Is a EU Holiday visa required when on 5 Year Work Permit ?

[andy slater]

Hi there,

I've just discovered this board, I've had a look around but can't find a question which matches my question. So wonder if anyone can help me.

My partner/girlfriend is South African and is over here on a 5 year work permit (being sponsored by work after coming over on a standard 1 year working visa). We have been together for just coming up to 18 months and are looking at booking a Holiday.

I'm a British Citizen so can travel freely, however she has heard from friends that if she holidays within the EU she will require an EU holiday visa which lasts 6 months or 1 year?

Can anybody confirm or clarify this? I have travelled to various places around the world as a British citizen and have found that as long as your Holiday is less than 30 days a visa is not generally necessary.

I was going to speak to my travel agent at the weekend but thought I would consult you nice people first.

Thanks in advance

Andy

[immigration1]

I think it depends on the country you intend to visit. i.e whetehr or not that EU country allows SA citizens visa exemption... You need to check with the relevant embassy in the UK before you go off on hol.

[magsi23]

She would need to get Schengen Visa to travel to europe

[andy slater]

Cheers for the info.

I've started looking into the different embassys websites. It appears Greece is £42.00 and lasts for 90 days.

Is this pretty standard across the board or do different embassys apply different charges and issue the visas for different periods of time?

I find it quite annoying to be honest, she has a 5 year permit to work here and pays british tax and NI as any other GB resident. However she cannot go on holiday without going through this process and paying money.

Does anyone know the theory/Logic behind this Visa?

I find it annoying we are part of Europe and should be as one and able to work and travel freely yet some laws still exclude people from doing this. I have a british friend who now works and lives in Italy and cannot insure his bike in Italy as a UK citizen without pay extortionate amounts.

Sorry rant over, just seems a bit one sided sometimes.

[SYH]

Cheers for the info.

I've started looking into the different embassys websites. It appears Greece is £42.00 and lasts for 90 days.

Is this pretty standard across the board or do different embassys apply different charges and issue the visas for different periods of time?

I find it quite annoying to be honest, she has a 5 year permit to work here and pays british tax and NI as any other GB resident. However she cannot go on holiday without going through this process and paying money.

Does anyone know the theory/Logic behind this Visa?

I find it annoying we are part of Europe and should be as one and able to work and travel freely yet some laws still exclude people from doing this. I have a british friend who now works and lives in Italy and cannot insure his bike in Italy as a UK citizen without pay extortionate amounts.

Sorry rant over, just seems a bit one sided sometimes.

Because she is not a UK or citizen of an EU country.
She has only met the UK's critieria to work in the UK, the EU countries had no say in the process of how a 3rd country national obtained a work permit in a member country so she still has to go through the hoops of getting a visitor visa in the Schengen Area. Sorry that's how the cookie crumbles

[paulp]

It's because the UK did not sign up to the Schengen agreement. People on Schengen work visas are not dispensed from needing a visa to come to the UK and vice versa.

[Dawie]

Cheers for the info.

I've started looking into the different embassys websites. It appears Greece is £42.00 and lasts for 90 days.

Is this pretty standard across the board or do different embassys apply different charges and issue the visas for different periods of time?

I find it quite annoying to be honest, she has a 5 year permit to work here and pays british tax and NI as any other GB resident. However she cannot go on holiday without going through this process and paying money.

Does anyone know the theory/Logic behind this Visa?

I find it annoying we are part of Europe and should be as one and able to work and travel freely yet some laws still exclude people from doing this. I have a british friend who now works and lives in Italy and cannot insure his bike in Italy as a UK citizen without pay extortionate amounts.

Sorry rant over, just seems a bit one sided sometimes.

Andy, as a South African citizen too I understand the hassle and pain involved in having to obtain visas to travel to the rest of Europe. However the fact is that your girlfriend is a South African citizen, not a British citizen, and therefore has to abide by same visa rules as any other South African citizen. Living and residing in the UK as a non-EU citizen does not entitle her to any privileges with regards to the rest of Europe.

Furthermore, with regards to the Schengen visa, you cannot just shop around and get one from whatever embassy takes your fancy. You have to apply for a Schengen visa from the embassy of the country you plan to visit and spend the most time in.

[VictoriaS]

You are supposed to apply for the Schengen from the Embassy of the country you are to visit first or the one you are to spend the most time in. However, I still haven't seen the evidence that says you have to, and I don't know if this is just a recommendation or if it is checked.


Victoria

[Dawie]

You are supposed to apply for the Schengen from the Embassy of the country you are to visit first or the one you are to spend the most time in. However, I still haven't seen the evidence that says you have to, and I don't know if this is just a recommendation or if it is checked.


Victoria

Almost every Schengen country's embassy website advises this. Whether it is enshrined somewhere in a statute, I don't know, but in practise it is checked when the applicant applies for future visas from the same embassy. They religiously check whether or not the visa was abused. Not using the visa to go the country of issue at all is considered abuse.

[andy slater]

OK. Thanks for the info people.

I appreciate immigration laws have to be inplace and it's be a complex system. Thankfully it's not a process I have to go through often.

We'll decide on a location and go through the correct application procedure via the associated embassy.

Cheers

Andy

[VictoriaS]

Almost every Schengen country's embassy website advises this. Whether it is enshrined somewhere in a statute, I don't know, but in practise it is checked when the applicant applies for future visas from the same embassy. They religiously check whether or not the visa was abused. Not using the visa to go the country of issue at all is considered abuse.

Is it? But if there is no statute against it then what can be done?

Victoria

[mym]

Almost every Schengen country's embassy website advises this. Whether it is enshrined somewhere in a statute, I don't know, but in practise it is checked when the applicant applies for future visas from the same embassy. They religiously check whether or not the visa was abused. Not using the visa to go the country of issue at all is considered abuse.

