Schengen Visa

[Lazy Sod]

We got the Schengen at the French Embassy, but now want to change our plans and go to Spain instead of France. Any problem?

[Mahout Angrit]

We got the Schengen at the French Embassy, but now want to change our plans and go to Spain instead of France. Any problem?

No, shouldn't be, it's valid for Spain too. so if they challenge you on arrival to Spain just say you will travelling on to France and the bulk of your time on holiday will be spent there.

[Andrew Hicks]

We got the Schengen at the French Embassy, but now want to change our plans and go to Spain instead of France. Any problem?

No, shouldn't be, it's valid for Spain too. so if they challenge you on arrival to Spain just say you will travelling on to France and the bulk of your time on holiday will be spent there.

Isn't the Schengen system wonderful!

It's just a pity the UK isn't a member of this agreement.

After my Thai girlfriend was subjected to a refusal and nothing short of harassment to get a UK visit visa, we went to the French Embassy, completed the simple form and the delightful French lady smiled and asked not a single question. There were no queues, no secret booths for interviews, no interpreters to create confusions. We were simply welcomed to her lovely country and had the visa application approved within minutes.

When we left on the ferry from Portsmouth, we looked for an Immigration Office to stamp my girlfriend's passport so there was a record of her movements. Their office was locked and there was no response to the bell. They were permanently out to lunch.

They harrass visa applicants because the fat visa fee pays for this but once in the UK, do they care a ######? Did they check whether she actually left before her visa expired?

Wish I was French/Spanish/Norwegian etc.

Andrew

Whatever must the Thais think of the Brits?!

Spain's nice too!!!

Andrew

[Mahout Angrit]

After my Thai girlfriend was subjected to a refusal and nothing short of harassment to get a UK visit visa, we went to the French Embassy, completed the simple form and the delightful French lady smiled and asked not a single question. There were no queues, no secret booths for interviews, no interpreters to create confusions. We were simply welcomed to her lovely country and had the visa application approved within minutes.

...yes but if you hadn't previously had the the UK visa in her passport you would have had a different reception. Try it next time and apply for the Schengen visa before you apply for the UK visa and let us know how it went.

Wish I was French/Spanish/Norwegian etc.

...and if you were you would find it just the same interrogation to get your g/f into your country as you have getting her into UK as a Brit.

[Lazy Sod]

We got the Schengen at the French Embassy, but now want to change our plans and go to Spain instead of France. Any problem?

No, shouldn't be, it's valid for Spain too. so if they challenge you on arrival to Spain just say you will travelling on to France and the bulk of your time on holiday will be spent there.

But we'll have tickets UK-Spain-UK so that may be a difficult argument to make. As she's got a multiple entry Schengen I'm thinking we simply say that we are going to Spain this week, returning to UK, and then going to France the week after. What's the actual rule on Shengens? Do you get the Schengen for the 1st country you visit, or the one where you're gonna stay the longest?

[dee123]

I Remember traveling to spain with my thai wife with a visa from french embassy,it was not a problem,

[dee123]

Simply if they query it say there was a change of plan!

[Mahout Angrit]

What's the actual rule on Shengens? Do you get the Schengen for the 1st country you visit, or the one where you're gonna stay the longest?

The rule is:

1) If you are going to 1 country you apply at the embassy of that country

2) If you are going to many countries you apply at the embassy of the country where you will spend the most time

3) If you are visiting many countries and spending time equally then you apply at the country where you enter the Schengen states.

So, I'm sure you wont be asked but just say you will to going to France in a couple of weeks time but decided to come to Spain first. Really you are allowed to do that, no problem and enjoy your trip.

[jasreeve17]

What's the actual rule on Shengens? Do you get the Schengen for the 1st country you visit, or the one where you're gonna stay the longest?

The rule is:

1) If you are going to 1 country you apply at the embassy of that country

2) If you are going to many countries you apply at the embassy of the country where you will spend the most time

3) If you are visiting many countries and spending time equally then you apply at the country where you enter the Schengen states.

So, I'm sure you wont be asked but just say you will to going to France in a couple of weeks time but decided to come to Spain first. Really you are allowed to do that, no problem and enjoy your trip.

From a similar experience with my Mongolian I can agree 100%. No problems here for the poster.

[Lazy Sod]

Great, thanks a lot everyone.

[gregchambers]

Intrigued by the comments that if your Thai girlfriend already has a UK visitors visa (and you are presumably British), the French will issue a Schenegen visa with nothing more than a bit of simple form filling?

I know the French are a civilized lot, but surely nothing can be that easy!

No reams of documents needed?

[SiriusBlack1]

Not sure if this is helpful in this context, but when I took my wife to Canada two years ago, an interview was required -- took her to Canada again last month and the visa was issued immediately, no questions asked.

I would imagine that in travel through Europe, evidence of a previous visit in which the Thai lady went home when she said she would, regardless of which European country it is, can make the current visa application a lot smoother.

I'm planning to take her to Schengenland for a holiday next year, so I'll report our experiences then.

[Lazy Sod]

Intrigued by the comments that if your Thai girlfriend already has a UK visitors visa (and you are presumably British), the French will issue a Schenegen visa with nothing more than a bit of simple form filling?

I know the French are a civilized lot, but surely nothing can be that easy!

