Short holiday visa to the Netherlands

[robblok]

I live here as an expat, my wife does too. We want to visit my brother when he marries. Last time we went to the Netherlands we had my father guarantee her and invite her. This was for 2 weeks. Years before that she was in the Netherlands for 3 months. She never ever overstayed.

Is there an easier way, it will probably be for 3 weeks no more.

She is a tour-guide so no real job contract but there is a house on her name. Plus the fact that she has been in the Netherlands already and of course Singapore / Malaysia / Vietnam / Laos and Cambodia for work (guiding tourists there)

I heard something that as a wife of an EU citizen its easy to get a holiday visa is that correct ?

We can still get my dad to go for the guarantee thing but i want the least amount of hassle

[Donutz]

If you are Dutch (and judging from your name you are a "echte Nederlandse kaaskop") then you can only obtain the free, fast and with minimum hassle issued visa if you and your wife go to any other EU country then the Netherlands. You could go for a holiday in the "Belgische Ardennen" (Belgium) for instance, in which case the Belgians would have to give your wife a visa at no cost and fast and swiftly. All she would need is her passport, a (copy of) yours, the maritial papers (legalized by the Thai authorities if it's a Thai marriage). She would have to convince that you two are family (marriage papers), her spouse being an EU national (your passport would show that) and that you will be joining or traveling to Belgium (a written statement and signed statement by you, optionally would be airplane tickets etc. ). This fals under the EU/EEA spouse visa "non EU family member of an EU national traveling to an other country then their own").

If you only wish to stay in NL, or spent the majority of your time in NL, then she'd need to apply for a visa with the Dutch embassy. Depending on were you would stay (a hotel, friend, family) she's need to aply for the purpose of tourisme, visiting friends, visiting family respectively. For financial funds she could finance her own trip with 34 euro's a day or somebody else could guarantee her (you, your parents, your best friend, anyone who is willing to do so). For this you would need the form "garant en/of logies verstrekking" available from the IND website or your local Dutch municipality (gemeente). It's an "and/or" form, person A can provide accomodation, person B can provide financial guarantee or person A or B could do both.

The form aswell as a useful brochure are available here (an English version is also available elsewhere on IND.nl):

https://ind.nl/particulier/kort-verblijf/formulieren-brochures/Paginas/default.aspx

I'd suggest you read the brochure, the Dutch embassy website and the stickied thread near the top of this forum regarding Schengen visa. I wouldn't expect any problems, the Dutch decline roughly 2% of applications (and most of those due to being incomplete or ill prepared) so with a well prepared application the chanches of a refusal are very slim. If you include copies of her previous visas around the globe plus a written letter stating your intentions and reasons to return, a denial on basis of overstaying/illegal settlement would be extremely unlikely and easiliy appealed juding from what you have written here. So I wouldn't expect much hassle at all. Succes!

Edit: In the past (untill 31-12-13)you had to report to the Aliens Police (Vreemdelingen Politie) if you stayed in a private accomodation, this is no longer required.

Edited June 3, 2014 by Donutz

[robblok]

Thanks for the advice, I did not know I could guarantee her myself. I thought it had to be someone living in the Netherlands already. I got my dad here currently he is on a holiday here in Bangkok with me. I will download the form and let him sign for guarantee everything. He did it the last time too.

I will read it all and make sure i got all the proof we need. This is a genuine trip really no interest in staying in the Netherlands this is where our house is my business is and her work is.

You are right I am a "echte Nederlandse kaaskop" and we could have gone to Belgium, we might do that later on (got family there too and they want us to visit) But I don't like to fly on Belgium. Anyway I will read up on everything and make sure i do it right.

[Donutz]

You aren't obligated to land in the country were you will be staying. You could apply for a visa via the Dutch and buy a cheap ticket to Germany or Belgium. Same applies the other way around ofcourse, you could get a visa via the Belgians and touch down in the Netherlands, aslong as it's plausible that your main destination is indeed the country of which you applied for with the visa. Now landing on say Aachen airport and traveling to Noord Brabant (Dutch province in the south of the country), would be very much plausible. Even more so if you have a copy of the documentation which you used during the application at the embassy (a visa doesn't give right of entry at the border, they can refuse you or make things complicated if they think the intentions of the visa holder are not genuine or outright in violation of the rules).

Remember the payement slips if a person guarentees her (they have to see it 's a durable and sufficient income). I don't have hand on experience, when I invited my girlfriend over to NL I had her guarantee herself with 34 euro's a day (in other countries other amounts apply, I think the Belgians require 38 euro's and the Germans around 50 or so per day).