Is it? But if there is no statute against it then what can be done?

Victoria

They can, and do, refuse to issue a visa.

I guess there must be a regulation somewhere.

*digs about*

Wel the Convention establishing Schengen has this:

Article 12
...
2. The Contracting Party responsible for issuing such a visa shall in principle be that of the main destination. If this cannot be determined, the visa shall in principle be issued by the diplomatic or consular post of the Contracting Party of first entry.


and in Article 96
...
3. Decisions may also be based on the fact that the alien
has been subject to measures involving deportation, refusal of
entry or removal which have not been rescinded or suspended,
including or accompanied by a prohibition on entry ... based on a failure to
comply with national regulations on the entry or residence of
aliens.

So maybe that's the route they use.

[Dawie]

And of course one of the requirements when applying for a Schengen visa is to show evidence of booked travel and accommodation in the country of whatever embassy you are applying at. Without this evidence you will not get the visa.

[mym]

Indeed, but I thought we were talking about those people who try and fail to get a second visa, with the usual proofs, from an embassy they have "abused" before.

[VictoriaS]

And of course one of the requirements when applying for a Schengen visa is to show evidence of booked travel and accommodation in the country of whatever embassy you are applying at. Without this evidence you will not get the visa.

Not always the case. But I accept the point of what should be done. Althoght the 'in principle' caveat is interesting, and is one which is certainly not upheld by every Embassy. It does seem to indicate that the onus is on the consulate, not the applicant, to make sure that this instruction is upheld, so I still don't see that the applicant is doing anything illegal by trying.

Victoria

[andy slater]

Hi,

thanks for all your info....one more question...

From looking at the spanish, french & greek embassy the visa costs approx £40 and lasts for 90 days.

I assume that if you make an appointment with the relevant embassy and turn up with the correct forms then they stamp your passport/validate the visa on that day? (I'm working on when I last got a Thai Visa)

Is this the case or does the process take x amount of days??

Also is it possible to get a schengen visa for longer than 90 days? We are thinking of going once in the spring and then again in summer/autumn. Would this require 2 applications or is it possible to get a longer visa?

Cheers

Andy

[Wanderer]

Some points:

1. Most embassies require u to make an appointment over the phone on their 906 lines. Factor a cost of 15 quid for that! I kid you not!

2. The French embassy do it by post, but only if u live outside London. And to them as far away as Dorset is 'London' so it means the South really.

3. First Schengen visa is usually a single entry one for exactly as long as the holiday. Not always tho.

4. Seems to be taking longer to get appointments, 3/4 weeks seems the norm so book ahead.

5. From our experience with a German visa u turn up and some ungodly hour after a 70 quid train ride - piss off outside for a couple of hours and come back for it. I reckon it cost us over 150 quid for a 30 quid visa...

[Dawie]

Hi,

thanks for all your info....one more question...

From looking at the spanish, french & greek embassy the visa costs approx £40 and lasts for 90 days.

I assume that if you make an appointment with the relevant embassy and turn up with the correct forms then they stamp your passport/validate the visa on that day? (I'm working on when I last got a Thai Visa)

Is this the case or does the process take x amount of days??

Also is it possible to get a schengen visa for longer than 90 days? We are thinking of going once in the spring and then again in summer/autumn. Would this require 2 applications or is it possible to get a longer visa?

Cheers

Andy

Andy, it usually takes a week or two, but some, notably the French, will process it on the same day, but it may take a few hours.

[mym]

Some points:

1. Most embassies require u to make an appointment over the phone on their 906 lines. Factor a cost of 15 quid for that! I kid you not!

For family members of EEA Citizens most will have a method where you can avoid the call costs. I recently took the belgian embassy in London to Solvit over this, and lo and behold they have a little publicised non-outsourced route too.

[ruaank]

I live in Bristol, and actually managed to get a Schengen Visa twice through the French Embassy.

The first time was a 6 month multi entry and second time around only a 3 month multi entry!

Due to work and stuff I had to go through an agency and this is quite expensive about £110 a pop! It's ridiculous if you think, every time you want to travel in Europe you need to get this ... Rules are rules! But come on .. cant we do something that allows u for a longer period - ie. If for the period of your work permit...

[sydney_chick]

[quote="andy slater"]Hi there,

I've just discovered this board, I've had a look around but can't find a question which matches my question. So wonder if anyone can help me.

My partner/girlfriend is South African and is over here on a 5 year work permit (being sponsored by work after coming over on a standard 1 year working visa). We have been together for just coming up to 18 months and are looking at booking a Holiday.

I'm a British Citizen so can travel freely, however she has heard from friends that if she holidays within the EU she will require an EU holiday visa which lasts 6 months or 1 year?

Can anybody confirm or clarify this? I have travelled to various places around the world as a British citizen and have found that as long as your Holiday is less than 30 days a visa is not generally necessary.

I was going to speak to my travel agent at the weekend but thought I would consult you nice people first.

Thanks in advance

Andy[/quote]

Hey Andy - sounds like a pain, but fact is, she ain't a Brit, even though she's able to work here. While I don't need a Schengen thingy, my passport gets stamped absolutely everywhere I go and for some places I still need a visa to cisit - plus it takes me longer to get through customs, but that's life. Sorry to be bearer of bad news.

[paulp]

It's ridiculous if you think, every time you want to travel in Europe you need to get this ... Rules are rules! But come on .. cant we do something that allows u for a longer period - ie. If for the period of your work permit...

That will probably only happen if the UK joins the Schengen agreement. But there is a fat chance of that because of the CTA.