Invitation Letter for a Schengen Visa: Template and Guide for a Thai Visitor (2026)

Your Thai partner, relative or friend wants to visit you in Europe? They apply in Bangkok for a Schengen short-stay visa (type C), for up to 90 days. Your invitation, as the host, is an important part of that file: it explains why the visitor is coming, to whom, for how long, and that they will go back afterwards. This guide explains what the letter must say, with a free template, and which official forms go with it in Belgium, the Netherlands and France.

1. When do you need an invitation letter?

Thai citizens need a visa for a short stay in the Schengen area. If your visitor stays at your home, or comes to see you (partner, family, friends), the file must show that you are inviting them. How this works depends on the country:

	Belgium	Netherlands	France
Invitation	Invitation letter from the host (with trip details)	IND form 1310 (private accommodation); a cover letter is optional	Attestation d’accueil from the town hall; a cover letter helps
Host pays costs	Annex 3bis	Same IND form 1310, sponsorship part	Commitment included in the attestation d’accueil
Official step	Signature legalised at the municipality	Signature legalised at the municipality	Request in person at the town hall
Visa application	TLScontact Bangkok	VFS Global Bangkok	TLScontact Bangkok

Staying in a hotel and paying for everything themselves? Then a hotel booking is enough as proof of accommodation. An invitation letter still helps to explain the purpose of the trip, for example visiting a partner.

2. What should an invitation letter include?

There is no official template. The Belgian embassy in Bangkok asks for a letter “with details of the trip”. Make sure the letter contains the following, and that it matches the rest of the file:

• Your details: full name, date of birth, nationality, address, phone number and email.
• The visitor’s details: full name as in the passport, date of birth, passport number and address in Thailand.
• Your relationship: partner, relative or friend, since when and how you met.
• The purpose of the visit: family visit, partner visit, tourism.
• The exact dates: arrival, departure and number of days (90 at most).
• Accommodation: the visitor stays at your home, at your address.
• Who pays: you (with Annex 3bis, the IND form or the attestation d’accueil) or the visitor.
• The return: why the visitor will go back to Thailand (job, studies, family).
• Date and signature, and the list of attachments.

Write the letter in English, or in the language of the country you live in. Keep it short: one page is enough. The embassy wants facts, not a long story.

3. Invitation letter template

This template is for a partner visit to Belgium. Replace everything in [brackets] with your own details. For the Netherlands or France, address it to that country’s embassy in Bangkok and attach it to the IND form or the attestation d’accueil.

4. Belgium: Annex 3bis (formal obligation to cover costs)

For a short stay in Belgium, the visitor must show at least €45 per day when staying with a private person, or €95 per day in a hotel. If they do not have this themselves, you can act as guarantor with Annex 3bis (in Dutch “verbintenis tot tenlasteneming”, in French “engagement de prise en charge”).

• The guarantor must be Belgian, or a foreigner with unlimited residence in Belgium (e.g. B, C, F or F+ card), registered in a Belgian municipality.
• Net income of at least €2,217.47 per month (amount since 1 September 2026) for one person covered. Each extra person adds half of that amount.
• Integration income (leefloon / revenu d’intégration), CPAS/OCMW aid, child benefits and temp-agency income do not count.
• Fill in sections A and B (preferably on a computer, no crossings-out), then sign section D at your municipality, which legalises your signature. Bring your ID and proof of income (e.g. your last 3 payslips or your latest tax assessment).
• Send the original to the visitor. They must submit it with the visa application within 6 months of the legalisation.
• As guarantor you are jointly liable for costs of stay, medical care and repatriation paid by the Belgian state or a CPAS/OCMW for 2 years from entry into the Schengen area.

5. Netherlands: IND form 1310 (sponsorship and private accommodation)

• The form is called “Proof of sponsorship and/or private accommodation” (IND form 1310). You tick whether you provide accommodation, cover the costs, or both.
• If the visitor has less than €55 per day to spend, a sponsorship may also be needed.
• As sponsor you must live in the Netherlands, be 18 or older, have a BSN and have sufficient, lasting income for at least the next 12 months. A married or registered partner co-signs unless you meet the income requirement alone.
• Fill in the form but sign it at the municipality, where an official legalises your signature. Do not change anything afterwards.
• Post the original to the visitor with a copy of your passport or ID and proof of income (e.g. your last 3 payslips). They apply at VFS Global in Bangkok within 6 months of the legalisation.
• The sponsorship ends when the visitor leaves the Schengen area, or at the latest 5 years after legalisation.

