German Schengen for Thai girlfriend refused

[ratsut]

Hi,

I really need advice on this one! My girlfriend (have known for one year and spent grand total of 6 weeks in Thailand and India with) had applied for a schengen visa to come and spend time with me at my home in Germany.. with the main reason of wanting to get to know each other at home before taking the bigger step..

So we applied for the full 3 month visa. She was refused on the grounds of being unable to prove she will return to Thailand (no husband/children/property - and insufficient work documentation on account of her handing her notice in to come to Germany! - we didnt know it would be so difficult for her to come here!!!!!).

Now two things, I find that granting the full 3 months for a first time applicant is a no no... maybe that was also why she was rejected despite my wonderful covering letter and good status in Germany. She has since obtained slightly better documentation from her work.

The other thing is that she has had a name change some time ago in Thailand but never had her passport updated.. so she has now been and had her new passport issued.. so my worry is that we will apply again in the imminent future and I dont know whether to submit all the documents and not mention the first attempt.. and this time we will have a fresh start for a smaller more acceptable duration or whether we must declare her first refusal? Or maybe try with the French embassy?

Also her father has had German visa's in the past so we were also trying to think if it was worthwhile them coming together to add legitimacy as a "family trip" (costing me a small -but worthwhile - fortune too!)..

I am just worried that she will be refused again.. leaving my options down to leaving Europe myself.. a rather large jump if I may say so.. or marriage, ironically the thing I am trying to avoid by bringing her here to get to know her much better!..

Somebody please please help!... What can I do to be able to bring my girl home?!

[sakura]

Firstly, resigning her job was the worst thing to do - how does that prove that she has reason to return? "I have to job, no income, no family of my own"....does that sound like a good thing to show visa officials?

Secondly, you are in the picture - do they know that you are together? If she is coming to see you, her boyfriend, how does that prove that she will return?

Thirdly, I am assuming she has never had a Schengen or other European visa before, but she wants to spend three months in Germany?

Naturally, you must know how hard it is for developing country/third-country nationals (who don't participate on visa waiver programmes, like the EU/EEA have with countries like Japan or the USA) to get a visa to enter the EU zone. It is doubly difficult for a single woman from these countries to get a visa.

Her father doesn't really come into this, unless he has proof that he can support her (through his finances), but this is difficult.

Your best bet is to wait a few months - she should get a job, try to save up money and apply again for a shorter time-frame, showing proof of return. Applying through another country's embassy might be worthwhile, but the same points remain, and they might be just as tough on her.

[ratsut]

Yes, I realise that giving up her job was a bad move now. To be honest there are that many Thai people living in Germany that I just did not consider it was going to be so tricky. I naively presumed that fulfilling their requirements on their website (proof of my status and ability to cover her expenses, insurance and return flight bokoings etc etc) would be sufficient.

Now I am not so sure whether she was refused on the basis of a first time 3 month application or insufficient work proof. So I am worried about a second attempt failing now...

Now, if she applies through a different embassy with 'better' work documentation and we cut the romance story down to a vacation.. would she have a better chance.. I hear rumours also that the French seem a little more.. lenient.. with applicants.

And the last thing I want is for an embassy to get 'angry' at the amount of visa attempts I will be willing to continually apply for and effectively then 'ban' her from re-applying.

And I thought the 'family trip' with her father (as he lived and worked here for many years).. would provide more 'legitimacy'?

[sakura]

She can apply as many times as she likes. They can only refuse her, not ban her.

If you apply at another Schengen country's embassy, she will need to enter that country first. E.g. travel to France and then on to Germany. It might be a bit convoluted applying this way, as her travel plans will need to change.

Other embassies might well ask for proof of accommodation (as well as, possibly, why she is applying through them and not the German embassy). If she is staying with you at your place, they might want to know who you are, in relation to her (if they interview her).

If she does a trip with her father, it would appear to be a family vacation, but that's such a lot of money. And there's still no guarantee that she can spend 90 whole days here.

[johnsienk]

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[ratsut]

And what about representation? Does anyone have experience with using a solicitor or an advocate (preferably in Bangkok but also for applications in general).. has anyone found that this worked better?

I thought that the SIS DB is only used for police enquiries.. and that each embassys' rejected applications should bnot be visible?..

[gnajaf1]

HI . I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GET A VISIT VISA FOR YOUR GIRLFRIEND TO VISIT YOU. IM A UK CITIZEN AND HAD AN AFRICAN GIRLFRIEND, SHE WAS REFUSED A VISIT VISA FOR THE SAME REASON YOU MENTIONED, I SENT HER BACK TO THE SAME EMBASSY TO APPLY FOR A FIANCE VISA WITH THE SAME PAPERWORK FROM ME BUT DIFFERENT INVITATION LETTER AND SHE WAS GIVEN A 6 MONTH FIANCE VISA THE SAME WEEK