Hey guys,

I have a very good friend who is a Thai national. She has been living in Holland for the past three years. She is married to a Dutch national. She has a Dutch residence permit (Verblijfsdocument) which is valid for the next five years. she currently holds a Thai passport.

She would like to visit me in Ireland but I'm not sure if she requires a visa or not. I assumed that it wouldn't be a problem for her to visit me because she has already traveled to Spain and France from Holland without any problems.

It turns out that Ireland is not a member of the Schengen program (Spain & France are) which might be a problem but I'm not sure.

I tried to call my local immigration office today but couldn't get an answer.

I also came across this today (taken from an official government website)

" It is hereby declared that the following classes of non-nationals are specified as classes the members of which are not required to be in possession of a valid Irish visa when landing in the Irish State:

(a) nationals of a state or territorial entity specified in Schedule 1;

(b) non-nationals who are holders of:

(i) a valid Convention travel document issued by Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, or Switzerland and where the intended purpose of the travel to the State by the holder of such a travel document is solely for a visit of up to a maximum period of 3 months,

(ii) a valid permanent residence card, or

iii) a valid residence card;

(c) non-nationals who are family members of a Union citizen and holders of a document called “Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen”, as referred to in Article 10 of the Directive of 2004" (would the Thai girls Dutch husband count as a family member?)

Do you think the Thai girl can come to Ireland without a Visa based on the facts that I have outlined above?

Would really appreciate any comments/opinions

Thanks

Makky

Link below is Thai Foreign Affairs ------ Ireland is not included as visa exempt

http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2482.php?id=2495

So, it looks like she will need a visa, which should not be a major problem, as she is already in Europe.

Your friend should go to the Irish embassy in Holland, they will be able to check her documents and tell her if she needs a visa or not. They will also be able to help her apply for it if she does need one.

Edited June 22, 201115 yr by bifftastic