Info Needed On Schengen Visa

[peterinbangkok]

I would greatly appreciate any info on the following -

1> Can anyone (non-Thai on a Thai wife visa) apply for a Schengen tourist visa, if the visa to stay in Thailand is for a month? (Under consideration, will be granted 11 months visa next)?

2> If the Schengen tourist visa has been refused, for whatever reason, how long to wait for applying again?

3> After travelling to Schengen countries on a Schengen tourist visa once, is there a waiting period to apply for another Schengen tourist visa? Need to travel again after 1 or 2 months.

4> How much bank balance is required to show?

5> At which embassy is it easiest to get a visa, with the least waiting period?

6> Do all embassies take an interview?

Thanks in advance for all the answers.

Pete.

[perax]

I'll try to reply, based on my past experiences. Others will certainly provide more accurate information.

1> Can anyone (non-Thai on a Thai wife visa) apply for a Schengen tourist visa, if the visa to stay in Thailand is for a month? (Under consideration, will be granted 11 months visa next)?

Not sure I understand this. If you are, let's say, a Chinese national traveling on business in Thailand and you need to go to Spain, you can apply at the Spanish embassy in Bangkok. There might be some delay in case the embassy needs to check documents proving your status (employment/income, usually).

2> If the Schengen tourist visa has been refused, for whatever reason, how long to wait for applying again?

AFAIK, you can apply as soon as you have corrected the issue that caused the refusal. You can also appeal the ruling, normally though a competent court in Europe. They will tipically tell you the reason during the interview, but they do not 'have' to. Sometimes you just hit a moron.

3> After travelling to Schengen countries on a Schengen tourist visa once, is there a waiting period to apply for another Schengen tourist visa? Need to travel again after 1 or 2 months.

Not that I know. No problems, as long as you respect the terms of the original visa (no overstay, etc.).

4> How much bank balance is required to show?

For this you need to check with the embassy, they have a table with the requirements. Something along the lines of 40-50 euro per day, I believe.

5> At which embassy is it easiest to get a visa, with the least waiting period?

In theory you should apply to the embassy of the country where you will be spending most of your time. I have seen approvals within a few days at the Swiss, Italian & German embassy.

"Easy" is subjective. the documents are the same for all embassies, but approval depends on the judgement of the officier that process your application. Some embassy take a dim view of single Thai girls with little income traveling to Europe.

6> Do all embassies take an interview?

All these I tried do, or used to do. It's usually quite painless, much easier than when trying to get a visa to the US.

You will also tipically need to show ticket reservations, proof of income (employment letter), medical (travel) insurance, hotel reservations or letter of invitation if the non-EU citizen is staying with relatives or friends.

Edited September 1, 2009 by perax

[peterinbangkok]

Thx for your reply. Sorry, was not clear with

1> I'm living in Thailand since many years & I get visa based on my Thai wife. My yearly visa just finished & have applied for my new yearly visa. As usually it happens with everyone, I have received a months visa initially. Now I need to travel asap. If I were to apply for a Schengen tourist visa, will I get a visa? I intend coming back to Thailand in time to hear the result of my visa. (I will get the balance 11 months then).

Also,

7> What documents are to be shown on visa application? Do I need to give a copy of my wife's ID, house registration, child's birth certificate? Do I have to give my company papers, tax papers?

Thx

Pete.

[alyx]

I'll try to reply, based on my past experiences. Others will certainly provide more accurate information.

1> Can anyone (non-Thai on a Thai wife visa) apply for a Schengen tourist visa, if the visa to stay in Thailand is for a month? (Under consideration, will be granted 11 months visa next)?

Not sure I understand this. If you are, let's say, a Chinese national traveling on business in Thailand and you need to go to Spain, you can apply at the Spanish embassy in Bangkok. There might be some delay in case the embassy needs to check documents proving your status (employment/income, usually).

2> If the Schengen tourist visa has been refused, for whatever reason, how long to wait for applying again?

AFAIK, you can apply as soon as you have corrected the issue that caused the refusal. You can also appeal the ruling, normally though a competent court in Europe. They will tipically tell you the reason during the interview, but they do not 'have' to. Sometimes you just hit a moron.

3> After travelling to Schengen countries on a Schengen tourist visa once, is there a waiting period to apply for another Schengen tourist visa? Need to travel again after 1 or 2 months.

Not that I know. No problems, as long as you respect the terms of the original visa (no overstay, etc.).

4> How much bank balance is required to show?

For this you need to check with the embassy, they have a table with the requirements. Something along the lines of 40-50 euro per day, I believe.

5> At which embassy is it easiest to get a visa, with the least waiting period?

In theory you should apply to the embassy of the country where you will be spending most of your time. I have seen approvals within a few days at the Swiss, Italian & German embassy.

"Easy" is subjective. the documents are the same for all embassies, but approval depends on the judgement of the officier that process your application. Some embassy take a dim view of single Thai girls with little income traveling to Europe.

6> Do all embassies take an interview?

All these I tried do, or used to do. It's usually quite painless, much easier than when trying to get a visa to the US.

