Visa On Arrival For Non-Eu Wives: EEA countries

[hansnl]

Some time ago the following post was on ThaiVisa

Posted Today, 16:54

maybe this has been covered before, the below is from the official website of the European Union.

Am I misunderstanding it or does it state that immigration cannot refuse a visa to a non-EU spouse of an EU national:

Arriving at the border without an entry visa

It is always best for your non-EU family members to be well informed in advance and have all the necessary documents before starting their journey. However, should they arrive at the border without an entry visa, the border authorities should give them the opportunity to prove by any means that they are your family members. If they manage to prove it, they should be issued with an entry visa on the spot.

If your non-EU family members are having difficulties in getting a visa, you can contact our assistant services.

Be aware that some countries may fail to apply EU law correctly. This means that you may be denied your rights, as described here. To avoid problems, contact the consulate or embassy of the country to which you are travelling well in advance to find out which documents your non-EU family member will need.

If you have problems, you can always contact our assistant serveices.

Entry refusal

In very exceptional cases, an EU country can refuse entry to you or your family members for public policy, public security or public health reasons.

If you are refused entry, the authorities must prove that you or your family members pose a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat. The decision must be given to you or to them in writing. It must state all the grounds, and specify how to appeal and by when.

From the same page:

Sample story

A marriage certificate with an EU citizen is enough to get your visa.

Thomas is Irish and lives in Serbia with his wife Delia, a Serbian national. When Thomas and Delia wanted to visit Thomas' mother, now living in Spain, they applied for an entry visa for Delia. She presented their marriage certificate with her visa application, but the Spanish authorities also asked for proof of hotel accommodation in Spain and sickness insurance before they would issue the visa.

However, when Delia pointed out that no such additional documents were required under EU law, the Spanish authorities apologised for their mistake and immediately issued her entry visa.

After reading this I chose to contact a member of Parliament in The Netherlands, Mr Harry van Bommel.

He is a member of the Foreign Commission, the commission that handles all things related to other countries, including "people business"

I sent him the text above, and asked him if he could clarify this, and/or agree with the text.

Today, 18-06-2012, I received his answer, loud and clear:

Beste Hans,

Excuus voor het late antwoord.

Die Europese regels zijn inderdaad van toepassing, zo meldt onze jurist.

Met een groet,

Harry van Bommel

Tweede Kamerlid

Translated:

Dear Hans

Sorry for the late answer.

These European Rules are indeed valid and in force., as our lawyer tells us.

Greetings

Harry van Bommel

Member of Parliament.

Which means, that officially, a Thai wive. married to a European man, does not need to have a visum before departing from Thailand.

She should get a visum on arrival!

[MJCM]

But talking about the serbia part of your post.

Serbia officially applied for European Union membership on 22 December 2009

According to this http://en.wikipedia...._European_Union

And Thailand has not.

Edit: //

Did you ask the member of parliament if it applied to you and your Thai Wife ??

I wish and I hope it is true though because I would love to take my wife that easily to eat some Gouda

Edited June 18, 2012 by MJCM

[hansnl]

But talking about the serbia part of your post.

Serbia officially applied for European Union membership on 22 December 2009

According to this http://en.wikipedia...._European_Union

And Thailand has not.

Edit: //

Did you ask the member of parliament if it applied to you and your Thai Wife ??

I wish and I hope it is true though because I would love to take my wife that easily to eat some Gouda

I did not ask my MP if this was valid for my wife and me, I asked him in general terms if he knew about these rules and if they were true.

His answer is clear, yes they are true and valid.

As, at least the Schengen area should have the same rules, I presume that the European rules are valid in all those countries.

That said, the European rules are not only valid for the Schengen countries but for the whole European Union.

Anyway, I am very busy, I did already send an email to the Dutch Embassy about this.

There seems to be a arrangment for wives of Dutchmen which makes the Visa application easy, very easy.

But still have to find out.

The whole thing is, that the Dutch Embassy, the Dutch IND, and the Foreign Office must/should have known about this.

Which means in short that for quite a long time Dutch people taking their wives with them have had a lot of problems and spent a lot of money and time to obtain a visa.

And I just wonder how many visa were refused?????

Besides that, the visa for a wife WAS free, but since a few years it must be paid for.

One has to complete a form in which you invite your wife to come with you, in the Embassy.