[hansnl]

Thanks for the advice, I did not know I could guarantee her myself. I thought it had to be someone living in the Netherlands already. I got my dad here currently he is on a holiday here in Bangkok with me. I will download the form and let him sign for guarantee everything. He did it the last time too.

I will read it all and make sure i got all the proof we need. This is a genuine trip really no interest in staying in the Netherlands this is where our house is my business is and her work is.

You are right I am a "echte Nederlandse kaaskop" and we could have gone to Belgium, we might do that later on (got family there too and they want us to visit) But I don't like to fly on Belgium. Anyway I will read up on everything and make sure i do it right.

If you are married, you can guarantee, in fact, her yourself.

In the Embassy your wife has to sign a paper in which she agrees you guaranteeing her. (YES, quite stupid isn't it?).

I asked the foreign commission of the parliament (commissie buitenland van de Tweede Kamer) if the European Ruling that a married, non EU partner of a Dutchman, could qualify for a 90-day tourist visa on arrival.

After some time, having obtained legal advice by the foreign commission, the answer came back.

Indeed, the visa on arrival is an EU-ruling, the immigration authorities, in all Schengen countries, need to give a visa on arrival.

You need legalised proof that you are married.

You can apply for a visum at the embassy, and they will deny this ruling, but of course they can, for obvious reasons, not loose too much income, can they.

Also, if you apply for a visa for your wife you do not need the "services" of anyone else but yourself.

You can make the appointment yourself, NO VFS needed.

Same commission, same advice!

[robblok]

Thanks for the advice, I did not know I could guarantee her myself. I thought it had to be someone living in the Netherlands already. I got my dad here currently he is on a holiday here in Bangkok with me. I will download the form and let him sign for guarantee everything. He did it the last time too.

I will read it all and make sure i got all the proof we need. This is a genuine trip really no interest in staying in the Netherlands this is where our house is my business is and her work is.

You are right I am a "echte Nederlandse kaaskop" and we could have gone to Belgium, we might do that later on (got family there too and they want us to visit) But I don't like to fly on Belgium. Anyway I will read up on everything and make sure i do it right.

If you are married, you can guarantee, in fact, her yourself.

In the Embassy your wife has to sign a paper in which she agrees you guaranteeing her. (YES, quite stupid isn't it?).

I asked the foreign commission of the parliament (commissie buitenland van de Tweede Kamer) if the European Ruling that a married, non EU partner of a Dutchman, could qualify for a 90-day tourist visa on arrival.

After some time, having obtained legal advice by the foreign commission, the answer came back.

Indeed, the visa on arrival is an EU-ruling, the immigration authorities, in all Schengen countries, need to give a visa on arrival.

You need legalised proof that you are married.

You can apply for a visum at the embassy, and they will deny this ruling, but of course they can, for obvious reasons, not loose too much income, can they.

Also, if you apply for a visa for your wife you do not need the "services" of anyone else but yourself.

You can make the appointment yourself, NO VFS needed.

Same commission, same advice!

I was not planning to use a VFS, these things are in general quite easy to do. So i just started to acquire some information.

Legalized proof we are married, would that mean the "Thai" marriage certificate translated or something like that ?

I have no problem guaranteeing her I got quite a lot of money on a Dutch Rabobank, and some on a Thai bank. But I wonder what proof they want for that.

[theoldgit]

@ robblok, you seem to be aware that you don't need to use VFS to make an appointment to lodge the application at The Netherlands Embassy, and pay 480 Baht for the privilege of making the appointment, but for the interest of others this is what the Dutch Embassy has to say on the subject.

If you cannot or do not want to contact VFS Global for an appointment, you can submit your application in person at the Dutch embassy instead. You then need to make an appointment by sending an email to [email protected]. An appointment would be obtainable 14 days later from the point of sending the email, but might be longer in the period March until June.
A decision on the application will be available after about 14 days after submitting the application.

[robblok]

@ robblok, you seem to be aware that you don't need to use VFS to make an appointment to lodge the application at The Netherlands Embassy, and pay 480 Baht for the privilege of making the appointment, but for the interest of others this is what the Dutch Embassy has to say on the subject.

If you cannot or do not want to contact VFS Global for an appointment, you can submit your application in person at the Dutch embassy instead. You then need to make an appointment by sending an email to [email protected]. An appointment would be obtainable 14 days later from the point of sending the email, but might be longer in the period March until June.

