Thai Citizen Visa To Europe

[arkom]

Hi,

I've been searching the web and here on Thai Visa about this and have found a couple different answers. I am Thai/US citizen with both a US and Thai passport, my girlfriend however only has a Thai passport. We are thinking about going to Europe on a tour of course thru a travel agency, which includes return tickets, tours, travel by bus/rail, hotels, and meals ect.

Now I've been told for my girlfriend a couple different things regarding the visa, first being that she needs at least 100,000 thb to pass. Another source (Swiss, German, Dutch Embassy websites) tells me that she needs a letter from her employer to verify she has a source of income at least 50 eur/per day to support herself for how many days we are there.

My question is which one is correct? If she has say about 50-60,000 thb, would she have any chance of getting a visa? Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[CharlieB]

Hi,

I've been searching the web and here on Thai Visa about this and have found a couple different answers. I am Thai/US citizen with both a US and Thai passport, my girlfriend however only has a Thai passport. We are thinking about going to Europe on a tour of course thru a travel agency, which includes return tickets, tours, travel by bus/rail, hotels, and meals ect.

Now I've been told for my girlfriend a couple different things regarding the visa, first being that she needs at least 100,000 thb to pass. Another source (Swiss, German, Dutch Embassy websites) tells me that she needs a letter from her employer to verify she has a source of income at least 50 eur/per day to support herself for how many days we are there.

My question is which one is correct? If she has say about 50-60,000 thb, would she have any chance of getting a visa? Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

It will probably vary depending on which embassy you decide to apply through and of course how long you are going to be on holiday in Europe. 1 month, then yes 50k to 60k THB would probably be acceptable if all your travel and hotel expenses were already paid, but 6 months, I doubt it.

[Thongkorn]

My lady only had only3000 bahtn the Bank when I applied for her a visa for the UK and it got granted , So i would say don't listen to Thai rumors.

[arkom]

Hi,

I've been searching the web and here on Thai Visa about this and have found a couple different answers. I am Thai/US citizen with both a US and Thai passport, my girlfriend however only has a Thai passport. We are thinking about going to Europe on a tour of course thru a travel agency, which includes return tickets, tours, travel by bus/rail, hotels, and meals ect.

Now I've been told for my girlfriend a couple different things regarding the visa, first being that she needs at least 100,000 thb to pass. Another source (Swiss, German, Dutch Embassy websites) tells me that she needs a letter from her employer to verify she has a source of income at least 50 eur/per day to support herself for how many days we are there.

My question is which one is correct? If she has say about 50-60,000 thb, would she have any chance of getting a visa? Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

It will probably vary depending on which embassy you decide to apply through and of course how long you are going to be on holiday in Europe. 1 month, then yes 50k to 60k THB would probably be acceptable if all your travel and hotel expenses were already paid, but 6 months, I doubt it.

The package we are looking at was for Austria, Germany and Czech Republic for 8 days, and the agency said that we need 100,000 thb I am assuming we have them do it. Do you if we can do it on our own? I heard the easiest embassy to get a Visa would be Netherlands, but actually arriving and departing from a different country, would this work? I myself have never been to Europe so I'm not too familiar with how it works.

Thanks again!

[arkom]

My lady only had only3000 bahtn the Bank when I applied for her a visa for the UK and it got granted , So i would say don't listen to Thai rumors.

Do you mind if I ask what type of documents you provided and how long she stayed?

[alyx]

Let the agent deal with it as they are used to it

regarding how much money you have in the bank, it is not that much relevant although the amount stated is usually the one shown

What is more important is the movements (and their regularity)

As I understand you are only going there for 8 days so even though you d have only 20,000 baht in the account (considering everything else has already been paid for) and you have a regular income the visa would not be denied on that ground

One note though: the worst you can do is present a bankbook with a small amount of money which grows overnight to 100,000 baht

Actually it would be helpful to provide them (if necessary) with credit cards as they are looking for means of living once in Europe (and above all how you can be repatriated without being a burden to the taxpayer of the visisted country)

[alyx]

Hi,

I've been searching the web and here on Thai Visa about this and have found a couple different answers. I am Thai/US citizen with both a US and Thai passport, my girlfriend however only has a Thai passport. We are thinking about going to Europe on a tour of course thru a travel agency, which includes return tickets, tours, travel by bus/rail, hotels, and meals ect.

