Practical Experience of Schengen for spouse of EU citizen application?

[7by7]

I don't know about other embassies but the Dutch and Belgian embassies accept cash only in local currency..........

That was the system for the UK when applications were submitted to the embassy. When visa submissions were outsourced fees were payable via VFS with a bankers draft in local currency. But in both cases the money was never kept by the embassy. It went to IND, who then became UKBA and are now UKVI. (The British government, whichever party, are very fond of spending a fortune on 'rebranding' rather than dealing with the real problems in their agencies!)

Do you know who keeps the money for Dutch and Belgian applications, Donutz?

The relevant embassy, or is it forwarded by the embassy to the relevant department of the Dutch or Belgian government?

[Donutz]

I don't know what happens with the money. If I were to guess: it's likely that it's send to the ministry of foreign affairs but perhaps only on paper (which could save the officials from sending money back and forth plus the hit they take with conversing into euro's and back again...) . You could afterall make a quick calculation: we received X euro's in THB here at the embassy for various fees, wthis month the minisitry fo foreign affairs has to pay X euro's in for the various costs we make, simply substract the amount of money we already have here from that number. But perhaps that's too much of a commercial business way of looking at things and they just sent money back and forth for the sake of leaving a clear papertrail and plenty of oppertunities to check if everything is done by the book (even if such a methoud would cost more money).

I'm sure that if anyone asked the embassy -by e-mail- they'd be happy to explain what happens with the visa (and other) fees. Visas etc. are handled by the Consular Department ( ban-ca at minbuza dot nl ).

[DrChopper]

Feedback from our visit to the Italian Embassy:

I unfortunately could not go so wife went alone.

They told her that the marriage certificate which is endored by the MFA is not enough, and it also needs endorsing by the British Embassy (I am british). Doesnt make sense to me. They did say this can be avoided with a full fee application.

They also still wanted bank statements, hotel bookings, travel insurance etc.

So next time I need to go with her and argue the toss on these points.

[Donutz]

In the Schengen sticky the OldGit added a post (sadly the formatting went lost) that tells you exactly what they can ask for. Just the marital papers could be enough but they could ask legalisation if they are unsure about the authenticity. Ofcourse a British stamp adds next to nothing: it only verifies that the Thai MoFA legalisation (signature) is valid but the Italians can fo the exact same thing. So the Italians are just being silly. And indeed they cannot ask for the load of documents they requested. You may wish to consult Solvit.

Edit: ofcourse you could also mail the Italians and point out their 'mistakes' and CC it to the EU commission ( JUST-CITIZENSHIP [at] ec.europa.eu ).

Edited May 25, 2015 by Donutz

[DrChopper]

Slightly belated, but an update for anyone else doing this:

We got the wedding certificate stamped at the British Embassy, seems there is no way around this.

I got on the phone with the Italy embassy and had the lady verify exactly what they wanted to process. She asked for cert as above, proof of traveling together (we already had flights booked so no problem), my ID, hotel bookings and travel insurance. I explained I was looking at the visa code right then and they shouldnt need hotel bookings and she just laughed. Apparently you can submit without them but they then have to process in a different way, and get some higher approval. Given that we had all but one hotel held via booking.com anyway I just went and booked the final hotel - it just wasnt worth for fight for us. Similarly with insurance, we were always going to get that anyway, so we got it for the application.

We turned up at the embassy, everyone was tremendously polite and helpful. They lady looked over the application, ok'd it and even though we are only going for 3 weeks she said we will just give you a 12 month multiple entry visa. Couple of weeks later we went to pick it up. Big bonus cos we are going back to the uk next summer and now can also jump over the europe as this visa will still be valid.

[Donutz]

Slightly belated, but an update for anyone else doing this:

We got the wedding certificate stamped at the British Embassy, seems there is no way around this.

I got on the phone with the Italy embassy and had the lady verify exactly what they wanted to process. She asked for cert as above, proof of traveling together (we already had flights booked so no problem), my ID, hotel bookings and travel insurance. I explained I was looking at the visa code right then and they shouldnt need hotel bookings and she just laughed. Apparently you can submit without them but they then have to process in a different way, and get some higher approval. Given that we had all but one hotel held via booking.com anyway I just went and booked the final hotel - it just wasnt worth for fight for us. Similarly with insurance, we were always going to get that anyway, so we got it for the application.

We turned up at the embassy, everyone was tremendously polite and helpful. They lady looked over the application, ok'd it and even though we are only going for 3 weeks she said we will just give you a 12 month multiple entry visa. Couple of weeks later we went to pick it up. Big bonus cos we are going back to the uk next summer and now can also jump over the europe as this visa will still be valid.

So the italians don't give much of a damn about the EU regulations either, a shame. Being practical and cooperating is ofcourse the fastest way but you may wish to inform the EU about this so that they can slap the embassy on the wrist and make them comply more properly in the future.

As you are aware technically they should not have asked for travel documents (reservation, booking etc.) , neither accomodation (reservation, booking) or Insurance (smart to have it but not legally required).n And laughing at your comments does not sound like a proper proffesional response, if you had recorded that...

