Danish Embassy in Bangkok hopes visa rush will be over by September

The landslide of Thai people applying for visa to Denmark and Iceland is causing severe distress among the applicants. Most complaints are about being left in the dark with no means to find out, if their application will be approved – or rejected – before their planned departure date.

According to the Danish Embassy in Bangkok, there is, however, light at the end of the tunnel.

“The Danish embassy hopes to have increased capacity by the end of the third quarter of 2022, and thereby reduce the general waiting times,” says the embassy.

This is three months into the future, but increasing the capacity takes this long time because – although the new staff has been selected – they still need to pass a lengthy security clearance process and – if passed – be trained in doing the job.

Meanwhile, the number of nervous applicants keep queuing up. The number of applications already exceed those from before Covid in 2019.

“The number of applications for June 2022 is already more than 50 per cent higher than in June of 2019 before Covid,” says the Embassy.

The rush is unexpected because it breaks the trend for the past seven years, the Embassy adds.

“Historically, based on data from the past 7 years, the number of visa applications decreases in the second quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter. However, 2022 has not followed the historic trends, as the number of visa applications has continued to increase during the second quarter of 2022,” explains the Embassy.

The Danish Embassy in Bangkok is not alone in battling the travel rush, says the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The increase in visa applications is seen in many parts of the world, where the Danish and other Schengen Missions are experiencing higher volumes. Also airlines and airports have been surprised by the sudden and extraordinary re-bounce in international travel,” says the Ministry of Forfeign Affairs.

Thai people who have applied or are about to apply may be able to find support in their distress at the following Facebook group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/127097717329397/

The group is for applicants who share what little they know and their own stories. Often the delay caused them to miss the planned flight.

If people want to visit Denmark for Christmas, it is not too early to apply now!

Read also:
https://scandasia.com/visa-for-thais-to-visit-denmark-seriously-delayed/

Danish Embassy in Bangkok: Working hard to increase visa processing capacity

About Gregers Møller

Editor-in-Chief • ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. • Bangkok, Thailand

View all posts by Gregers Møller

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