A decision on the application will be available after about 14 days after submitting the application.

Actually I did not know that the Dutch government has outsourced it as last time we did this we contacted the Dutch embassy straight. It seems things have changed but you can still do it yourself. Its a bit crazy that they outsource it and then let the customer foot the bill.

But the price does not seem excessive, so I will see what I will do. It depends a bit. But I will read up a bit more 480bt is not that much.

The information you gave is also on the site of VFS Global. I would never have known about the outsourcing if you had not mentioned it. I assumed things were as before. I was just looking into the data that I needed to have and thought as I use Thaivisa a lot Id ask here first. Seemed logical.

[Donutz]

I was not planning to use a VFS, these things are in general quite easy to do. So i just started to acquire some information.

Legalized proof we are married, would that mean the "Thai" marriage certificate translated or something like that ?

I have no problem guaranteeing her I got quite a lot of money on a Dutch Rabobank, and some on a Thai bank. But I wonder what proof they want for that.

AFAIK any official document should do, aslong as it proofs you are married. Preferably the original Thai/ Dutch/where-ever-you-got-married certificate, but if you only have for instance the official papers of registration of your marriage in the Netherlands, that might work too. The documents would have to be legalized by the national authorities (Thai foreign affairs incase of a Thai marriage ) and officially translated in a language that the embassy can read. Though the EU/EEA visa is covered by regulation 810/2009 (community code on visa), as a family you actually fall under the "freedom of movement" act, directive 2004/38. Obviously the visa rules (810/2009) have to be in line with the freedom of movement rights for EU family member (family of an EU citizen).

If she was to guarantee herself with 34 euro's a day (proof of funds is not required for the EA/EEA family member visa), then a copy of any funds she has official access too should do. If her name is also on the Rabobank account it's okay. If it isn't they could throw a hassle since officially you she might not be able to access those funds, for all the embassy knows it would be your private account and you might never give her a single cent, how unlikely that might be. In practice the embassy may very well accept the bank account even if it would be on your name (as a husband) only. If you want to make sure, ask the embassy. I'd do so in Dutch and per email so that a Dutch official answers the question.

[robblok]

I was not planning to use a VFS, these things are in general quite easy to do. So i just started to acquire some information.

Legalized proof we are married, would that mean the "Thai" marriage certificate translated or something like that ?

I have no problem guaranteeing her I got quite a lot of money on a Dutch Rabobank, and some on a Thai bank. But I wonder what proof they want for that.

AFAIK any official document should do, aslong as it proofs you are married. Preferably the original Thai/ Dutch/where-ever-you-got-married certificate, but if you only have for instance the official papers of registration of your marriage in the Netherlands, that might work too. The documents would have to be legalized by the national authorities (Thai foreign affairs incase of a Thai marriage ) and officially translated in a language that the embassy can read. Though the EU/EEA visa is covered by regulation 810/2009 (community code on visa), as a family you actually fall under the "freedom of movement" act, directive 2004/38. Obviously the visa rules (810/2009) have to be in line with the freedom of movement rights for EU family member (family of an EU citizen).

If she was to guarantee herself with 34 euro's a day (proof of funds is not required for the EA/EEA family member visa), then a copy of any funds she has official access too should do. If her name is also on the Rabobank account it's okay. If it isn't they could throw a hassle since officially you she might not be able to access those funds, for all the embassy knows it would be your private account and you might never give her a single cent, how unlikely that might be. In practice the embassy may very well accept the bank account even if it would be on your name (as a husband) only. If you want to make sure, ask the embassy. I'd do so in Dutch and per email so that a Dutch official answers the question.

I have no problem with putting 21 x 34 euros in Baht in her Thai account (if it does not already meet that amount). Sounds like the easiest way to go. I think we need to translate the Thai wedding certificate then. I wonder if it is beneficial to somehow use that later when in the Netherlands to get it linked in the database of the government.

[Donutz]

If you are going to use the marriage certificate as an additional document to show the link between you and her (though if both the financial and accommodation are covered you shouldn't really need it), remember that when registrating your marriage with Landelijke Taken in Den Haag, the documents legalization cannot be older then 6 months.

