Einverstandniskeitserklärung .. What's That?!?!?!

My wife is Thai, and she moved to live with me in July 2014. For various reasons, her son has lived with his Grandparents most of his life so far, and is still in Thailand now, but with the hope he'll join us once my wife has found her feet in Europe.

We decided a while ago that it would be best for her to come to Europe and see how she settles before uprooting her son ... leaving her with the option of returning to Thailand if the life here really didn't suit her. That also meant that her son could visit Europe during some of his school holidays, to see how he felt about moving here.

And so, with dates set (last week of October) for his first visit to Germany, it came time to apply for his visa (you can't just apply for an open visa, AFAIK, you have to have specific dates, and it's not possible to apply more than 3 months ahead of time for the visa). Once you've been through it a few times, it's not as daunting a process as it initially seems ... but of course, for a minor to apply, there are a few extra things to do! ... :O)

All the information on the Visa Application process is in a useful website (http:\\bangkok.diplo.de) with is available in 2 languages (German and Thai ... there's a rant for another day! :O) ). The section about visa applications is here: www.bangkok.diplo.de/.../08/0-Visabestimmungen.html. With this page (.../08/Touristenvisum.html) all about applying for a tourist visa, including to visit family and friends. There are links to online applications, lists of the documents you need ... really useful stuff!

And then, there is the following:

Sind Sie thailändischer Staatsangehörigkeit unter 18 Jahren müssen Ihre Sorgeberechtigten (in der Regel die Eltern) zur Antragstellung mitkommen und den Antrag unterschreiben. Sollten die Sorgeberechtigten verhindert sein, kann der von den Eltern unterschriebene Antrag mit einer Einverständniskeitserklärung gestellt werden. Die Unterschrift auf der Einverständniskeitserklärung muss jedoch vom thailändischen Bezirksamt oder wenn die Eltern sich in Deutschland aufhalten, von einer deutschen Behörde beglaubigt sein. Stimmt nur ein Elternteil zu, so muss nachgewiesen werden, dass dieser alleine sorgeberechtigt ist.

(the highlighting is straight from the website)

translated it means:

If you are a Thai National under 18 years old, the adult who has custody (normally the parents) must accompany you to the application centre, and must sign the Application. If the people with custody are unable to attend a representative of the parents can sign the Application providing they produce an "Einverstandniskeitserklärung". However, the signature on the "Einverstandniskeiterklärung" must be certified by the Thai district office or, if the parents reside in Germany, by a German authority. Where only a single parent signs, it must be demonstrated that the parent has sole custody.

No problem! We thought ... so where's this form to sign? ... and so it began...

Swissvoice Eurit 758 - ISDN DECT Phone - "No System" Issue resolved!

A while ago, because I needed more than 1 line at home (teenager in the house and working from a home office - enough said!) I switched from an Analogue line to ISDN with 3 telephone numbers.

I then discovered that most ISDN phones are wired and the number of DECT offerings are very limited, and the systems with 2 or more handsets even more so ... the one at the time that best suited my needs (price) was the Swissvoice Eurit 758 Duo (with 2 handsets) and for a long time I was very happy with it.