If your Thai girlfriend is planning to visit the UK on a UK Tourist Visa for any length of time there is every chance that you may wish to go on holiday together. The most popular destinations are elsewhere in Europe but sadly the UK Tourist Visa does not permit this type of travel. In this scenario, your Thai girlfriend would need to apply for two visas. The first would obviously be the UK Tourist Visa and the second would be a visa to travel within Europe – most commonly this would be a Schengen Visa.
It is always wise to put plenty of planning into your trip to Europe and you should not decide to take your Thai girlfriend to Europe on a whim. To reiterate, your Thai girlfriend can NOT travel to Europe on a UK Tourist Visa or a UK Settlement Visa. The visa for Europe will need to be arranged in Bangkok prior to her travel to the UK. Failure to comply with this will normally mean that she isn’t granted the visa for Europe whilst in the UK.
Travel to almost every country in Europe requires a Schengen Visa. A Thai national will need one for travel to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. The Schengen Visa allows your Thai girlfriend to travel to any of the 26 countries that the visa applies. This type of visa is only valid for 3 months so is noticeably different from the UK Tourist Visa.
Like with the UK Tourist Visa, there are quite strict criteria in place regarding the application. Obviously, your Thai girlfriend will need to have a valid passport and to be able to provide supporting documentation regarding the purpose of the trip. An example of this would be flight tickets and hotel reservations. Of course, proof that she has the financial means to support herself, even if this is via a sponsor, will also be required. What is different to the UK is that European Schengen travel insurance is compulsory.
We would highly recommend that you take your Thai girlfriend to Europe on one of her visits to the UK. This will give her the opportunity to embrace new cultures and challenges and will be a memory that will stay with her for the rest of her life. Travel between countries is straightforward especially if you have a European railcard. If you prefer to drive, most cities are within a few hours drive of each other so you can get to see a lot of the continent in a relatively short space of time.
It is always advisable to seek the assistance of experts when applying for any visa. Here at Thai Visa Express, we can have several years’ experience in dealing with such applications. You can call us on: +66 (0)80 102 2328, +66 (0) 38 420 313 or +44 (0) 20 8133 8059, email us on: info@thaivisaexpress.com or alternatively contact us via our website.