From my own experience: You'd need to translate the Thai document by an official translator (the Dutch accept Dutch, English, German and French text) , have the maritial act ánd translation legalized by the Thai ministry of Foreign affairs (located in BKK, about a km away from the Victory Monument) and the Dutch embassy. From what I remember when we went to legalize (birth and marital status) documents All could be done in a few hours depending on traffic. queues, etc. The Dutch should have the legalization ready the following day. Check with the embassy website for up to date info.

Once registrated in NL whenever the Dutch would need confirmation of your marital status you could use a print from the "Landelijke Taken". As I am not married yet I cannot give any first hand experience on the matter.

When applying it cannot do any harm to include a note explaining your intentions (begeleidende brief) aswell as a copy of your passport. Should be absolutely clear then that what your relation to her is and what your plans are (reasons for visit and return).

[robblok]

I was not planning to use a VFS, these things are in general quite easy to do. So i just started to acquire some information.

Legalized proof we are married, would that mean the "Thai" marriage certificate translated or something like that ?

I have no problem guaranteeing her I got quite a lot of money on a Dutch Rabobank, and some on a Thai bank. But I wonder what proof they want for that.

AFAIK any official document should do, aslong as it proofs you are married. Preferably the original Thai/ Dutch/where-ever-you-got-married certificate, but if you only have for instance the official papers of registration of your marriage in the Netherlands, that might work too. The documents would have to be legalized by the national authorities (Thai foreign affairs incase of a Thai marriage ) and officially translated in a language that the embassy can read. Though the EU/EEA visa is covered by regulation 810/2009 (community code on visa), as a family you actually fall under the "freedom of movement" act, directive 2004/38. Obviously the visa rules (810/2009) have to be in line with the freedom of movement rights for EU family member (family of an EU citizen).

If she was to guarantee herself with 34 euro's a day (proof of funds is not required for the EA/EEA family member visa), then a copy of any funds she has official access too should do. If her name is also on the Rabobank account it's okay. If it isn't they could throw a hassle since officially you she might not be able to access those funds, for all the embassy knows it would be your private account and you might never give her a single cent, how unlikely that might be. In practice the embassy may very well accept the bank account even if it would be on your name (as a husband) only. If you want to make sure, ask the embassy. I'd do so in Dutch and per email so that a Dutch official answers the question.

Sorry to bother you again, is the EA/EEa family member visa any different from the Shengen Visa Aplication ?

The 34 euros a day she needs to have include everything ? ( a Thai Bank account is enough ?)

Just want to make sure we are not filling in the wrong forms.

[Donutz]

Geen probleem.

- The EU/EEA family members use the same Schengen form for applying, they simply can leave any fields with a * empty (thus questions regarding financial means, accommodation etc.). For " travel purpose" they could check the " other" box and fill in " accompying EU/Dutch/German/... spouse to ..." . Note that ofcourse one cannot claim these rights if traveling to the own EU country (a Dutchy can't claim this if traveling to NL).

- For financial means if the applicant choses to support themselves then for the Netherlands this indeed requires 34 euro's per day. This money should be in an account the applicant has official access to. Could be a Thai account but if she would have an EU (Dutch) bank account on her own name, even though the odds are small, then that should be fine too. All that matters is that the applicant can show that she will have official and actual access to sufficient money. So if she support herself, thw question regarding means of support (not sure which number, don't have the form infront of me right now) you can use the left column (the paper is split in some options on the left and some on the right) regarding financial means and check the relevant box. The host providing accomodation can check the relevant box on the right column.

[robblok]

Geen probleem.

- The EU/EEA family members use the same Schengen form for applying, they simply can leave any fields with a * empty (thus questions regarding financial means, accommodation etc.). For " travel purpose" they could check the " other" box and fill in " accompying EU/Dutch/German/... spouse to ..." . Note that ofcourse one cannot claim these rights if traveling to the own EU country (a Dutchy can't claim this if traveling to NL).

- For financial means if the applicant choses to support themselves then for the Netherlands this indeed requires 34 euro's per day. This money should be in an account the applicant has official access to. Could be a Thai account but if she would have an EU (Dutch) bank account on her own name, even though the odds are small, then that should be fine too. All that matters is that the applicant can show that she will have official and actual access to sufficient money. So if she support herself, thw question regarding means of support (not sure which number, don't have the form infront of me right now) you can use the left column (the paper is split in some options on the left and some on the right) regarding financial means and check the relevant box. The host providing accomodation can check the relevant box on the right column.

We are going straight to "Schiphol" so she can't claim those rights correct. I have put the money in her account and she is going to get some extra papers. I wanted my dad to invite her but as he is here at the moment he cant sign any papers at city hall.

