Visa To Schengen Countries

[laurijh]

Embassy of Finland gives nowadays 14 day visa to female thais . This is not depending whether they have been in Finland before or not. It seems to be impossible to get longer visa like before. How about other Schengen countries. Have they changed rules . Can a girl get 2-3 months visa to German,Sweden etc like before ?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Embassy of Finland gives nowadays 14 day visa to female thais . This is not depending whether they have been in Finland before or not. It seems to be impossible to get longer visa like before. How about other Schengen countries. Have they changed rules . Can a girl get 2-3 months visa to German,Sweden etc like before ?

Look at www.eurovisa.info

[laurijh]

Yes, I´m aware of that site and the Schengen regulations. What I am asking is, have other Schengen countries than Finland also changed their policies when granting tourist visas? At the Finnish embassy in BKK it is really hard to get a longer than a 14 day visa for a thai girlfriend at the moment.

So, anyone with recent experiences, please share!

[Mr_Pedantic]

Try another embassy Spain/France they might be a bit more generous.

As you are probably aware you can use the visa in any of the schengen states.

[ka1234]

Embassy of Finland gives nowadays 14 day visa to female thais . This is not depending whether they have been in Finland before or not. It seems to be impossible to get longer visa like before. How about other Schengen countries. Have they changed rules . Can a girl get 2-3 months visa to German,Sweden etc like before ?

My wife's cousin recently received a 6 month multi entry visa to Sweden. (First visit abroad). The Swedish embassy are usually good to deal with if all documents are in order and the applicant and sponsor have a decent appearance. I have no experience with the Finnish embassy. I have very negative experience from the ex-fishermen working at the Norwegian embassy. The UK embassy was also easy although they are not Schengen.

I have seen more than a few hungover farangs stumbling into embassies hand in hand with their new found friend 'Noi' on day three of their vacation. They may need to re-apply later.

I think it just depends on 1) the applicant, 2) the embassy and 3) the consular officer reviewing the application. If all documents are in order and the application ends up on the right desk there won't be a problem.

[anamore]

yes, you can try to get a visa for other eu country, but you can't use it as a way to get to finland or other eu country afterwards of during the duration of the visa. The visa for for instance france is no good to go to germany. If the politie gets in touch with you during control they just wil want to know how many days it takes before u'r off the country(you have 2 way ticket to show) of they wil bring you to the border.

[Mr_Pedantic]

My wife got a 6 month schengen visa in the Spanish Embassy she used it for a weekend in Paris before the Spanish holiday and used it again in Greece before it expired. I don't know about Finland's rules but shouldn't all the states be the same?

Perhaps the rules are different for single female Thais travelling alone.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

My wife got a 6 month schengen visa in the Spanish Embassy she used it for a weekend in Paris before the Spanish holiday and used it again in Greece before it expired. I don't know about Finland's rules but shouldn't all the states be the same?

Perhaps the rules are different for single female Thais travelling alone.

Exactly. Why else would anybody want a Schengen visa. Back to the drawing board Anamore

[Axel]

Well, the rules are clear, youy visit only one Schengen country, you must go there to get the visa. If you intend to visit several Schengen countries, you must apply for a visa at the Embassy or Consulate of the country which is your main destination.

If you do not have a main destination, you should apply for a visa at the Embassy or Consulate of the country which is your first point of entry.

So if the French or German embassy gave you a visa, for being first point of entry, that shoulds be ok, although it would be a bit stretching the rules to stay 1 day in France or Germany and than 1 month in Finland.

But than again, the Finish authorities might during a check just find out you got a valid visa.

[Richard Hall]

Yes, I´m aware of that site and the Schengen regulations. What I am asking is, have other Schengen countries than Finland also changed their policies when granting tourist visas? At the Finnish embassy in BKK it is really hard to get a longer than a 14 day visa for a thai girlfriend at the moment.

So, anyone with recent experiences, please share!

No, no change in Schengen regulations. It is still 90 days maximum within a time period of 180 days.

It has, however, become much tougher recently and in certain situations the embassies tend not to grant the full 90 days but rather a shorter time (e.g. 30 days).

Experiences of the most recent past:

- Germany: Visa clearly rejected (no explanations - only chance to fight for one by filing a (surely unsuccessful) court case) Reason: False documents and/or incorrect statement have been used by the applicant when filing the application. This person will never be able to obtain a Schengen visa. Only chance now is marriage and residence permit.

On this occasion the exact wording by a decision maker translated from German language: "Someone that works and/or runs a legitimate business just does not have the time to holiday for three months".