And then the wife has to give you her consent that you are allowed to invite her to visit the Netherlands with you

Edited June 18, 2012 by hansnl

[7by7]

If you are talking about the EEA freedom of movement regulations (DIRECTIVE 2004/58/EC) take note that these only apply if the non EEA (not EU) spouse or family member of an EEA citizen is traveling with or to join their EEA family member in an EEA state other than the one of which the EEA national is a citizen; unless the EEA national holds dual nationality with another EEA state, in which case they can use that nationality.

If the non EEA family member of an EEA national is traveling to the state of which the EEA national is a citizen then that state's immigration regulations apply and the non EEA national will need the appropriate visa as specified in those regulations. The only exception to this that I am aware of is if the EEA national has been living and exercising an economic treaty right in another EEA state, their non EEA family member has been living there with them and they are now returning to the state of which the EEA national is a citizen.

That is my understanding, at least. The directive is a long and complex document and i am happy to be corrected if wrong.

As you say, this has come up before. In my opinion as a Schengen visa (or EEA family permit for the UK and whatever the equivilent is for Ireland and other non Schengen states) for the family member of an EEA national is quick and easy to obtain and free, I'd rather do that than risk delays at the port of entry to the EEA while credentials, relationship etc. are checked.

NB, a reminder of the forum rules.

Posting in all capitals or in all bold, and using large or unusual fonts and colors is bad netiquette

[MJCM]

@Hansnl.

Any news ?

[jpinx]

Am I reading this correctly? A person with (for example) a UK passport can take their thai wife into (for example) Spain using a visa on arrival -- with nothing prepared except maybe a marriage certificate?

[beano2274]

The only rule I know is that if a Thai wife is going to Europe with her husband or to see him, if she can prove she is legally married to him then there is no visa fee, however this only applies if the application is made direct at the Embassy, I believe if the Embassy use the VFS group then an administration fee is payable.

Also from the EU (copied and pasted), I believe the wording caused the OP problems it states "Entry visa" not visa on arrival, also if they have a residence card ( the Non-Eu spouse) or residence permit.

Documents you need

Updated : 08/2010

Non-EU family members

Do they a need a visa?

If you are an EU national but your family members are not, they can accompany or join you in another EU country. They must carry a valid passport at all times and, depending on the country where they are from, they may also be required to show an entry visa at the border.

Your non-EU spouse, (grand)parents or (grand)children do not need to get a visa from the country they are travelling to if:

• that country is in the Schengen area (see list below) and they have a residence permit or visa from another Schengen country,
  or
  
• they are travelling with you or travelling to join you and have a residence card issued by an EU country (except the country you are a national of). The residence card should clearly state that the holder is a family member of an EU national.
  

Countries in the Schengen area

Austria

Hungary

Norway

Belgium

Iceland

Poland

Czech Republic

Italy

Portugal

Denmark

Latvia

Slovakia

Estonia

Liechtenstein

Slovenia

Finland

Lithuania

Spain

France

Luxembourg

Sweden

Germany

Malta

Switzerland

Greece

Netherlands

Your registered partner and extended family - siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and so on – can ask the authorities in an EU country to officially recognise them as family members of an EU national. If they obtain recognition, they won't need a visa to enter that country – they will receive the same treatment as your spouse, parents and children.

EU countries do not have to recognise registered partners and extended family as your family members but they do at least have to consider the request.

To avoid problems, contact the consulate or embassy of the country to which you are travelling well in advance to find out which documents your non-EU family member will be asked to present at the border. This will help to avoid unpleasant situations such as non-EU family members being refused entry because they do not have the required documents.

Be aware that some countries may fail to apply EU law correctly and your non-EU family members may be denied some of their rights, as described here.

If you have problems, you can always contact our assistance services.

Applying for a visa

If your non-EU family members need an entry visa, they should apply for one in advance from the consulate or embassy of the country they wish to travel to. Their application should be processed quickly and free of charge.

Countries which are members of the passport-free Schengen area should deliver visas within 15 days except in rare and duly justified cases.

In all the other countries - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom - visas should also be delivered as quickly as possible.

The documents that your non-EU family member needs to apply for a visa may vary from country to country. Before travelling to another country, contact the consulate or embassy of that country to find out what documents your non-EU family members must submit with their visa application.

Edited June 24, 2012 by beano2274

[beano2274]

also reading it they first need to arrive in an EU country then apply to be recognized, so for the first time they must have a visa to allow entry. But as it says so EU countries might not recognize the family.