Greek Islands

[overherebc]

Not sure if in the right place.

My wife has decided that our next holiday should be to one of the Greek islands, I will pick carefully to avoid the obvious, let's say, places with an excess of other 'guests' etc.

 Has anyone traveled there lately and if so what is the best way to fly, from BKK to Athens and then the flight onward or is there another better way to do, say via Munich or whatever?

How difficult/easy was the visa process as well?

Edited February 26, 2017 by overherebc

[Donutz]

The question on what is the best way to fly (least stops, changes, travel time) is best suited for the travel section.

 

In regards to the visa process, for general information you may find the Schengen sticky topic useful. If you happen to be an EU/EEA national (except Greek) your wife would be considered a family member of an EU/EEA/Swiss national and thus covered by Freedom of Movement. Entitling her to a free visa, issued ASAP and with minimal paperwork or hassle.

 

If you have specific questions regarding the visa process, do let us know. Greece may not be the most common destination for forum members but perhaps some one walks in with some experience. I remember one member posting last year about going to what I think probably was Malta but might have been Greece.

[overherebc]

19 hours ago, Donutz said:

The question on what is the best way to fly (least stops, changes, travel time) is best suited for the travel section.

 

In regards to the visa process, for general information you may find the Schengen sticky topic useful. If you happen to be an EU/EEA national (except Greek) your wife would be considered a family member of an EU/EEA/Swiss national and thus covered by Freedom of Movement. Entitling her to a free visa, issued ASAP and with minimal paperwork or hassle.

 

If you have specific questions regarding the visa process, do let us know. Greece may not be the most common destination for forum members but perhaps some one walks in with some experience. I remember one member posting last year about going to what I think probably was Malta but might have been Greece.

Cheers. I'll post in travel re flights.

[LongTimeLurker]

On 2/28/2017 at 2:01 PM, Donutz said:

The question on what is the best way to fly (least stops, changes, travel time) is best suited for the travel section.

 

In regards to the visa process, for general information you may find the Schengen sticky topic useful. If you happen to be an EU/EEA national (except Greek) your wife would be considered a family member of an EU/EEA/Swiss national and thus covered by Freedom of Movement. Entitling her to a free visa, issued ASAP and with minimal paperwork or hassle.

 

If you have specific questions regarding the visa process, do let us know. Greece may not be the most common destination for forum members but perhaps some one walks in with some experience. I remember one member posting last year about going to what I think probably was Malta but might have been Greece.

 

I have a specific question

 

Does my non-Thai wife need to have a long term visa (residence) in Thailand to apply for a EU family member Shengen visa at the Greece Embassy?

 

And are all the stated requirements on their website necessary? Like flights bookings, hotel bookings etc. since she is travelling with me?

 

I went there Friday to ask them but they were closed.

[Donutz]

If your wife is not Thai, what nationality is she? But the same rules apply as described in this topic.

 

Any eligible family member such as a Spouse of an EU/EEA citizen can apply at any relevant embassy in the world. So you and your wife could apply at any Greek embassy capable of issueing visas in the world (or which ever EU embassy represents Greece). Some insist that foreigners must have long term residency but that is not true, such a thing applies only to regular visa applicants. Family of EU/EEA applicants must be provided every possible facility and also nowhere in the Directive 2004/38 does it give restrictrions on where to apply. 

 

The 2004/38 directive is community law takes presidency over the regular rules from the Schengen Code on Visa, so states the Schengen convention in article 134.

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/961389-schengen-visa/?page=2

 

If she has any non-EU/EEA nationality and you are an EU/EEA national (except Greek) your wife will be entitled to a free visa, issued ASAP and with minimal documentation: proof of marriage (preferably legalized by the MFA of whichever country she comes from and legalisation by an EU/EEA embassy located in that same country), proof of ID of the both of, a written statement by you that your wife is national X and joining you with nationality Y on a trip to Greece. Ticket reservation or hotel bookings are not required but you may include them if you wish. Travel insurance is not required but you may have proper insurance anyway.

 

Fill out the application forms and skip all questions marked with *. And for travel purpose select 'other' and write 'joining EU/EEA national' 

Edited March 5, 2017 by Donutz

[LongTimeLurker]

On 3/5/2017 at 3:27 PM, Donutz said:

If your wife is not Thai, what nationality is she? But the same rules apply as described in this topic.

 

Any eligible family member such as a Spouse of an EU/EEA citizen can apply at any relevant embassy in the world. So you and your wife could apply at any Greek embassy capable of issueing visas in the world (or which ever EU embassy represents Greece). Some insist that foreigners must have long term residency but that is not true, such a thing applies only to regular visa applicants. Family of EU/EEA applicants must be provided every possible facility and also nowhere in the Directive 2004/38 does it give restrictrions on where to apply. 

 

The 2004/38 directive is community law takes presidency over the regular rules from the Schengen Code on Visa, so states the Schengen convention in article 134.