6. France: the attestation d’accueil

• A visitor staying with a private host in France for a private or family visit of under 3 months needs an attestation d’accueil, requested by the host.
• Apply in person at the town hall (mairie) where the visitor will stay, often by appointment. Form cerfa n°10798 is filled in and signed there.
• Cost: €30 in tax stamps (timbres fiscaux), not refunded if refused.
• Bring originals: ID or residence permit, proof of ownership or tenancy, recent proof of address, proof of income (e.g. last 3 payslips and latest tax notice) and the visitor’s passport number.
• The visitor or host must have medical insurance of at least €30,000 for the stay. If the town hall does not reply within 1 month, the request counts as refused.
• Send the validated original to the visitor, who submits it with the visa application at TLScontact in Bangkok.

7. What the visitor still needs in Thailand

The invitation is only one part of the file. Based on the Belgian and Dutch embassy checklists in Bangkok, the visitor also needs:

• the visa application form, completed online and signed, and a recent photo;
• a passport valid at least 3 months after leaving the Schengen area, with at least 2 blank pages;
• travel insurance valid in all Schengen countries for the whole trip, covering at least €30,000 for medical costs and repatriation;
• a return flight reservation;
• proof of their own funds: payslips, bank statements for the last 3 months;
• proof they will return: an employer letter with job title and approved leave, student enrolment, property title, family ties in Thailand;
• proof of the relationship with the host: photos, messages, earlier trips, or a birth or marriage certificate for family.

For Belgium, apply at least 2 weeks before the trip and at the earliest 6 months before. The full visa file is explained in our guides Belgium visa for a Thai visitor, France visa for a Thai visitor and Schengen visa from Thailand.

Doing it yourself vs. with Spoyzy

	On your own	With Spoyzy
Invitation letter	Written alone, without knowing what the embassy expects	Written for your situation, in English, French or Dutch
Annex 3bis / IND form / attestation	Risk of mistakes and a second trip to the municipality	We check everything before you go
Visitor’s file	Explaining it in Thai to the visitor	We explain everything in Thai and check every document
Consistency	Dates and names that do not match	One consistent file, from letter to insurance

8. Common mistakes

• Dates in the letter that do not match the flight reservation, the insurance or the visa form.
• Names spelled differently from the passport.
• An Annex 3bis or IND form with crossings-out, or changed after legalisation.
• Waiting too long: after 6 months, the legalised Annex 3bis or IND form is no longer valid for the visa application.
• Relying on the invitation alone: without proof of return (job, family, property in Thailand), the risk of refusal stays high.

9. How Spoyzy can help

We help hosts in Belgium, the Netherlands and France and their Thai visitors with the whole file, in Thai, English, French and Dutch:

• a tailor-made invitation letter, and a cover letter for the visitor if needed;
• a check of your Annex 3bis, IND form or attestation documents before you go to the municipality;
• a personal document list for the visitor;
• translation and legalisation of Thai documents;
• the visa form and the appointment at TLScontact or VFS Global in Bangkok.

Frequently asked questions

Is an invitation letter mandatory?

For Belgium, the host’s invitation letter is on the embassy’s checklist in Bangkok for a family or private visit. For the Netherlands, the checklist asks for the IND private accommodation form when the visitor stays with you, and for France the attestation d’accueil; a separate letter is not required there but helps explain the visit.

Does the invitation letter need to be legalised?

The letter itself, no. Only the signature on Belgium’s Annex 3bis or the Dutch IND form 1310 is legalised by your municipality. In France, the town hall validates the attestation d’accueil.

In what language should I write the letter?

English is fine. French or Dutch also work for Belgium, Dutch for the Netherlands and French for France.

How much do I need to earn to sponsor a visitor to Belgium?

At least €2,217.47 net per month (since 1 September 2026) for one person, plus half that amount for each extra person.

Does an invitation guarantee the visa?

No. The embassy decides on the whole file, especially the visitor’s ties to Thailand and intention to return. A good invitation does make the file clearer and stronger.

Can the visitor extend their stay in Europe?

As a rule, no. A short-stay visa cannot be extended and the purpose of the trip cannot change later. To live together, look at family reunification or legal cohabitation.

Related guides: Belgium visa for a Thai visitor · France visa for a Thai visitor · Cohabitation visa Belgium · Family reunification