Now I've been told for my girlfriend a couple different things regarding the visa, first being that she needs at least 100,000 thb to pass. Another source (Swiss, German, Dutch Embassy websites) tells me that she needs a letter from her employer to verify she has a source of income at least 50 eur/per day to support herself for how many days we are there.

My question is which one is correct? If she has say about 50-60,000 thb, would she have any chance of getting a visa? Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

It will probably vary depending on which embassy you decide to apply through and of course how long you are going to be on holiday in Europe. 1 month, then yes 50k to 60k THB would probably be acceptable if all your travel and hotel expenses were already paid, but 6 months, I doubt it.

The package we are looking at was for Austria, Germany and Czech Republic for 8 days, and the agency said that we need 100,000 thb I am assuming we have them do it. Do you if we can do it on our own? I heard the easiest embassy to get a Visa would be Netherlands, but actually arriving and departing from a different country, would this work? I myself have never been to Europe so I'm not too familiar with how it works.

Thanks again!

You may apply to any EU country (usually the one you arriving in or the one you spend the most of your time)

You may land anywhere and leav from any other country in the EU

Even if you hac=ve declared leaving from, let's say Prague, and you decide to leav from Rome you have the right to do so as long as you do not overstay

[arkom]

Let the agent deal with it as they are used to it

regarding how much money you have in the bank, it is not that much relevant although the amount stated is usually the one shown

What is more important is the movements (and their regularity)

As I understand you are only going there for 8 days so even though you d have only 20,000 baht in the account (considering everything else has already been paid for) and you have a regular income the visa would not be denied on that ground

One note though: the worst you can do is present a bankbook with a small amount of money which grows overnight to 100,000 baht

Actually it would be helpful to provide them (if necessary) with credit cards as they are looking for means of living once in Europe (and above all how you can be repatriated without being a burden to the taxpayer of the visisted country)

Thanks for the reply, I was thinking exactly the same thing. I myself have more than 100,000 baht which I can easily transfer to her for the time being so she can get the visa, but I'm not sure how strict they are. Like you say one day she has 10,000 the next she has 100,000 might set off a warning and they could deny her cause of it.

So from what I understand she doesn't necessarily need 100,000 baht like the travel agent say, but just enough to prove that she can support herself for 8 days correct?

[vera5212]

Your item is showing up twice - also under Schengen visa

I googled for you and gave you some info under the other topic - so do not forget to go and have a look there.

[7by7]

My lady only had only3000 bahtn the Bank when I applied for her a visa for the UK and it got granted , So i would say don't listen to Thai rumors.

Do you mind if I ask what type of documents you provided and how long she stayed?

The UK is not part of the Schengen area, so different rules and requirements apply. What is OK for a UK visa wont necessarily be OK for a Schengen visa and vice versa.

I would take the advice of the embassies.

[Arkady]

You may apply to any EU country (usually the one you arriving in or the one you spend the most of your time)

You may land anywhere and leav from any other country in the EU

Even if you hac=ve declared leaving from, let's say Prague, and you decide to leav from Rome you have the right to do so as long as you do not overstay

This is not correct advice for a Schengen visa. The rules about which embassy to apply to are very clear and are strictly enforced by the embassies. They need to see a detailed itinerary by day with flight and hotel reservations and you must apply to the embassy of the Schengen state where you will spend the most days on your trip. It doesn't matter whether this is the first country you visit or not.

My understanding was the same as yours and I misdirected Mrs Arkady to the embassy of the first country we were visiting and her application was initially rejected on the grounds that we were planning to spend a couple more days in the second country than in the first one. An appeal to the expat in charge was useless and just wasted our time waiting around for her pronouncement. In fact we decided to change our itinerary, so that we would spend more days in the first country than in the second one and her original application was approved without her having to go back in the queue or pay again at the bank but this wasted time and we only just got the visa in time for the trip. When we arrived in the first country the immigration officer had the details of Mrs Arkady's itinerary in the computer and quizzed her about it. I don't know if this could happen if she had not applied to the embassy of the first country visited. Once in the Schengen states there is no further passport control these days, even when travelling by air.