Anyway thanks. Are you now in Thailand ?

[Donutz]

Correct, you cannot claim those EU/EEA rights. With sufficient money in her account it should be alright, if they would raise an eyebrown over you movnig money to her account (it wasn't a problem when I did so 2 years ago), they embassy might still be able to let your father also financially guarantee her by signing the form at the embassy instead. The Dutch embassy is pretty down to earth so if you have read the official information well (including the IND folder on Short Stay / Kort Verblijf) you should be alright.

No, I'm currently in NL.

[merijn]

I have some personal experience and a question. ( ben zelf een kaas kop )

My wife and I ( living for 24 years in Thailand and married for 12 years ) applied at the German consul for a Schengen visa (as we are travelling to Germany ) on grounds of the free movements of European citizen.

We had the marriage certificate translated and certified, Tickets etc but they refused to accept the application.

They insisted that she could not use the EU ruling and had to supply all the paperwork like every single girl.

When i persisted and showed them the ruling they admitted that i was entitled of using the EU ruling but she told us that if we insisted the application would be on the bottom of the pile and refused.

But if we supplied all the papers the visa would not be a issue.

The visa was for free but they charged a service fee at the same amount as the visa would cost.

When we will return from our holiday i will send a nice mail to the German embassy and the German government about this.

I have also a question about a visa at the Dutch Embassy.

My father is very sick and probable doesn't make it very long.

If my father dies is there a emergency visa which my wife can obtain from the Dutch embassy?

In this case we don't have the luxury to collect all the papers but have to leave within days off-course.

[Donutz]

Sorry to hear about your father, when he do comes to pass the Dutch should be able to give you priority. I thought there was something about that in the Visahandbook but am not sure. Best to inquire in advance with the embassy. When you do apply I would do so via the embassy itself and not VFS since it would mean further delay to you.

Regarding the Germans, you may wish to copy the relevant paragraphs from the EU websites and regulations. Most pages are in most of the EU's languages so you should be able to look the tekst up in Dutch or English and print a German version to show to them. If you haven't yet collected the visa you could show this to them at the counter. Be sure to sent a compaint to the embassy, German ministry and EU Home Affairs aswell as demanding your money back. Ofcourse you should try to obtain as much evidence as possible that you were eligable for the fast and free procedure (traveling together to Germany, married) but that you were forced to pay and they did not accept the documentation (marriage act, passports) you provided. Even better if you make them sign/write a note saying that you (Dutchy) and spouse (Thai) came to the embassy with documents X and Y so that the embassy cannot afterwards claim "we were not aware he was a Dutchy, they were married or traveling together" .

See for freedom of movements rights (free, minimal paperwork and priority granted visa for non EU family joining EU family to any EU country except their own):

- Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. Article 5 and article 6.

The 2004/38/ec directive should be available in German aswell, can't find it right now though.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:158:0077:0123:EN:PDF

- http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/non-eu-family/index_en.htm

- The Schengen application form itself: questions with an * need not be answered.

- This info should (must!!) be provided on the German embassy website too (applications for EU/EEA spouse etc.).

I may write a more extensive reply this evening, or consult the Schengen sticky and try to find the relevant articles in ENG/Ger yourself.

Edit: Woudl it be inapproperiate of me to make a"Wir haben es nicht gewusst" joke?

Edited June 13, 2014 by Donutz

[Donutz]

Found it:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32004L0038

Sadly not available as HTML, but available as PDF, in most languages. SImply click on one of de PDF symbols to download the document in the language indicated above it.

DIRECTIVE 2004/38/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 29 April 2004
on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members
to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States

CHAPTER I
General provisions

Article 1
Subject
This Directive lays down:
(a) the conditions governing the exercise of the right of free movement and residence within the
territory of the Member States by Union citizens and their family members;
( the right of permanent residence in the territory of the Member States for Union citizens and
their family members;
© the limits placed on the rights set out in (a) and ( on grounds of public policy, public
security or public health.

Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive:
1) "Union citizen" means any person having the nationality of a Member State;

2) "Family member" means:
(a) the spouse;
( the partner with whom the Union citizen has contracted a registered partnership, on the
basis of the legislation of a Member State, if the legislation of the host Member State
treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage and in accordance with the
conditions laid down in the relevant legislation of the host Member State;
© the direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependants and those of the
spouse or partner as defined in point (;
(d) the dependent direct relatives in the ascending line and those of the spouse or partner as
defined in point (;
3) "Host Member State" means the Member State to which a Union citizen moves in order to
exercise his/her right of free movement and residence.

