Last month (July 30, 2023), I should have written in my web blog diary about my travel experiences in Europe. However, I couldn’t do that because when I arrived in Timor-Leste, I was jet-lagged for almost three days, having crossed between two different time zones from Europe and Asia, where there is a time difference, Timor-Leste has a difference of over seven hours ahead.
When I arrived in Dili, Timor-Leste, many friends, students, and family asked me about my days in European countries, especially in the Netherlands, England, France, Belgium, and Germany.
In Europe, I didn’t manage my time to visit big cities, I only visit a few small towns in Belgium and Germany, as I did in 2018 when I first traveled to Europe. Even so, visiting Europe, the same areas that I had seen before, especially the Netherlands and its surrounding neighboring countries (Belgium and Germany), I never feel bored of seeing the beauty of those countries, particularly in the summer season.
I visited this country, not only for holidays but also because I have a family in the Netherlands; actually, my wife is a Dutch citizen. We have been living together in Timor-Leste since 2018. After staying together for almost a half decade, we decided to get married (civil marriage) in the Netherlands (About our marriage, I will describe in another piece of the story).
Apart from other fascinating things, I have some exciting stories that I will share it here, especially, when I visited France and the United Kingdom (UK).
I started traveling with my wife and my youngest sister, our journey started from Timor-Leste on 7 July 2023; we arrived in the Netherlands on 9 July 2023. The trip to the Netherlands took more or less two days because we had to transit to Bali, Indonesia, for one day, stay a night there, and continue to Jakarta and Dubai, then continue to the Netherlands with Airbus, Emirates Air.
When We first arrived in the Netherlands via Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, we had to wait almost an hour because it was a high season; many people travel to the Netherlands to enjoy the summer, scenery, and nature of the Netherlands. Of course, they want to enjoy the beauty of nature like flowers blooming in summer, windmills, Dutch house architecture, enjoying the beauty of Amsterdam (visiting the coffee shop) the beach, and enjoying the night sky around 11-12 pm, where the sun rising through the light into the clouds making the Netherlands to have long daylight.
Entering the Netherlands at the airport, I have to get a visa on arrival. Obviously, Timor-Leste and the European (Senghen) countries have already signed an agreement for the free visa. Exactly 8 years ago, since May 26, 2015, the EU and Timor-Leste signed a short-stay visa waiver that provides for visa-free travel for citizens of Timor-Leste when traveling to the Schengen Area, including Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland. We get this privilege, Timor-Leste is one of the Asian countries that have the privilege of entering the Schengen visa-free zone.
In the list of permits to enter with free visas, around 60 countries, including Timor-Leste, have the privilege of visa-free entry for tourism or business purposes and there are around 105 countries that must apply for a visa before entering the Schengen area.
This visa applied for a period of stay of 90 days within 180 days. Indeed, I already knew this in the past several years, before going to the Netherlands.
For me, I never worry to think that the immigration officer will reject providing free visa entry, because “we have the right” to visit the Schengen countries with free visas.
But we have to always keep in mind that, as always happens, the immigration police officers, asked several questions about our purpose of visiting the Netherlands.
In our case, at the airport, the immigration control, they were curious to know where is Timor-Leste. I told them, “Oest Timor” in Dutch means (East Timor). Well, they looked at the database system. Finally, they found the list on the database system and saying-ohhhhh Timor-Leste, a new country, and the neighboring country of Australia and Indonesia.
With a smile, I say “Yes, it is”. It is a newly independent country in 2002, located between Australia and Indonesia. Finally, they gave us a permit, and our passports were stamped with a European tourist visa, free for three months.
Having this privilege (free visa) for Timorese citizens, of course, when we get access to one of the Schengen countries, we can enjoy traveling to all of the territories in European countries except the UK. This is interesting for Timorese, who would like to travel to Europe in the Schengen areas.
Having a free visa, we can utilize this advantage to enjoy our holiday in European Countries for a three-month period, which is good for us. But don’t forget to prepare some requirements and documents as the following:
- Prepare a valid travel document (Passport of Timor-Leste) issued within the previous 10 years and valid for at least three months and return the ticket within a maximum of 90 days after arrival.
- The immigration officer will ask some basic questions at the airport, to make sure our presence in Europe not to be considered a threat to public policy, internal security, public health, or the member states’ international relations.
- We need to prepare the documents and prove the purpose and conditions of the stay like hotel reservation or accommodation; where to stay and invitation letter in case of visits, conferences, or events; school enrollment certificate in case of study, etc., otherwise an invitation by a family member with the signature recognized by local authorities.
- We must have sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return.
- And also require or recommended to have a medical insurance or travel insurance.
This is the narrative of my trip to Europe, especially for (my fellow Timorese), I have summarized the requirements to travel to Schengen countries. Hopefully, this information is useful, so that we can prepare basic documents (requirement) before traveling to European countries, especially going to Schengen countries.
With all these documents’ requirements, it will be easy for us, the Timorese citizen, to travel to the Schengen Zone without any difficulties. When we get access to Europe, to any Schengen Country, our visa automatically applies to the Schengen Zone, we can visit 27 European Schengen countries.
Enjoy your travel, (Boa Viajen ba sira ne’ebe hakarak ba vizita Europa).
My first day of travel in The Netherlands, July 9, 2023
<<<Tobe continued”””>>> I will continue to publish many stories in this blog; please don’t forget to follow my blog for more updates about my life’s journey.
Dili, Palapasu, 7 August 2023.
Celso da Fonseca
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