I think the B50-60k should be sufficient for a short trip that is mainly all paid in advance. They will be more interested in the applicant's reasons for returning home and this usually means being in a full time job or a full time course of study leading to a degree with appropriate documentation. People without this documenation can easily be rejected, even if they have fairly healthy bank balances.

I don't think any Schengen state embassies are particularly easier to apply to than others on the general criteria because they all agree to strictly abide by the same rules and would protest if any country was slacker than others in letting people in. However, there can be big differences in the number of people applying, the queueing system, how they interview applicants (if at all) and how long the whole process takes. Italy now makes applicants make an appointment by phone just to come in and lodge the application form and I think France may now be the same. My favourite was the Greek embassy a couple of years ago where there was no queue at all. I walked straight up to the counter and Mrs Arkady's application was reviewed immediately, although not without detailed scrutiny and some insightful questions from the local officer, and approved on the spot. When I picked up the visa three days later there was also no queue at all in the office. It seems that most Thais have yet to discover the delights of Greece, although Mrs Arkady enjoyed it tremendously. On arrival in Athens the only question from the immigration officer was, "Oh, so you are a Buddhist are you?".

Edited September 20, 2009 by Arkady

[7by7]

You may apply to any EU country (usually the one you arriving in or the one you spend the most of your time)

You may land anywhere and leav from any other country in the EU

Even if you hac=ve declared leaving from, let's say Prague, and you decide to leav from Rome you have the right to do so as long as you do not overstay

This is not correct advice for a Schengen visa. The rules about which embassy to apply to are very clear and are strictly enforced by the embassies. They need to see a detailed itinerary by day with flight and hotel reservations and you must apply to the embassy of the Schengen state where you will spend the most days on your trip. It doesn't matter whether this is the first country you visit or not.

If the applicant were a non EU national living with their EU national partner in one of the EU states which is not part of the Schengen area (the RoI and the UK) then Alyx would be correct. The rules and requirements in such cases are a lot easier than for those applying from outside the EU, for example there is no need for any itinerary or hotel reservations. Once the non EU national has permament residence (e.g. ILR in the UK) then they don't need a visa to visit other EU states, Schengen or not, anyway.

[Bukseeda]

When I took my ex to Europe there were specific amounts (expenses) reqd for schengen visas per day. I don't recall what they were and it was 2001 so would be more now. In our case, she had enough cash in the bank but i'm pretty sure that an accompanying sponsor's money would be counted.

50-60k seems enough to me for an 8 day trip (although I don't know that for a fact). My feeling is that the agency says 100k because it's a nice round figure and well above what's needed.

[Bukseeda]

just found this. it seems it does vary country to country. 100k is probably to be on the safe side. There is also mention there of sponsors etc.

http://www.immihelp.com/visas/schengenvisa...ubstinence.html

[Sturbuc]

Hi. Did you ask at the Czech embassy? And what about the travel-office you've been booking your round trip?

For Sure, countris like Germany do fear about the cost caused by tourists with a lack of funds.

Does the trip include all expenses (accomodation, full board)? What about insurances?

Might help to apply for a visa showing all documents of the trip.

Edited September 21, 2009 by Sturbuc

[Thongkorn]

My lady only had only3000 bahtn the Bank when I applied for her a visa for the UK and it got granted , So i would say don't listen to Thai rumors.

Do you mind if I ask what type of documents you provided and how long she stayed?

All I provided was her Bank book, She worked in A factory making computers. She got paid monthly into the bank , She got 6300 baht every month, (For 70 hours a week thats another story) She did not have a great amount of money in because she needed the money to live, But the biggest thing is she had was a record of a bank account. I told her the same thing don't listen to Rumors , I applied for a 6 months Visa and it was granted first time, If you mean what docs she provided , it was the Blue book, Bank book, Birth certificate proof of a job , Also if your lady has any children then there birth certificates and school recites , Basically anything you can put in , the more the better, I did not even get any translated from Thai to English,You can get all relevant information off this site for all your docs you will need, also you can get your in information off the British Embassy site ,