Article 3
Beneficiaries
1. This Directive shall apply to all Union citizens who move to or reside in a Member State other
than that of which they are a national, and to their family members as defined in point 2 of Article 2
who accompany or join them.

2. Without prejudice to any right to free movement and residence the persons concerned may have
in their own right, the host Member State shall, in accordance with its national legislation, facilitate
entry and residence for the following persons:
(a) any other family members, irrespective of their nationality, not falling under the definition in
point 2 of Article 2 who, in the country from which they have come, are dependants or
members of the household of the Union citizen having the primary right of residence, or
where serious health grounds strictly require the personal care of the family member by the
Union citizen;
( the partner with whom the Union citizen has a durable relationship, duly attested.
The host Member State shall undertake an extensive examination of the personal circumstances and
shall justify any denial of entry or residence to these people.

(...)

Article 5
Right of entry
1. Without prejudice to the provisions on travel documents applicable to national border controls,
Member States shall grant Union citizens leave to enter their territory with a valid identity card or
passport and shall grant family members who are not nationals of a Member State leave to enter
their territory with a valid passport.
No entry visa or equivalent formality may be imposed on Union citizens.
2. Family members who are not nationals of a Member State shall only be required to have an
entry visa in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 or, where appropriate, with national
law. For the purposes of this Directive, possession of the valid residence card referred to in
Article 10 shall exempt such family members from the visa requirement.
Member States shall grant such persons every facility to obtain the necessary visas. Such visas
shall be issued free of charge as soon as possible and on the basis of an accelerated procedure.
3. The host Member State shall not place an entry or exit stamp in the passport of family members
who are not nationals of a Member State provided that they present the residence card provided for
in Article 10.

4. Where a Union citizen, or a family member who is not a national of a Member State, does not
have the necessary travel documents or, if required, the necessary visas, the Member State
concerned shall, before turning them back, give such persons every reasonable opportunity to obtain
the necessary documents or have them brought to them within a reasonable period of time or to
corroborate or prove by other means that they are covered by the right of free movement and
residence.
5. The Member State may require the person concerned to report his/her presence within its
territory within a reasonable and non-discriminatory period of time. Failure to comply with this
requirement may make the person concerned liable to proportionate and non-discriminatory
sanctions.

CHAPTER III
Right of residence

Article 6
Right of residence for up to three months
1. Union citizens shall have the right of residence on the territory of another Member State for a
period of up to three months without any conditions or any formalities other than the requirement to
hold a valid identity card or passport.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall also apply to family members in possession of a valid
passport who are not nationals of a Member State, accompanying or joining the Union citizen.

One could print the PDF and mark the bits that are written in bold there, printing it in the language of the embassy you are applying at should be easy enough. The only hassle could be the embassy either refusing to acknowledge familiy ties (not being able to read the mariage document, questioning it's genuinity, ...) , being in doubt if the passports are real (when showing a copy rather then an orginal) or if the couple is indeed going to travel together or join eachother (this should be easy: written and signed statement from the EU national, and if that would not be enough, a reservation for transport to the member state).

I have to admit though that I am not sure how far embassies can go in insisting they cannot establish if one falls under the directive because they claim that for instance doubt if the mariage certificate is genuine. Registation of the mariage act in the EU country, when it concerns a Thai marriage document, should not be required. I'll ask Git to update the sticky.

Edited June 13, 2014 by Donutz

[merijn]

Hi Donutz,

Thanks for your reply, I'm aware of the EU regulation for EU citizen free movement and printed out the appropriate regulations to show it to them.

Also all other required papers where in order so this was not a problem.

The consuls don't make any decisions but they just collect and check all the applications before they send it to the German embassy in Bangkok.

They also admitted that i was in my right but also said that the embassy (or the consul would give a negative advise) would refuse it.

I'm afraid that everything was done verbally in the consul office during the application process and i highly doubt it that they will sign a paper admitting what they did.

As i was warned about this i had also prepared all the normal required paperwork (for a normal visa).

As we had the tickets, had no choice to apply for the visa under their conditions as postponing was not a option.

She received the visa and we are going on holiday next week,

As soon we are back i will write a letter to all involved to complain but i'm afraid that they will deny everything as in Wir haben es nicht gewusst.

I will try to get more information from the Dutch embassy for a emergency about how this works or which papers they need.