Schengen Visa For Wife With Uk 2 Yr Spouse Visa

[grayfield18]

I am in the UK with my wife and child (also on a Thai passport).

We want to go to France as my parents live there.

As i am in Birmingham it looks like we will have to go to London for the application.

The official sites suggest that if wife of an eea national is stamped on the passport then there is no need for a visa.

Can i get the Immigration department to stamp this on.

If not does anyone know what the procedure is as it seems very convoluted on the web sites.

Many thanks in advance

[ThaiVisaExpress]

You require a Schengen visa to enter France the cost is free as she is your spouse.

[mark515]

http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Do-you-need-a...en-visa-to.html

Visit the above link some applications can be posted, I am in Spain now with wife and daughter both on Thai passports.

For a Spain shengen visa we had to go to Manchester, As I own an apartment in Spain I asked for a 6 month multi entry. The consulate said 1st application normal to be just the 1 visit I told him we would be going Gibraltor and then gave him another flight ticket. They issued my wife and daughter with a 6 month visa. Great as we will be going Eurodisney in July.

[mark515]

http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Postal-application.html

Sorry the above link is for postal applications.

All the information needed is on this site.

[7by7]

Schengen visas for family members of an EEA national are free and should be relatively easy to obtain; look at the application form carefully and you will see that many of the questions and requirements do not apply in such cases..

Family members of an EEA national who have permanent residence in an EEA state do not require a visa to enter the Schengen area. There is some confusion as to whether UK ILR would count as 'permanent residence.' I seem to recall reading somewhere that it does, but that some immigration officers at Schengen ports of entry may not realise this! So it is advisable to obtain a visa anyway. However, this is a moot point in your case as your wife does not yet have ILR.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

The problem being it is at the discretion of the IO at the port of entry and I would not risk it.

[7by7]

Post by Mark515 regarding entry to Gibraltar moved to a new topic here.

[nelson111]

I've actually just logged on with a similar query to the OP (we're also off to France in the summer, my wife's also currently on a 2 year spouse visa in the UK).

One additional question: it says on the French embassy's website

http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Family-member...n-European.html

that

7. If your Marriage Certificate has been issued outside the European Union, it must be stamped by the Foreign Office of the issuing country, or its Embassy in the UK.

We have a translated copy certified by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as per requirement 6. on the above site) but haven't had our actual certificate stamped, apart form the usual Amphur office stamp. Has anyone had experience of getting this done at the Thai Embassy in London and/or is it actually necessary to get the Schengen visa at the French embassy?

It seems a little excessive, given that they already have the certified translation. But then so much of most visa application processes does!

Edited April 2, 2010 by nelson111

[paully]

We have a translated copy certified by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as per requirement 6. on the above site) but haven't had our actual certificate stamped, apart form the usual Amphur office stamp. Has anyone had experience of getting this done at the Thai Embassy in London and/or is it actually necessary to get the Schengen visa at the French embassy?

The translated copy certified by the Thai MFA + the British Embassy should be fine - it worked for my wife 3 times on visits to France.

It is necessary to get a Schengen Visa, you can't use the 'spouse of an EEA national' line if you are British and living in the UK; different if you were, say, Danish, and living in the UK. You don't have to get it from the French Embassy if you are visiting another Schengen state as well.

[Brigante7]

I'm about to apply for a Schengen visa for my wife through the Spanish consulate in Edinburgh and the application is straightforward. The visa is free but there is an application processing fee of 60 euros although this fee is at the discretion of the person handling the application at the consulate, we're applying on Tuesday and will update with result and any obstacles.

Brigante7.

[mark515]

8th March 2010 my Thai wife & Thai daughter applied for there shengen visa. No prosessing fee or any charge was made.

Both Visa's 100% free except the phone call to book the appointment, cost me £13.00 in call charges.

[7by7]

The EEA rules state that Schengen visas must be free to family members of EEA nationals.

However, I believe there is a loophole which does allow embassies to insist applicant's use a premium rate phone number for their application and also, if applying via a consulate and not directly to the embassy, for the consulate to charge a processing/forwarding fee.

[tahaan]

We have a translated copy certified by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as per requirement 6. on the above site) but haven't had our actual certificate stamped, apart form the usual Amphur office stamp. Has anyone had experience of getting this done at the Thai Embassy in London and/or is it actually necessary to get the Schengen visa at the French embassy?

The translated copy certified by the Thai MFA + the British Embassy should be fine - it worked for my wife 3 times on visits to France.

It is necessary to get a Schengen Visa, you can't use the 'spouse of an EEA national' line if you are British and living in the UK; different if you were, say, Danish, and living in the UK. You don't have to get it from the French Embassy if you are visiting another Schengen state as well.

My wife also needs to apply for a Schengen visa soon. However, all we have in the UK is our original Thai marriage cert - no translations certified or not. Has anyone successfully applied from the UK for a visa for either France or Germany using original docs? Or failing that, how easy is it to get an authorised translation of a Thai marriage cert in London? I've had a quick look at the RT Embassy website which didn't offer much help.

[Brigante7]

I'm about to apply for a Schengen visa for my wife through the Spanish consulate in Edinburgh and the application is straightforward. The visa is free but there is an application processing fee of 60 euros although this fee is at the discretion of the person handling the application at the consulate, we're applying on Tuesday and will update with result and any obstacles.

