If you’re going to apply for a visa, or in my case a residence permit for a cohabitant, to a schengen country from Thailand then for your own good PLEASE USE A PROPER TRANSLATION SERVICE.
Me and my cohabitant have been travelling between Hua-Hin and Bangkok over 3 times and we still haven’t got the papers ready to apply.
Our problems can be traced to a translation service of which I don’t know the identity (it was used by my Thai cohabitant and introduced by one of her friends), which made unqualified translations of her documents (birth certificate, household documentations and “not married” certificate) as well a missing copy.
I also discovered a Norwegian certified stamp for the copy of her ID card IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, you MUST get the paper stamped, as well as the other translated documents, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok.
I recommend to follow these tips:
- Follow the checklist THOROUGHLY, this way maybe you could avoid simple errors like not getting the ID card copy certified (ref the line: ALL THAI DOCUMENTS MUST BE TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH AND CERTIFIED BY THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS). Appearently you’re not required to translate the ID card copy but you have to certify it; this is confusing and frustrating but yeah that’s how they roll.
- Translate all of the Thai documents at a TRUSTED and quality assured company, preferably (if I could’ve done it over again) at the ministry of foreign affairs all though they have silly prices at 200 baht per 100 words. I’ve heard the translation service on the 1st floor to the right of the entrance is supposed to make proper translations.
- Make sure all of your documents are COMPLETE (no missing pages), including all copies as well as all translated documents
- Get all of the translated documents AND the copy of her/his Thai ID card certified at the ministry of foreign affairs
- Always bring the passports of both the reference (if applicable) and applicant whenever travelling to these institutes
- Also bring money as you might find yourself having to pay for legalisation services etc
- Plan the trip(s). The Visa Application Centre at Amarin Tower (for schengen countries) is only open between 08:00-12:00 and 13:00-15:00 and note only between MONDAY and FRIDAY. You can also deliver the application at the country specific Embassy, Norway’s is open until 16:00 but I’m not sure they accept applications at that time. Please check the opening/closing times at the respective Embassy pages online.- Norwegian Visa Application Center Info
- Book appointments at the Application centre if you’ve registered online. The queue can be quite significant sometimes, I think it’s mostly busy on Fridays but it’s safer to book an appointment anyway
- Note that travelling between the Application centre and Ministry of foreign affairs takes around 45 minutes so if you’re missing some documents you probably won’t have time to make the trip back and forth before the embassies stop accepting applications unless you travel early
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