want to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenimpzoom Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Check on the medical insurance requirements. I work for a very big company with name brand US medical insurance and Norway (part of the Schengen area) required special medical insurance for my wife. Luckily my company paid for it. They are worried that is she gets sick there, the free government medical will have to eat the bill. I showed them that my companys medical insurance will cover it, but they said it is just a reimbursement from my insurance company and the fact is I would have to pay for it first. Stupid thing is, as a US citizen, I can come and go with no visa at all and there are many US citizens with no medical insurance. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehaigh Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 thanks for all the info. we are flying to UK first then i think Switzerland may be the first EU port of call so i guess we'll have to start there. thx steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaimiller Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I was trying to get a spanish visa, that became a little complecated, although i eventually got one from the spanish embassy in bkk for my TGF, they were not very helpful to say the least. The french embassy in Chiang mai were brilliant though, nothing but praise for them, so i would start with the french embassy if i were you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giruz Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I was trying to get a spanish visa, that became a little complecated, although i eventually got one from the spanish embassy in bkk for my TGF, they were not very helpful to say the least. The french embassy in Chiang mai were brilliant though, nothing but praise for them, so i would start with the french embassy if i were you. I had a bad experience with the Italian embassy but the problem wasn't about the visa it was with the two Thai ladies answering the phone/receptionist when you apply with for the visa. The staff @ embassy was fine but we had to fight (I had to shout) in order to speak with someone that wasn't one of the two ladies. (note: I'm Italian) giruzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mariner29 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 If applying from the UK the German Embassy accept postal applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainiain101 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 The most important thing can be where you are applying FROM. We went to Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria on a road trip last year. The Mrs needed a Schengen visa, and as we are in Chiang Mai, the only one of those countries issuing Schengen visas in Chiang Mai was the German consulate, so we went with them to avoid having to go to Bangkok for the application. Travel insuance is required, and the consulate will list acceptable insurers on their website. This was easy to obtain in CM as the insurers are used to the requirement. Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehaigh Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Travel insuance is required, and the consulate will list acceptable insurers on their website. This was easy to obtain in CM as the insurers are used to the requirement. will she need proof of travel insurance before applying for the visa? also, someone told my wife that before leaving the UK for Europe, she needs to go a Thai embassy! i have no idea for what. is there any truth to that? do Thais have to do something to travel between EU countries other than get the right visas? thx steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldgit Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Travel insuance is required, and the consulate will list acceptable insurers on their website. This was easy to obtain in CM as the insurers are used to the requirement. will she need proof of travel insurance before applying for the visa? also, someone told my wife that before leaving the UK for Europe, she needs to go a Thai embassy! i have no idea for what. is there any truth to that? do Thais have to do something to travel between EU countries other than get the right visas? thx steve You will need to provide proof to the embassy that she has a recognised travel insurance policy, Thai Visa Insurance can provide you with an acceptable policy though I am sure there are others, for instance I believe you can buy a policy at the French Embassy. I have heard that some countries will accept a declaration that you have a policy, but you need one anyway so you might as well provide the details with the application to save any hassle. Your wife, or any other Thai person, does not need to go to the Thai Embassy before leaving the UK or indeed any of their embassies whilst out of Thailand. Once she has her visa it will be checked when leaving the UK before boarding her mode of transport and again on arrival at the destination, unless on the Eurostar when it will be checked on departure from the UK. She is then free to travel around the Schengen countries at will and it's unlikely that it will be checked again, unless boarding a plane. Just one point, you need to ensure that she has a multi entry visa if she returns to the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleduh Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I can say that the Swiss embassy staff is not very friendly, and they have a whole list of extra documents required such as a rental contract from the host in Switzerland. It's all no problem, but why don't these lazy motherfuc_kers post that on the internet, which would save another few days? But then again, it's probably the same in all embassies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CbrLad Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 (edited) thanks for all the info. we are flying to UK first then i think Switzerland may be the first EU port of call so i guess we'll have to start there.thx steve Not that it matters much but Switzerland isn't part of the EU! As for the visa now wife has applied twice at the French Embassy in Bangkok and once in London, all pretty fast. All they really wanted is evidence of a return flight (or train out of the Schengen zone) AND travel insurance. The first time they gave her a visa valid for a week longer than the 3 days she said she was going to for, the 2nd and 3rd times up until her insurance ended, which was almost 12 months. Edited January 19, 2009 by CbrLad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierra01 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Last year we wanted to go to Crete, the Greek Embassy wanted proof of flights and accomodation. As we were going to get a last minute deal that was no good to us. We found out that the French Embassy doesnt ask for any of that, so we went there to get the visa. If we were stopped in Crete and asked why we went to Crete first instead of France the answer would have been change of plan but no one was interested, they just stamped her passport and waved her on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timekeeper Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 hi, we are planning to visit france, italy and switzerland this summer. since all are covered by the schengen visa now, i wonder where is the best place for her to apply for a visa? she should qualify without a problem since we've been married several years, have money in the bank and ties to thailand and she has a US 10 year visa, but i don't want to take any chances.which embassy is likely the most easy going? thx steve i was wanting to take my wife on a grand trip somewhere, so we started with the US embassy who gave us the complete runaround, saying yes and then no and was a waste of time and money. Then we switched to Europe and attempted a schengan from France and was declined, Lord knows why. so we got one from the Spanish emabassy that was a very easy to acquire, they were pleasant to deal with and very helpful so we flew to Barcelona via Switzerland, stayed in Universal Studios in Salou, which was fantastic. Then went back to Barcelona, got the night train to Paris and arrived just in time for breakfast. i must admit it was satisfying to be in France after they had refused the schengan visa. normally i would think <deleted> you and not spend any money on anything French again but the mrs wanted to see the disney rodent so after a few days in Paris we went to Disneyland Paris and had a wonderful time. Charles de Gaulle to Zurich and then home. a fantastic 3 weeks, (this was before the currency crisis) i hope you get yours easier than i did and have a great time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogz Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Check on the medical insurance requirements. I work for a very big company with name brand US medical insurance and Norway (part of the Schengen area) required special medical insurance for my wife. Luckily my company paid for it.They are worried that is she gets sick there, the free government medical will have to eat the bill. I showed them that my companys medical insurance will cover it, but they said it is just a reimbursement from my insurance company and the fact is I would have to pay for it first. Stupid thing is, as a US citizen, I can come and go with no visa at all and there are many US citizens with no medical insurance. Good luck. It seems then that there are some rules for some and no rules for others. I suppose that most countries believe that Americans can pay for health care without insurance? Who said life's unfair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surayu Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 At the italian embassy in BKK it should be a easy walk, my thai counterpart has never been asked for an insurance and also remember that in Italy whatever your nationality is, even if you are an illegal clandestine with no documents at all, you will get free basic medical help without being reported to the authorities, here medical practitioners still believe in the Hippocratic Oath while in Los i guess they use something like a "BoT Oath" but that's another story... i hope that help however double check with the embassy in case anything changed lately, as someone already mention try to speak with italian people rather then thai, enjoy your trip Sir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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