No reams of documents needed?

We are married (not girlfriend), I think that makes it a bit easier. But yes, generally I believe that if you already have the UK visa then the Schengen is easy, a just a few docs required.

[citizen33]

I'm sceptical about the suggestion that this is a straightforward process, though I stand ready to be corrected. The French embassy now requires applicants to attend for interview (i.e. no postal applications), so that in itself is a deterrent if you live far from London or Edinburgh. According to the embassy website you will also need proof of booked accommodation and a confirmed return travel ticket. So you must gamble by paying for your proposed trip up front, and hope you get seen on the day you travel to London and that nothing goes wrong. This makes any short notice travelling very difficult. I travel to Europe fairly frequently on business but the dates are often subject to last minute change, Having seen all the hassle involved (assuming that the rules are enforced), I have decided to postpone taking the wife to Europe for a while. My take on this is that the hassle is so great as to almost undermine the Treaty agreement on free movement of EU nationals and their families within the Union. We recently travelled to Canada and the visa process seemed fairly straightforward by post.

[Mahout Angrit]

I'm sceptical about the suggestion that this is a straightforward process, though I stand ready to be corrected. The French embassy now requires applicants to attend for interview (i.e. no postal applications), so that in itself is a deterrent if you live far from London or Edinburgh. According to the embassy website you will also need proof of booked accommodation and a confirmed return travel ticket.

You haven't been doing your homework have you? The French Embassy does accept postal applications depending on your address and if you are married and a UK citizen your wife does not have to provide evidence of travel/accomodation according to French embassy web site

Maybe you have found it different in practice.

[citizen33]

I'm sceptical about the suggestion that this is a straightforward process, though I stand ready to be corrected. The French embassy now requires applicants to attend for interview (i.e. no postal applications), so that in itself is a deterrent if you live far from London or Edinburgh. According to the embassy website you will also need proof of booked accommodation and a confirmed return travel ticket.

You haven't been doing your homework have you? The French Embassy does accept postal applications depending on your address and if you are married and a UK citizen your wife does not have to provide evidence of travel/accomodation according to French embassy web site

Maybe you have found it different in practice.

Thanks. I stand corrected. I think I was misled by summary information on a visa agency website, although I thought I had seen an item about the ending of postal applications on the embassy homepage a month or two back. Anyway as you rightly observed I hadn't checked recently.

[gregchambers]

Just to complicate things. Mr Hicks original posting on getting an easy visa for his Thai girlfriend at the French embassy does not say if it was the Bkk or Ldn embassy (the latter supposedly another no-no for non-residents of the UK)????????

[Mahout Angrit]

Just to complicate things. Mr Hicks original posting on getting an easy visa for his Thai girlfriend at the French embassy does not say if it was the Bkk or Ldn embassy (the latter supposedly another no-no for non-residents of the UK)????????

I assume from the text that it was Bangkok but yes, the rules for applying for a Schengen visa state that you should apply in your country of residence

[HomeSeekAsia]

Intrigued by the comments that if your Thai girlfriend already has a UK visitors visa (and you are presumably British), the French will issue a Schenegen visa with nothing more than a bit of simple form filling?

I know the French are a civilized lot, but surely nothing can be that easy!

No reams of documents needed?

The French administration is obsessed by administrative procedures: I`m French yet it took me 20+ years before I could obtain a legit ID card, while having a passport was much easier but not enough to get an ID .... However even pre-Shengen, a French ID allowed you to travel to most European countries (incl UK), and even north Africa (Tunisia, Morroco, Algeria). You didn't need a passport.

Now the constraints vary widely depending on:

1- The person's citizenship and residence: any legit European resident should have no problems at all.

2- On the `political climate' in France (i.e. Socialist governments in the past have issued directives asking civil servants to be more `lenient' w.r.t. some administrative procedures incl. Visas, but the new president was elected this year on a strong no-illegal-immigration platform, therefore I wouldn't bet on things being `lax' in the near future).

3- On the civil servant you're dealing with: they often have a rather wide margin of maneuver to authorize smthing or not

Good to know: theShengen rules were posted in this thread, but in practice it's easy to change your travel plans in Europe i.e. many travel by train and you're not expected to buy train tickets as early as plane tickets. Esp. you can have a Eurorail train pass, in which case by definition you're free to travel thru Europe with a flexible itinarary.

An Indian colleague of mine was to attend a conference in France followed by one in Greece, both Shengen, but the French refused to give her a visa, while the Greek did without problem.

The bottom line: if one Shengen country says no, ask another one because if you're a bit prepared you should be fine to travel within the entire zone (Border checks are even non-existent in many cases by land -car or train- and even by air e.g. if you land in Paris and catch a connection to Lyon or Rhodes chances are you won't even go thru customs after you passport gets stamped in Paris).

Bon Voyage !

[HomeSeekAsia]

Oh I forgot: for those of you who would like to be `European citizens', you have a very good chance if you're lucky enough to show you have an Italian grand-parent, or even great-grand-parent !

A big `loophole' applicable to quite a few Americans of Italian descent.

If so, see details at nearest Italian Consulate.

[AZZZEY68]

Try the Danish Embassy in HULL a few people i know have recieved the visas no problems, most went to Spain when asked they replied change of plans.