Bar-Girls Working In Belgian Embassy?

[johnlk]

I recently e-mailled the Belgian embassy in Bangkok to ask for the documents required for my (soon-to-be) wife's application for a tourist visa.

They replied:

- Application form.

- 2 passport photographs.

- Passport

- Proof of your travel to Belgium.

- Marriage license.

As I was unsure exactly of the proof of travel criteria needed, I replied asking if a confirmed reservation or a print-out of an

itinerary would be enough, to which they have just replied:

"Dear Sir,

This is entirely up to you.

Best regards,"

Apart from still being unsure, their reply has made me wonder who exactly is employed there.

If needed, I can get an invitation letter from my brother who is resident in Belgium (hence the application at the Belgium embassy), but should I make an airline reservation in advance too?

I am from the UK, and I will be travelling with her at all times.

[VisasPlus]

The Embassy of Belgium certainly doesn't make it easy to find out what you need in order to apply for a visa. This ( below) is the full information they provide on a page from their Bangkok website entitled " ALL ABOUT VISAS " ! As you can see, they do point you in the direction of "general information " which is available in French and Dutch only ! Do you get the feeling they don't want Thai nationals to apply ?? :

HOME > ALL ABOUT VISAS > SHORT STAY VISA

SHORT STAY VISA

If you wish to visit Belgium for a short period of time, you must obtain a visa prior to entry if you come from a country with a visa requirement for entering the Belgium.

A visa normally grants you the right to stay in the entire Schengen region. The Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

A visa grants you the right to spend a maximum of 90 days per 6 months in the Schengen region.

All visa applications should be signed by the applicant personally. All fields in the application form must be filled in correctly, incomplete forms may cause delay in processing or even rejection. The Embassy reserves the right to request additional documents and/or information when processing the application. Non-Thai nationals must stay legally in Thailand, either on the basis of a visa for Thailand or on a valid work/residence permit in Thailand.

For general information about a visa of short stay, you can go on the Web site of The Foreigners Department of the FPS Home Affairs (Information available in French and Dutch Only)

For short stay, you must always submit valid travel insurance on the day you apply for your visa.

To answer your question, you need to have a confirmed booking for a Schengen visa ( unless the Belgian government has different requirements to the other Schengen states). You wife will also need Insurance ( they do mention this in their webpage above ). If you apply without the confirmed booking or the insurance, I think the application will be automatically refused. I can't imagine why they say it is up to you.

I suggest you have a look at one of the other Schengen country's websites, and take your information from there.

[SantiSuk]

Depends how soon this soon to be a wife is and whether you are an EU citizen or Swiss or from the EEA (whatever that is)!

The wife or family of an EU citizen (which includes EU states outside the Schengen area like the UK) does not need to have medical insurance nor confirmed hotel reservations. Can't remember whether you need an itinerary in these circumstances but there are also some other bits of disclosure you are exempted from if you fall in this category. Whether you give this information notwithstanding there being no need is ... up to you.

I think Visas Plus missed an important footnote in your posting (I am from the UK) and gave bad advice in this instance.

Web page guidance for Schengen visas on many countries' site is not comprehensive - you have to read the schengen visa application itself, including some important footnotes, to get the full picture.

Edited March 21, 2012 by SantiSuk

[Maestro]

Depends how soon this soon to be a wife is and whether you are an EU citizen or Swiss or from the EEA (whatever that is)!

The wife or family of an EU citizen (which includes EU states outside the Schengen area like the UK) does not need to have medical insurance nor confirmed hotel reservations. ...

I think Visas Plus missed an important footnote in your posting (I am from the UK) and gave bad advice in this instance...

The way I read johnlk's post, on the day of the trip to Belgium he will not yet be married to the woman who will accompany him on the trip. Under these circumstance, it makes no difference for the Schengen visa application that he plans to marry this woman soon.

[VisasPlus]

Depends how soon this soon to be a wife is and whether you are an EU citizen or Swiss or from the EEA (whatever that is)!

The wife or family of an EU citizen (which includes EU states outside the Schengen area like the UK) does not need to have medical insurance nor confirmed hotel reservations. Can't remember whether you need an itinerary in these circumstances but there are also some other bits of disclosure you are exempted from if you fall in this category. Whether you give this information notwithstanding there being no need is ... up to you.

I think Visas Plus missed an important footnote in your posting (I am from the UK) and gave bad advice in this instance.

Web page guidance for Schengen visas on many countries' site is not comprehensive - you have to read the schengen visa application itself, including some important footnotes, to get the full picture.

The requirement is for travel insurance, not medical insurance, as you can see from the Embassy website. Plus, the applicant is not the OP's wife ( yet ). I agree that, if the applicant and OP were married, then the situation would be different, but they aren't. I guess it depends on how the enquiry to the Embassy of Belgium was worded ?

I am always happy to be corrected, though, but I'm not sure this was "bad" advice. That could be a little harsh.

Edited March 22, 2012 by VisasPlus