rachelm1 wrote:Well we only realised later that his visa should have been processed within 15days, and for free as well, so guess we didn't receive the treatment that we should have had.
We do have a certificate from the British embassy confirming our relationship status, as well as lots of other evidence, so this should be sufficient proof of a durable relationship.
Anyway, irrespective of our relationship status, the maximum time for processing any visa according to the EU handbook is 60 days.
We have just found out, though by checking online - we still haven't heard a peep out of the embassy, that his visa was issued, but after 68 days! This is a clear violation of the EU guidelines and contradictory of the information they gave, so if you have any ideas about how not being able to use the visa will impact future visa applications and/ or our entitlements in terms of refund of visa fees/ compensation for inconvenience caused please do let us know.
Thanks
The first step is to contact the Embassy and ask for a status update to find out what actually happened.
It all seems a bit strange.
All you need regarding relationship status is a marriage certificate professionally translated into French and a certified copy of your EU passport. Then the application should have been processed under EU regulations free of charge within 15 days.
If you are unmarried, he applied under domestic Belgian law (requiring a visa fee) which has a different set of rules, different required evidence and processing time.
I am very surprised that the Embassy "guaranteed" a visa in writing prior to receiving the application. When I was still working at an Embassy we would have always worded it saying that it is likely to be issued if the application is complete and all relevant checks come back positive.
A visa is NEVER guaranteed. An Embassy is not a business selling visas for a purchasing price. It's a government agency where you apply for entry clearance which might or might not be granted depending on individual circumstances and after all checks have been successfully cleared. Especially a Schengen visa can't be guaranteed because something might flag up in one of the other Schengen countries during checks.
In any case, all SOLVIT or similar bodies may be able to help you with is to get your visa application reviewed (we don't know yet whether it's refused at all and if so, why - you need to speak to the Embassy first!) and can possibly help you to get the visa.
Not using it once issued would not be a problem.
Embassies are not liable for any lost travel cost. Apart from the fact that most guidance and forms state not to book anything until the visa has been issued, Embassies do have Diplomatic immunity and you are likely to run against a brick wall.
If you did qualify for processing under EU regulations and applied in the right category, SOLVIT might be able to get you a refund of fees if you were wrongfully charged. You might not even need SOLVIT for this. Talk to the Embassy.