You will also tipically need to show ticket reservations, proof of income (employment letter), medical (travel) insurance, hotel reservations or letter of invitation if the non-EU citizen is staying with relatives or friends.

Answer number 3: Wrong A six month period is needed beetwen the end of the first one and the second one

[alyx]

Of course if you plan to go only one month and then go back after a month or two for a short period, apply for a 90 day multiple entries which will allow you to do so and will not have to apply again

[bangla]

3> After travelling to Schengen countries on a Schengen tourist visa once, is there a waiting period to apply for another Schengen tourist visa? Need to travel again after 1 or 2 months.

Not that I know. No problems, as long as you respect the terms of the original visa (no overstay, etc.).

Answer number 3: Wrong A six month period is needed beetwen the end of the first one and the second one

that depends on how long you stay inside schengen.

maximum is 90 days / 180 days on a touristvisa.

so if you stay 30 days then you can apply for a new (60 day) visa right away.

[perax]

Thx for your reply. Sorry, was not clear with

1> I'm living in Thailand since many years & I get visa based on my Thai wife. My yearly visa just finished & have applied for my new yearly visa. As usually it happens with everyone, I have received a months visa initially. Now I need to travel asap. If I were to apply for a Schengen tourist visa, will I get a visa? I intend coming back to Thailand in time to hear the result of my visa. (I will get the balance 11 months then).

Also,

7> What documents are to be shown on visa application? Do I need to give a copy of my wife's ID, house registration, child's birth certificate? Do I have to give my company papers, tax papers?

Thx

Pete.

Hi Pete.

On the first point, the embassy will want to see proof that you have means of transportation (plane ticket) *and* title to return to the country on your ticket. If you are here on a one-month visa and plan to return to Thailand after the expiration of that visa, the embassy might object.

On #7, the documents are listed on the application form, just download it from the internet and have a look. You will need to show means of support. If you own a company in Thailand and that is what pays your salary, then you migth need to show supportign documentation.

Good luck!

[peterinbangkok]

Thx a lot

Any more oppinions or suggestions??

[connel707]

I would greatly appreciate any info on the following -

1> Can anyone (non-Thai on a Thai wife visa) apply for a Schengen tourist visa, if the visa to stay in Thailand is for a month? (Under consideration, will be granted 11 months visa next)?

2> If the Schengen tourist visa has been refused, for whatever reason, how long to wait for applying again?

3> After travelling to Schengen countries on a Schengen tourist visa once, is there a waiting period to apply for another Schengen tourist visa? Need to travel again after 1 or 2 months.

4> How much bank balance is required to show?

5> At which embassy is it easiest to get a visa, with the least waiting period?

6> Do all embassies take an interview?

Thanks in advance for all the answers.

Pete.

Hi Pete... contact me and I will explain all..

[sreiter]

Hi Pete

A Schengen visa will give you a certain number of days (90) to stay in a certain time frame (180?). Normally the visa is multiple entry, so you can come and go as you like until your 90 days in your 180 days are up. That at least was our experience. Lin for example had a Schengen and a UK visa. She accidentally on her way to the UK went through immigration at the Amsterdam airport. She got stamped into Schengen and 10 minutes later stamped out again. She had lost one of her 90 days for Schengen, but it was no problem to return to Schengen a few month later for the remaining 89 days.... Cheerio Stefan

[fred2007]

I don't won't to open a new topic so I follow this one, my wife is a Permanent Resident of Australia PR but she has not an Australian passport as yet, I know for Thai people it is not easy to obtain a Schengen visa

but being a PR of Australia would that change any thing? I am Australian citicen I have no problems but will she have?

[7by7]

There is no reason why a Thai sould have any more or fewer difficulties in obtaining a Schengen visa than any other nationality. Simply complete the application and show that she meets the criteria.

[Arkady]

Some points. Your itinerary should be very detailed and clearly typed out, so they can easily see the number of days in each place. They want to see your airline reserations and reservations for every night you will stay in Schengenland. If you are staying privately the invitation from your host needs needs to be notarized by a notary public in that country. (This causes a delay and European lawyers are very expensive too. Tip: if it is a short trip, save time and money by making a hotel reservation that can be cancelled free of charge instead of going to this trouble.) The embassies are very strict on making you apply to the embassy of the country where you will spend the most time according to your itinerary. If you are staying in another Schengen country one day longer than the country of the embassy you are applying at, you will be rejected and told to go to the other embassy and they don't care that that you have spend half a day queuing and already paid the fee. In figuring out which embassy to apply to, it makes no difference which country you enter first. Being able to show a secure job to come back to is more important than a large bank balance but B80k is probably a bare minimum to show in the bank. Some Schengen countries (northern ones) are very efficient and log details of your application and itinerary in their computer and their immigration will quiz about this when you arrive. Others (southern ones) couldn't care less and just mechanically stamp the passport without asking any questions.

The good news is that once you're in Schengenland there are no longer any immigration checks when you move from country to country within Schengenland. So all the checking of itineraries is actually rather pointless, since they have no idea where you went after you arrived. Once you are in you can change the itinerary completely but you absolutely must leave before the visa expires.