Multiple European Road Trip With Thai Wife

[Siam_Sam]

My Thai wife has ILR and a residency permit but still doesn't have a British passport so obviously she will have to obtain Schengen visas for the countries she wishes to visit in Europe. Next year we are considering a European road trip incorporating a few different European nations so will I have to obtain separate Schengen visas for every country she wishes to enter or is there any easier way of doing this? Is there perhaps a way of obtaining a multi-entry European Schengen visa? Would appreciate it if anyone who has done a similar thing with their Thai wife can give me any advice on this.

Edit - Just done some research and found that "generally" speaking with a Schengen visa, you may enter one country and travel freely throughout the Schengen region during the validity of the visa. So if my wife obtains a Schengen visa from the French embassy (as France will be our point of entry into the Schengen zone) then we are free to travel freely within the Schengen zone before returning home before the visa expires.

Edited March 16, 2013 by Siam_Sam

[rushandy]

Hiya,

I was in exactly the same position as you a year or two ago when the missus and I did the exact same thing. The rules back then were that you were supposed to apply to the country that was your main destination for the holiday, but that once you had a Schengen visa you could enter any of the Schengen countries. The country you applied to didn't even have to be your point of entry or exit.

We applied to Italy as we were told it was one of the easier countries to apply to, and we could get a visa appointment in Manchester pretty quickly, although in reality France was our main destination. We did visit Italy though, as well as France, Switzerland and Monaco. For the Italian visa we had to provide proof of flights (or ferry tickets), bank statements showing my partner had the money to support herself during the stay in her bank account, and proof of accommodation in Italy showing it was our main destination. We achieved the last bit by making a cancellable booking at a campsite, using this as proof, then cancelling it once the visa had been approved (this was the advice given to us by the friendly Italian visa officer!!). We also had to provide her passport, proof of address, filled in visa application forms etc. Nothing too arduous.

We hada great time, hope you do too.

[wooloomooloo]

For the Italian visa we had to provide proof of flights (or ferry tickets), bank statements showing my partner had the money to support herself during the stay in her bank account, and proof of accommodation in Italy showing it was our main destination.

Blimey. We applied to German Embassy in London and no such rigmarole. Marriage certificate and passports and that was it.

[rushandy]

Actually, further to my reply, the rules are different for wives of EU nationals - I think I remember reading that you may not even need a visa for her, so go do some googling to check out the rules that apply to you. My partner and I aren't married, so she had to go down the Schengen visa route.

[wooloomooloo]

Andy. This isn't correct if you are based in UK. My wife requires a Schengen to travel within the EU.

I wouldn't risk travelling without one.