EU Commission, Solvit and "EU delegation" (' embassy' -has regular meetings regarding visa's- in Thailand):

- http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/complaints_en.htm

- just-citizenship AT ec.europa DOT eu

- http://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/thailand/about_us/contacts/index_en.htm

-- I mailed the EU delegation in TH once and they were very much helpful in raising this topic in a future meeting and some time later most embassies had changed their websites on the points that I bruoght up (it was about no mentionig of direct access and VFS being purely optional so no service fee would need to be paid unless people are informed about direct and indirect applications and knowingly and willingly choose to use (the) VFS or TLS service(s) ).

Same with Spain, I got this via Mattk1:

Requirements for Spanish or E.U. citizen Family visa.

Family member of the EU citizen are entitled to apply for this type of visa. Should the purpose is to reside in Spain, after the visa has been granted the applicant must apply for a residence card in Spain not less than one month after entering Spain.

Documents required:

1. 2 visa applications duly filled. Applications not duly filled will not be accepted.

2. Valid passport and its copy.

3. 2 photographs, colour, with white background, less than 6 months old.

4. A letter of consent from the EU citizen stating that the applicant is accompanying/joining or will live with him/her in Spain.

5. Documents proving the relationship between the applicant and Spanish/EU citizen.

• 1. Spouse of Spanish, French, and Portuguese citizen: Family book issued by that country member.
• 2. UK citizens must provide a document issued by British authorities recognizing the marriage to have the same legal effects as the UK law.
• 3. Marriage certificate issued by EU country of that national.
• 4. For other EU nationals whose marriage registration is carried out in Thailand or in other non EU countries: the marriage registration must be certified according to the consular procedures of that EU nationals´ Embassy.
• 5. In case of family reunion for children under 18, a certificate from the respective authorities confirming that the person has the parental power over the child. The document must be legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representing that country.
• 6. For family member over 21 years of age: document proving that the applicant has been financially supported by the EU family member for more than one year.

6. Document proving that EU citizen and the family member is travelling together or reuniting in Spain.

Following documents may be required by Spanish authority in Spain when applying for the residence card.

* Medical certificate at least in English stating the applicant does not suffer from any of the diseases that might have serious consequences for public health, according to the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR) (http://www.who.int/ihr/health_risks/en/).

1) small pox

2) poliomyelitis due to wild type poliovirus

3) human influenza caused by a new subtype, and

4) severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

* Police Clearance Certificate issued by the relevant authorities of the country of origin or residence, regarding the last 5 years. The validity of the certificate is 3 months. The certificate must be legalized by the concerned Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Spanish Embassy representing that country, or certificate with Apostille stamp as the case may be.

* All foreign documents, to have legal effects in Spain, must be legalized and translated into Spanish with certified translation by the Embassy.

As of January 3rd, 2011 - The visa application must be submitted in person.

Citizens from Cambodia, Burma/Myanmar and Laos may apply for EU Family visa at the Embassy of Spain in Bangkok, Thailand.

The visa fee is exempted.

You must request an appointment to submit your visa application at [email protected]

Visa applications will be submitted on Tuesday and Thursday from 10 to 12 hour

Visa can be picked up from Monday to Friday from 12 to 13 hour

The instructions are clear enough though legally not entirely respecting the EU directive 2004/38 (freedom of movement). Points 5 is wrong since ANY legal document that is authentic is sufficient proof (to confirm the document is authenthic it may require legalisations from the authorities in the country that issued it) and 6 (proof of transport) cannot be asked as point 4 already covers this (letter from the EU national).

But this is due to the Spaniards incorrectly having incooperated 2004/38 in their national legislation. The Spanish MoFA knows this but embassies act ignoring this. The most practical is to comply with all items but if that's too costly or difficult, you could skip 5 and 6 and get Solvit involved.

The points regarding settlers also don't quite comply with the directive (police certificate etc. cannot be asked). AFAIK the EU commision is aware of this but untill the court rules that the Spaniards need to change their legislation nothing will change...

More on freedom of movement (short stay and settlement) can be found here:

- http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=457

- http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/residence/worker-pensioner/non-eu-family-members/index_en.htm

How the Spanish SHOULD act and why they are at fault can be read more clearly in the EU handbook for embassies, found on EU home affairs (quoted in the Schengen sticky) and ofcourse on the EU website on traveling with family members:

- http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/non-eu-family/index_en.htm

Edited July 13, 2015 by Donutz

[bobrussell]

I have reported UKVI to SOLVIT twice in the last month.

Visa4UK hides the EEA Family Permit under 'Other' which makes life difficult for those not used to visa applications. Using the website, the commonsense category is 'visit' (which many are!) but this takes you to the chargeable standard visit visa option only.

Even if you find the correct option many/most of the questions asked do not need to be answered under EEA/EU rules!

UKVI are failing to process these applications as a priority as they are required to do!

Oddly enough on Saturday I received an email to confirm that the application in question has been processed! Not aware of the result yet but legally it has to be issued!

The Visa4UK issue has been given a named contact and has been referred higher (apparently!).

Not sure if it is going to give good results for Italy but someone in the UK seems to be awake!!