Brigante7.

Update, applied for the wifes visa today and was told her passport would be returned in 2 weeks with visa, visa was free (we knew that would be the case) and there was no proccessing fee (didn't know that). The applicatrion was very straight forward and the man handling the application at the consulate was very helpful.

Required documents were as follows.

Application form + 1 photocopy.

Wifes passport + photocopy of her UK ILR visa + photocopy of her details page.

My passport + photocopy of my details page.

Marriage certificate + photocopy.

Travel insurance document + photocopy.

Holiday details (Name and address of hotel, dates of travel) + photocopy.

Wifes bank statement + copy.

2 passport photos.

Not sure about other embassy and consulates but with the Spanish consulate in Edinburgh you have to apply in person and it's first come first served so no expensive phone numbers to call.

Hope this helps others.

Brigante7.

Edited April 9, 2010 by Brigante7

[Brigante7]

Update: The wife just recieved her passport back this morning with Schengen visa (2 day turn around), visa is a multy entry valid for 30 days (We only asked for 30 days), the whole process very easy and straight forward.

Brigante7.

[grayfield18]

Thanks for all the very helpful replies.

[grayfield18]

Just an update we went and got to the Embassy (French) where it transpired that my wife had not got her documents correct and i also discovered that she had at some point changed her first name by deed poll. I don't think this would have been too big an issue but we were also applying for a visa for her 8 year old son.

The guy was very helpful and told us what to get in order to obtain a visa. However, one of the things required was a "verbal note from the Thai Government to confirm that she had custody of the child."

We got translated the document that she had used for the UK visa for him and took that once all the other required documents were stamped. They refused to accept that document saying it was a self-serving document. i.e. it just was her swearing in front of the amphur that she had sole custody of the child and that Dad had never been involved since the lad was 3 months old.

I know that this required a bit more than a simple declaration she had to take proof, though it is always hard to prove a negative. However, the UK visa accepted this for allowing him in.

I should give a special mention to the doorman at the French embassy who was extremely helpful in trying to get it sorted for us.

We did go round to the Thai embassy who were helpful in that they said they wouldn't give such a note and i can't personally blame them for that and that the best thing to do was to try the Belgium or Dutch embassy !!

Any idea's on how to get the document for the Son sorted out ?

[dowman73]

I've actually just logged on with a similar query to the OP (we're also off to France in the summer, my wife's also currently on a 2 year spouse visa in the UK).

One additional question: it says on the French embassy's website

http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Family-member...n-European.html

that

7. If your Marriage Certificate has been issued outside the European Union, it must be stamped by the Foreign Office of the issuing country, or its Embassy in the UK.

We have a translated copy certified by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as per requirement 6. on the above site) but haven't had our actual certificate stamped, apart form the usual Amphur office stamp. Has anyone had experience of getting this done at the Thai Embassy in London and/or is it actually necessary to get the Schengen visa at the French embassy?

It seems a little excessive, given that they already have the certified translation. But then so much of most visa application processes does!

Hi I posted last week about the same thing I was told by the French Embassy that my marriage certificate needed to be stamped by the Thai Embassy in the UK but before they will stamp it it has to be legalised at the the Legalisation office in Milton Keanes before they will do this it has to be Certified by a solicitor!!

I am still waiting for the document to to be ready from the Thai Embassy as it take them 2-3 days, and it took the the same to be legalised and all at cost of about £70.

[grayfield18]

I've actually just logged on with a similar query to the OP (we're also off to France in the summer, my wife's also currently on a 2 year spouse visa in the UK).

One additional question: it says on the French embassy's website

http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Family-member...n-European.html

that

7. If your Marriage Certificate has been issued outside the European Union, it must be stamped by the Foreign Office of the issuing country, or its Embassy in the UK.

We have a translated copy certified by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as per requirement 6. on the above site) but haven't had our actual certificate stamped, apart form the usual Amphur office stamp. Has anyone had experience of getting this done at the Thai Embassy in London and/or is it actually necessary to get the Schengen visa at the French embassy?

It seems a little excessive, given that they already have the certified translation. But then so much of most visa application processes does!

Hi I posted last week about the same thing I was told by the French Embassy that my marriage certificate needed to be stamped by the Thai Embassy in the UK but before they will stamp it it has to be legalised at the the Legalisation office in Milton Keanes before they will do this it has to be Certified by a solicitor!!

I am still waiting for the document to to be ready from the Thai Embassy as it take them 2-3 days, and it took the the same to be legalised and all at cost of about £70.

I am a bit surprised at the number of things they want you to do as we took our certified copy (by the Thai translator) and the French wanted that certified by the Thai Embassy which cost £10 on a 5 day turn around. We didn't have to get any legalisation done so can't help on that.

I am quite shocked at the whole thing as we were refused a 16 day trip effectively. My parents live in France. I live in Birmingham and have a business here and my home, though i am from Manchester but all my financial links are really in this area.

What shocks me the most is that these documents that the French want a "verbal note" (whatever that is !!) is that these are the self same documents that the British (hardly a lax regime as we know) accepted in 2 weeks to allow my step-son over here.

Good luck with your attempts.