Schengen visa with UK tourist visa

[bushman1666]

I am in the process of gathering info and preparing all the necessary to get my Thai wife (married in Thailand) a UK tourist Visa. All being well that should be done and dusted by mid August. Whilst in the UK, it’d be great if we could also visit mainland Europe; France, Spain, Belgium and Holland in particular. I understand she will require a Schengen visa. As I’m at busting point with visa research, can anybody give me a quick answer as to whether this is something we can do easily? Any advice will be welcome.

Thanks

[7by7]

Assuming you are British, or the national of another EEA country, relatively easy and free; provided she'll be travelling with you.

She cannot apply in the UK, she must apply in Thailand as that where she lives.

She should apply to the embassy of the country she'll be visiting first if touring or the country of her ultimate destination if passing through others to get there.

[bushman1666]

Thanks for that info 7by7. Yes, I am a British citizen. We want to go to Barcelona fist for a week, to a friends villa. Then returning to England. A few weeks later I want to take her to Paris on the Eurostar. After that weekend trips to Bruges, Amsterdam and where ever takes out fancy. If the ski season starts early maybe even the Alps. My wife is desperate to see snow! So I guess the Spanish Embassy will be where we need to get her Shengen visa as that's the first place on out itinerary.

Should we apply for the shengen visa before or after we apply for her UK visa? I have heard the Shengen visa can take a long time to get.

We will also have our daughter with us but she now has a UK passport so I assume no issues there.

[theoldgit]

Thanks for that info 7by7. Yes, I am a British citizen. We want to go to Barcelona fist for a week, to a friends villa. Then returning to England. A few weeks later I want to take her to Paris on the Eurostar. After that weekend trips to Bruges, Amsterdam and where ever takes out fancy. If the ski season starts early maybe even the Alps. My wife is desperate to see snow! So I guess the Spanish Embassy will be where we need to get her Shengen visa as that's the first place on out itinerary.

Should we apply for the shengen visa before or after we apply for her UK visa? I have heard the Shengen visa can take a long time to get.

We will also have our daughter with us but she now has a UK passport so I assume no issues there.

You are correct that you should apply for the Schengen Visa either for the main destination or, if you have multiple stops, where you first enter the Schengen Area.

I personally would apply for the UK Visa first, I don't think the Schengen Visa takes a long time but I think the visa officer will be satisfied once they see your wife already has a visa for the main destination.

When applications are made for Schengen Visa's you have to detail all the trips and give proof of the booked accommodation, though I'm not sure if this applies to the spouse of an EU National, you have also to provide evidence of your tickets out of Schengen and insurance.

We are just going through the same procedure and certainly did the UK visa first, don't forget to book Eurostar tickets early as they get quite expensive nearer the time.

I took my other half to South Korea a few years ago as she wanted to see the snow.

You are also correct about your daughter not needing any visas as she has a UK passport.

Good luck and have a great trip.

[Bushcraft]

I had a nightmare trying to do this with my Thai girlfriend 2 years ago.

The problem is that both embassies want to retain her passport.

Whatever you do, make sure you have the UK visa in good time before the Schengen, so that you can make the Schengen application and leave the passport at the relevant embassy knowing that the UK end is already complete.

The Schengen visa is comparatively quick to get, 3-4 days, but the UK people can be buggers and in my case refused the first application, completely blowing my timing out of the water.

[tw25rw]

I did it last year. Got the UK visa in a week, which was multi entry, so applied for a visa to Switzerland, which was even easier and quicker.

Make sure you ask for a multientry UK visa. And for the dates on the Schengen, use the entire time she will be in the UK/EU and not just the dates for any specific trip as the visa has exact dates rather than 6 months validity.

[personchester]

Assuming you are British, or the national of another EEA country, relatively easy and free; provided she'll be travelling with you.

She cannot apply in the UK, she must apply in Thailand as that where she lives.

She should apply to the embassy of the country she'll be visiting first if touring or the country of her ultimate destination if passing through others to get there.

A friend of mine in England married to a Thai woman makes every year a touring visits into Europe ... France, Belgium, Holland, and

Germany, he does enter different countries firstly, sometimes France, Belgium, and Holland.

For the wife's Schengen visa he always goes to the German embassy because the embassy it is very close to his London

West End home, when entering any of the three countries first, the Schengen visa from the German embassy is no problem.

[japatee]

Assuming you are British, or the national of another EEA country, relatively easy and free; provided she'll be travelling with you.

She cannot apply in the UK, she must apply in Thailand as that where she lives.

She should apply to the embassy of the country she'll be visiting first if touring or the country of her ultimate destination if passing through others to get there.

A friend of mine in England married to a Thai woman makes every year a touring visits into Europe ... France, Belgium, Holland, and

Germany, he does enter different countries firstly, sometimes France, Belgium, and Holland.

For the wife's Schengen visa he always goes to the German embassy because the embassy it is very close to his London

West End home, when entering any of the three countries first, the Schengen visa from the German embassy is no problem.

Your Friend's wife must have a UK spouse visa in order to apply from the UK. I think this is that case anyway.

I am also applying for a schengen visa for my wife, but she has only a multi-tourist visa for the UK. We have to apply from her country of residence as she only has a UK tourist visa.

Does anyone know if we have to show travel arrangements when applying for the schengen visa? like the person who started this post, we are hoping to just travel to Europe when we feel like it, rather than having a strict itinerary. Also, being a spouse of UK national, does my wife need to have travel insurance?

I would also like to know if there is any EU embassy in Thailand that is seen to be 'easier' when applying for the schengen visa? Or are they all the same?

And, finally, when we provide translations of our marriage certificate etc. does anyone know where/by whom these translations need to be done in order to satisfy EU embassy criteria?

Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers