Spanish Schengen visa BLS

[MaprangHolmes]

Does anyone know the current length of time which the Spanish embassy in Bangkok are taking to process visa applications? 

 

Thank you

Edited March 14, 2017 by MaprangHolmes

[Betty Buck]

We have just applied for my husband and they said it can be anywhere from 5-10 working days. It can be up to 15 days if they need extra documents. My husband applied 5 working days ago and not heard anything back yet.

[Donutz]

Officially it should take a maximum of 15 calendar by default for all applicants. For generic applicants this can be raised to 30 or 60 days (see sticky topic) but that can legally only happen if there an issue. For spouses of EU/EEA nationals the processing time should be ASAP and going over the 15 calender days should be extremely rare and only in justified cases.

 

If embassy staff that its 15 working days they are incorrect. Though it might have been staff from the entirely optional service provider (BLS for Spain, VFS for most others), they may have received less training and know even less about the rules. One reaon why I would skip them and only deal with the embassy, an other would be to save myself their servive fee. 

 

In practice... who knows..Time depends on how busy and how well staffed the embassy is and if they do care about abiding the law or don't mind being flexible about it in their favour... so actual experiences may differ.

[MaprangHolmes]

On 3/17/2017 at 9:55 AM, Betty Buck said:

We have just applied for my husband and they said it can be anywhere from 5-10 working days. It can be up to 15 days if they need extra documents. My husband applied 5 working days ago and not heard anything back yet.

if you would be so kind and let me know when you get a reply I would be very grateful,  My mother in law is putting her application in on the 31st/03 so hoping it will be returned before the 21st/04 given that you have songkran. 

[naruk86]

My wife submitted with BLS on 10/03/2017 in Edinburgh, nothing as of yet

[Betty Buck]

Still no news yet but i will be sure to let you know.

[naruk86]

Same here Betty Buck, what date did you submit? plus what location? Thanks

[Donutz]

Naruk, as the official processing date for a visa is by default 15 calendar days (especially for visas issued to a spouse of an EU/EEA citizen, those need to be handled ASAP) you may wish to contact the embassy to ask what's up. Now the process could be delayed if items were missing or in rare cases it could be extended further if the embassy needs to contact Madrid for further review but that should be extremely rare.  Especially for EU/EEA family member applications as those cannot be denied unless the alien (Thai) is a risk to the general public or if the documents you submitted (proving family relation and ID, more should not have been needed)... 

 

So either something went wrong or they are slacking (march, april sees an increase in applications but that's no excuse to delay processing beyond the legal limits!). Or perhaps they can tell you the passport is already on your way back (are you receiving it back via the mail?), then you may wish to visit your post office..

Edited March 27, 2017 by Donutz

[MaprangHolmes]

getting a bit worried now mother in law is applying the 30th march and needs her passport back before the 29th April

[naruk86]

thanks Donutz

we did submit a photocopied translation of our marriage certificate which is in thai. i thought it was ok but the woman at the application centre kicked up a fuss about it.

but as you say it should be issued quickly and hassle free. even with a photocopied translation. we have the same surnames which is in her passport and on her uk biometric residence permit. issued by the ukba who already have recognised that she is my spouse.

 

 

[Betty Buck]

We applied for my husbands visa on 10th March. We have had a message to say his passport has been dispatched from the office on 24th so hopefully we should hear back very soon. I will let you all know when it arrives. 

[Betty Buck]

We applied for the visa in Bangkok.

[naruk86]

just got home to a card from the royal mail to collect something from the sorting office. Could not deliver due to signature being required. My wife hasn't ordered anything so only possibility should be her passport. So in Donutz timescale of 15 calendar day plus 1-2 for delivery

[MaprangHolmes]

1 hour ago, naruk86 said:

just got home to a card from the royal mail to collect something from the sorting office. Could not deliver due to signature being required. My wife hasn't ordered anything so only possibility should be her passport. So in Donutz timescale of 15 calendar day plus 1-2 for delivery

that is still very slow, when I last applied for my wife's Spanish visa in London that was of course free but we had her passport back 4 days after application  

[Betty Buck]

Finally we have got the passport back and my husband has got a 10 day tourist visa. Luckily that is all we needed, so we are all set for our holiday!

[rasg]

That's good to hear. We have recently returned from Iceland and as a first Schengen visa we only received the eight days that we needed. The Danish Embassy told me that it was quite normal for a first visa. Subsequent visas can be a little more flexible. Whether that applies to visas other than Denmark and Iceland, I have no idea. I hope that is the case.

[Donutz]

That is indeed normal though such a tight/inflexibale approach for the free visas issued ASAP with minimum hassle and paperwork to spouses or other eligable family of EU/EEA citizens it's a bit of waste of time and money for both the embassy and the applicant.

 

They can afterall apply again and again and again for free and the visa cannot be denied if eligable family relation is proven and the applicant is not a national security risk.

Edited March 29, 2017 by Donutz