Schengen Visa for Spain Residence - Please Help!

[AmeenNassir]

Hi All,

Here is a breakdown of our situation

Me

• British Citizen
• Married in Sep 2014
• Currently living in Morocco

My Wife

• Moroccan Citizen
• Previously issued a 90 day Irish visa to travel with me as an Non-EU Spouse and had conformed with all the terms of the visa

Current Situation

• We wish to travel to Spain on a 90 Day Schengen Visa
• Due to the long wait for an appointment and the visa services for the Spanish embassy here being outsourced to VFS we have decided to apply for a Schengen visa from another European country to enter Spain (possibly from the Czech embassy as they have a very fast turnaround time)
• The overall aim is for us to settle in Southern Spain and for me to work in Gibraltar as I am a British Citizen I would not require any extra permissions to do this

My question is, can I get a 90 Day Schengen Visa for my wife from one of the "friendlier" embassies and then enter Spain and use the same visa to apply for her Residence Card in Spain as my Non-EU Spouse.

In practice, I know I should actually visit or stay for a long period in the country that issues the visa but I do not want to face long waits and a possible refusal from the embassies which are in demand here in Morocco.

[AmeenNassir]

Any clarification would be appreciated.....

[mgb]

Your wife need only a visa for entry the schengen room and not for staying if she accompany you. Normally the entry country is responsible for the visa. In your case you simply changed your mind about the travel route afterwards.

[AmeenNassir]

Hi,

I went to the Czech Embassy today and applied for a 90-day C visa for my wife.

They were asking all sorts of questions like "What will you be doing in Czech Republic", "Do you have Travel Insurance" etc.

I was assertive and informed them that we are applying as per the EU Directive 2004/38/EC and they should process it on that basis, if they did not want to do that, then they can return my documents and I will make other arrangements.

The counter staff then went and spoke to the Ambassador of the Embassy for around 20 minutes and returned and duly took my wife's fingerprints and told us to come back on the 8th January to collect the passport. I clearly mentioned to them I need a multiple entry visa as I will be entering and exiting the Schengen Area and they understood and took note of that.

I will keep you all updated!

[Donutz]

You probably wol be allright. As for the Spanish: VFS is entirely optional, all applicants can deal with the Spanish embassy directly for appointments, most certainly EU/EEA family members. And an appontment must be granted within 2 weeks. If this is not the case they are violating the Schengen visa rules (Visa Code), articles 17 and 9. They'd be violating directive 2004/38 aswell. You may wish to notify the Spanish embassy and EU (Home Affairs or the EU represenative in Marocco), so others are atleast treated properly!