Question About Visa For My Wife.

[tomam]

My wife and I are going to the U.K in August, we then want to go to Switzerland we will go as tourists.She will have to get two I think? Also I have had a job offer in Switzerland, and I am from the U.K if I wanted to start my job soon after I got there would she be able to stay there with me and hopefully work.Can somebody give me some advise about this.ps. we have been to the u.k to my home twice. Thanks T.

[7by7]

Switzerland is part of the Schengen area, the UK is not. Therefore a Swiss visa is not valid for the UK and vice versa.

So she will need to obtain both a Schengen visa for Switzerland and a UK visa. Both will need to be applied for in Thailand.

As she is being accompanied by her EEA national spouse, most of the questions on the Schengen application form do not need to be answered and it should be free.

Although Switzerland is not part of the EEA, a reciprocal agreement exists which means Swiss nationals can live and work in the EEA and EEA nationals can live and work in Switzerland; and have their non EEA national family join them. (In the UK this is called an EEA Family Permit).

I am not sure about how the Swiss application system works for this; but am fairly sure that she would not be able to apply whilst in Switzerland as a tourist and will have to return to Thailand to do so.

See the Swiss embassy website for more.