- Germany, another case: 90 days were rejected but after lots of arguments and talking for 20 minutes 30 days were granted with obligations: Visa could not be extended and traveller had to report in person within 5 days at the embassy upon return. Failing to do so wil result in blacklisting. The rules were followed to the point and reporting was duly done on March 15, 2004. At the beginning of April another application for a visit of the remaining possible 60 days was filed. Visa was granted immediately. No questions asked. Traveller has left yesterday for her 2nd trip to Germany.

- United Kingdom: Application for student visa. Enrolement into an appropriate language course (1 month) has been done and proper evidence could be provided. However, during the pre-interview it could not be provided evidence about a proper working relationship (applicant worked as a freelancer) here in Thailand.

Visa appliaction was NOT rejected but applicant was told (BEFORE collecting any fees) that the odds are bad when not providing additional documentation.

Most LEGITIMATE applications fail because of insufficent assurance that a return will actually occur. Re-application in this cases may succeed when evidence as follows is provided:

- Being in a working relationship for a long time already (working contract, salary receipts, insurance etc.)

- Own Children of minor age that the applicant takes care of and living in the same household remain in Thailand

- Unmovable property in the applicant's name

- A Thai spouse remaining in Thailand

Nevertheless it may be necessary to explain how someone can afford taking a 3 months break from work and/or family.

As indicated once in a previous post: NEVER EVER try to be smarter than the embassies. Once identified as a liar gets you blacklisted forever. Sometimes people tend to belief that it may be better not to reveil certain information and/or consider them to be of such minor importance that they can be neglected. The embassies think usually differently and want nothing but the full truth. A made-up story usually does not hold long and once identified as such makes is in most cases impossible to repair the damage. Have come across a case that a Thai lady has "forgotten" her legal marriage to her Thai husband (not living together anymore but there has never been a divorce). The irony was that this marriage could have actually assisted her to get a Schengen visa while she erroneously thought it could harm her application and hence made intentionally a wrong statement. No chance to repair the damage caused!

Summary: Think twice first and be WELL prepared BEFORE you knock on the door of any embassy. Only if your background is good, clear and well presented your chances are actually good to get your visa.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Well, the rules are clear, youy visit only one Schengen country, you must go there to get the visa. If you intend to visit several Schengen countries, you must apply for a visa at the Embassy or Consulate of the country which is your main destination.

If you do not have a main destination, you should apply for a visa at the Embassy or Consulate of the country which is your first point of entry.

So if the French or German embassy gave you a visa, for being first point of entry, that shoulds be ok, although it would be a bit stretching the rules to stay 1 day in France or Germany and than 1 month in Finland.

But than again, the Finish authorities might during a check just find out you got a valid visa.

Correct Axel. Do it properly and access to all countries, within the period of validity, is a breeze.

[thomasjojo]

UK is NOT a member of Schengen!

they can give a tourist visa for 6 months!

[hotshot]

My experience is that the Scandinavian countries are a bit tougher to deal with

All Shengen countries should actually follow the same rules, but that's not always the fact!

To apply for a Schengen visa as a Thai citizen you need an invatation from a Schengen citizen in the country you want to visit.

If you want to stay more than 90 days, you need to be married to a Schengen citizen and apply for a Residents Visa.

If you need any assistance you are welcome to PM me

[bkk_mike]

UK is NOT a member of Schengen!

they can give a tourist visa for 6 months!

Actually - they can give visas for longer than that...

Just got a two year multi-entry visa for my mother-in-law.

However, this summer will be her 3rd trip to the UK, and I did actually ask for a 10 year one on the application. (It's a lot of hassle for her coming from Amnat Charoen to go to the embassy - especially being forced to travel from our house in suburbia in the morning rush hour to get to the visa office before it closes at 9:30am)

US embassy was a similar amount of hassle regarding early morning closing time. (The family is going to Disneyworld - and she's coming with us). We didn't even ask for a multi-entry visa, and they gave her a 10 year multi-entry.

One question - Why do the visa offices close so early here? - Bangkok rush hour isn't really conducive to getting to the embassy in time, especially when you've got the school run to do as well. Yes, we could leave earlier - but I'm not really willing to drop off my 4-yr old daughter outside her school 2 hours before it opens.

The Thai embassy in London is open for visa applications until midday - why can't they do the same here? It's not as if being open later would change the number of visas being applied for? (or would it)

[PvtDick]

For all the griping about the US visa system, they still regularly give out visitor visas that are good for 3, 5, or even 10 years -- with stays of six months permitted each time. You can't beat that.

[MauKhang]

I don't know about Finland's rules but shouldn't all the states be the same?

Yes, they should but are not ! It is really very difficult to get longer than 14 days visa to Finland. Few letters are going to Foreign Ministry and newspapers.

Disacrimination is discrimination !