Visa for Thais to visit Denmark seriously delayed

Thai citizens will have to apply now if they hope to go to Denmark for Christmas. First they will have to get a time slot for the VFS office in Bangkok. The first available time slot there is in November.  Then they will have to hope that the Danish embassy can evaluate their application and issue the visa in the time left.

The Danish Embassy in Bangkok issued on 17 June for the second time a warning about the long processing time for visa applications to Denmark and Iceland. The embassy explained that the problem is an unusually high volume of applications without giving any numbers.

“We strongly encourage applicants to apply as early as possible,” the Embassy writes.

“It is possible to apply up to 6 months before the desired entry to Denmark/Iceland. Applicants who wish to travel to Denmark/Iceland for the Christmas period may already now consider initiating their applications,” the Danish Embassy adds.

One month ago, on 18 May, the Danish Embassy issued a similar warning. Except the reference to the endangered Christmas vacation was not mentioned at that time.

On May 9, the Danish Embassy advertised several job vacancies at the embassy all in the visa section. The available positions were for several visa officers where the applicants could be non-Schengen citizens, and two positions for visa officer which was open only to Schengen citizens. The website of the embassy states today that there are no jobs available which seems to indicate that the staff needed has been employed.

However, the problems for the applicants continue. A Facebook group for Thai people applying for visa to Denmark is full of frustrated comments by applicants who are shocked that their long planned vacation months into the future is suddenly in danger because the VFS and the Embassy are not capable of processing their application in time. Meanwhile applicants for a Schengen visa to Sweden get their visa after nine days. But applicants who in their desperation try to apply for a Schengen visa to Sweden and then would fly over Stockholm to Copenhagen are being rejected since their final and main destination is Denmark.

The two Danish Embassy posts are also followed by frustrated comments by Danes, some of whom were forced to buy new tickets and travel on separate flights than the Thai applicant to Denmark because the long processing times.

ScandAsia asked on Tuesday the Danish Embassy why it takes months to make an appointment with the VFS and why the embassy is so slow in issuing visas. In a response, the head of section promised that the Embassy would reply to the questions but added that it was not possible to say when.

Read also the reply received: https://scandasia.com/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

4 Comments on “Visa for Thais to visit Denmark seriously delayed”

  1. The embassies are clearly in violation of the visa rules, set out in the EU code on visa (it can be foundon the website of EU home affairs). That clearly states that as a rule (thus only in exception cases this does not apply), applicants should be able to get an appointment within 2 weeks of the request.

    One can argue that it was exceptional, unforeseeable and thus unplannable that after getting rid of commercial staff (VFS is a for profit business, they must have let go of staff during the hight of the pandemic), filling up those vanacies is a challenge. Job vacancies in various sectors remain open for a long tike these days… But normally a large increase in applications during the summer time is entirely normal, thus foreseeable and something VFS and the embassy ought to expect, that is not an exceptional case. Would be interesting to know how large and unexpected thus rise in applications was and if its really wildly beyond anything ever seen or due to simply much too few staff during the pandemic.

    Anyway, to quote the EU Schengen visa rules, section on applications:

    **
    Article 9 Practical modalities for lodging an application

    1. Applications shall be lodged no more than six months, and for seafarers in the performance of their duties no more than nine months, before the start of the intended visit, and, as a rule, no later than 15 calendar days before the start of the intended visit. In justified individual cases of urgency, the consulate or the central authorities may allow the lodging of applications later than 15 calendar days before the start of the intended visit.

    2. Applicants may be required to obtain an appointment for the lodging of an application. THE APPOINTMENT SHALL, AS A RULE, take place within a period of TWO WEEKS from the date when the appointment was requested.

    3. In justified cases of urgency, the consulate may allow applicants to lodge their applications either without appointment, or an appointment shall be given immediately.

    ** end quote **

  2. The worst about this is the feedback from VFS and the Embassy. Amazingly they have no ideas of customer service. They must be number one in the world for giving no feedback at all. Extremely poor. We should have left this morning but had to cancel last Friday. If anyone can’t get a VISA, it must be easy to tell at least 2 weeks after applying? That would save a lot of headache in terms of cancellation of flight tickets, hotels and car hire. AND funny enough my wife’s passport is till not back and no timelines given. Guess our holiday will be in Thailand.

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