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/961389-schengen-visa/?page=2

 

If she has any non-EU/EEA nationality and you are an EU/EEA national (except Greek) your wife will be entitled to a free visa, issued ASAP and with minimal documentation: proof of marriage (preferably legalized by the MFA of whichever country she comes from and legalisation by an EU/EEA embassy located in that same country), proof of ID of the both of, a written statement by you that your wife is national X and joining you with nationality Y on a trip to Greece. Ticket reservation or hotel bookings are not required but you may include them if you wish. Travel insurance is not required but you may have proper insurance anyway.

 

Fill out the application forms and skip all questions marked with *. And for travel purpose select 'other' and write 'joining EU/EEA national' 

Thanks for that, that's what I thought as she had a previous Shengen visa from Italy with no problem. I managed to 'phone the embassy today and they told me

 

Must have airtickets (don't have)

Must have certification from British Embassy that the marriage is recognised as legal (don't have)

Must have insurance (Have)

 

We have a stamp from the Brit Embassy Ha Noi on the marriage certificate, but not saying what they want it to say, and also have a copy certified by the VN Embassy in Bangkok and the Thai MoFA.

 

We'll be going there again on Wednesday to see if they'll accept the documents we have before arranging tickets and accommodation.

[Donutz]

Sounds like you spoke to a staff member who either did not realize that you are NOT doing a regular tourist application but one for a Thai national joining an EU/EEA national for a holiday to Greece covered by Directive 2004/38.  Or, worse, said staff member does not know the rules properly or does not care about the relaxed rules.  The questions marked wih an * are pretty obvious as is the information  provided by the EU websites on EU/EEA applications.  Does the Greek website not mention this type of application properly?

 

There is no need for airtickets (hell, regular applications should NOT buy tickets though they need a reservation which can be made for free or low costs as not to waste money incase of a refusal). There is requirement for recognition of you marriage by the British authorities, an legal and genuine marriage with clearly genuine papers (insert fancy legalisation stamps from the Thai MFA here plus an official translation of the? If you do end up needing medical attention....).

e paperwork in a language that the Greek can understand).  Insurance is not required (but if one wishes to travel with poor or no insurance??)

 

Once more the various pages with more info as also refered to in the sticky topic:

- https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/visa-policy_en --> part III of the PDF   Operational instructions for the application of the Visa Code are further specified in the Handbook for the processing of visa applications and the modification of issued visas

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

- see the instructions from various other major Schengen embassies in BKK about EU/EEA applications incase the Greek lack this information. These should all be pretty much the same as there cannot be country specific instructions for this type of EU community law  application (which ofcourse any staffer with half a brain ought to know or realize so showing such links should wake them up incase they dozed off and  'forgot' about the rules...)

 

Edited March 6, 2017 by Donutz

[LongTimeLurker]

^No the Greek website doesn't mention the requirements for Shengen EU family member visas.

 

I was very specific about the visa I wanted and the guy responding understood exactly but that is what he told me is required.

[LongTimeLurker]

If they still insist that certification of the marriage is recognised in UK  by the Brit Embassy is required, is that something that the Brit Embassy will do?

[overherebc]

Just to save a whole load of hassle we decided a week in Japan is a better bet.

????

[OJAS]

On 3/7/2017 at 11:07 AM, LongTimeLurker said:

If they still insist that certification of the marriage is recognised in UK  by the Brit Embassy is required, is that something that the Brit Embassy will do?

No they won't - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-thailand and scroll down to "Recognition or Validity of Marriage"

 

Instead you would need to go through a tediously bureaucratic legalisation process - https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised

[theoldgit]

2 hours ago, OJAS said:

Instead you would need to go through a tediously bureaucratic legalisation process - https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised

And even that won't give you what they're asking for, they will only legalise a document from the UK or from a UK public official.
They won't give you a document advising the UK recognises a legal marriage in another county, only a Thai official can issue a document saying the document is valid, but they wouldn't say that the document is recognised in another country, only that the document complies with international standards.
I suspect the countries that impose these requirements, know what they're asking contravenes international agreements but a quite happy for you to run round in circles in the full knowledge there's no solution. 

[nisakiman]

I'm a Brit and I've lived in Greece for the past 15 years, the last ten with my Thai wife.

We always fly with Qatar who have daily  ( I think ) flights from Athens to Doha, and usually very short connection times to BKK. We're here at the moment, and our stopover was one hour on the way here, and will be two hours on the way back.

The first time my wife came to Greece was before we were married, and I was at the time in Greece. She got a month visa with no problems. She had to get a letter from her employer saying that she had a job to go back to  (she's an accountant) and show a certain amount of money in the bank, can't remember how much.

The next time we were both in Bangkok, and I went with her to the Greek consulate. We had had a Thai marriage ceremony, but were not officially married, as the intention was to do that in Greece. I think I must have raised some eyebrows in the consulate, as I was obviously an Englishman but speaking Greek asking for a visa for my Thai girlfriend. A guy came out of an office and came across to see what was going on. I spoke to him a bit through the security screen, and he invited us through the security door and into his office for coffee while I explained what I wanted to do. Turns out that he was the consul, and he gave my wife a three month visa. Nice guy!

But what I was trying to say before I got sidetracked is that I think the Greek consulate is probably easier than many of the other EU legations for visas. At least, that was my experience.

[LongTimeLurker]

Turned out to be no dramas, they accepted the documents presented with no questions asked.