What is the point of the Schengen visa?

[Fairtrade]

I would like to know if anyone knows what is the whole point of the Schengen Visa State? It's expanding every year and suppose to make travelling in Europe easier but at what cost??

On this forum you will hear people complaining about embassy staff treating Non EU spouses like dirt.

You will hear people saying they have to wait months before they can obtain an appointment at an Embassy just to travel to that country?

Making an appointment at an Embassy cost you £1 a minute, and they can keep you on those special 09 numbers for 10 to 20 minutes just to make an appointment for a visa.

And the visa comes with a 60 Euro fee.

So why treat people like this? Just because they are third country nationals does this give the EU countries the right to treat people like shit??

I wonder what would EU citizens say if travelling to the Carribean,Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Thailand, Mauritius, Seyschells have to go through what we have to go through.

By that I mean wait months for an appointment just to go on a holiday to any of these non Eu states. (Imagine British people calling the Carribean countries embassies for an appointment for a visa and then being told they are very busy this month you can have your holiday in two months time please come back later! )

Pay a £1 a minute for an appointment with these embassies and then they keep you online for 10 - 20 minutes.
How do these people sleep at night??

Queue outside the embassy because you are not allowed to get a visa on arrival.

Once you filled in a lengty form with all personal information like where you work, how much you earn you finally get the visa at a nice cost of 60 Euros!

I sometimes wonder do EU citizens know how privellage they are to not have to go through all this just to go on a holiday!

[mym]

Nice fact-free rant.

[sakura]

It is true that the process of obtaining a visa is rather ridiculous. It is even hard for a spouse of an EU national to obtain a visa - even when they are entitled to one free of charge, they may have to pay for something.

It also makes it hard for visa nationals to enjoy special holiday packages - there's no point searching at lastminute . com for a holiday if you need a visa and have to wait weeks for one!

And I must agree that third-country nationals can sometimes be treated very bad - as though they are going to overstay (not that it does not happen, but why would someone on a valid long-stay visa in the UK - or any other EU country - want to become illegal in another EU country?). Of course if the UK was part of the Schengen then no one in the UK would need a visa, but since that is not going to happen it would be nice if they could adopt a system similar to Switzerland's visa rules (i.e. people with long-stay visas in the UK do not require a visitor's visa). And of course if the UK could implement this too.

Why someone with ILR/PR would still need a visa to France is beyond me, for example.

Most EU citizens would also balk at the visa system if they wanted to travel with ther visa-requiring friends and loved ones.

I must point out that I am referring to people already in the EU/EEA who have long-stay visas for their respective countries; e.g. students, work permit (and HSMP) holders and partners/children of citizens or permanent residents. Those applying from outside the EU/EEA...that naturally requires a much tougher regime.

[Wanderer]

To keep out the riff-raff of course!

[Fairtrade]

Nice fact-free rant.

Welll is not fact free, because all EU embassies charge a pound a minute rate. Fact.

They do charge you 60 Euros a visa. Fact.


They keep you on these 09 numbers for at least 10- 20 minutes. Fact.

They still don't allow EU citizens partners to travel visa free even do state they do. Fact.


You have to wait at least weeks if not months (during the summer time to make an appointment for one of these Schengen visas. Fact.

[Fairtrade]

It is true that the process of obtaining a visa is rather ridiculous. It is even hard for a spouse of an EU national to obtain a visa - even when they are entitled to one free of charge, they may have to pay for something.

It also makes it hard for visa nationals to enjoy special holiday packages - there's no point searching at lastminute . com for a holiday if you need a visa and have to wait weeks for one!

And I must agree that third-country nationals can sometimes be treated very bad - as though they are going to overstay (not that it does not happen, but why would someone on a valid long-stay visa in the UK - or any other EU country - want to become illegal in another EU country?). Of course if the UK was part of the Schengen then no one in the UK would need a visa, but since that is not going to happen it would be nice if they could adopt a system similar to Switzerland's visa rules (i.e. people with long-stay visas in the UK do not require a visitor's visa). And of course if the UK could implement this too.

Why someone with ILR/PR would still need a visa to France is beyond me, for example.

Most EU citizens would also balk at the visa system if they wanted to travel with ther visa-requiring friends and loved ones.

I must point out that I am referring to people already in the EU/EEA who have long-stay visas for their respective countries; e.g. students, work permit (and HSMP) holders and partners/children of citizens or permanent residents. Those applying from outside the EU/EEA...that naturally requires a much tougher regime.

I agree with you 100%


I don't have a problem with the Schengen visa, I have a problem with the way it's implemented and the way people get treated like they are already criminals.

[Fairtrade]

To keep out the riff-raff of course!

Riff- raffs occur in any country, just because a person comes from a third country doesn't always mean they should automaticaly be treated like criminals.

For example you could be from a first world country and still be a "riff-raff". Take this example........What about all these British yobs going to Spain, getting into trouble fighting, crime, over indulging in alcohol and drugs? Do you think the Spanish or any other country in the world would want people like that to travel to their country? No but these riff-raff yobs would still be allowed to travel to most countries in the world just because they are from a first world country and that's it nothing else!!

[mym]

Nice fact-free rant.

Welll is not fact free, because all EU embassies charge a pound a minute rate. Fact.

Not true. Most embassies have alternative methods, Belgium does for example, so do many others.

They do charge you 60 Euros a visa. Fact.

Not true.

They still don't allow EU citizens partners to travel visa free even do state they do. Fact.

Not true. My non-EU partner has never paid for a schengen visa.

You have to wait at least weeks if not months (during the summer time to make an appointment for one of these Schengen visas. Fact.

Not true, the last one we got was obtained within 2 weeks, you just need to be organised - and get your facts right of course.

[Fairtrade]

Welll is not fact free, because all EU embassies charge a pound a minute rate. Fact.
[/quote]

Not true. Most embassies have alternative methods, Belgium does for example, so do many others.

Your quoting the Belgium embassy but have you even read how much your alternative method cost?
the Belgium ebassy charge £22 for their "alternative service" plus 60 Euros for the visa.

http://www.vfs-be-uk.com/application.aspx

"Along with the visa fees, there is a service charge of £22 (inclusive of VAT) applicable per visa application from the 26th April 2007 for all visa applications."

So that is £22 for the special service plus the 60 Euros for the visa!!
So much for the "alternative service" if you have to pay £22, I would rather just phone in and get ripped off at a pound a minute for 15 minutes! Saves me £7...... could go towards a couple of beers when in Spain!!








They do charge you 60 Euros a visa. Fact.
[/quote]

Not true.

So tell us please where can we get the Schengen Visa for less than 60 Euros??? I am sure there are thousands of people waiting for you to tell them where they can get the visa for less than 60 Euros.

(And I'm not talking about people that are married to EU citizens or Eastern European countries that have special agreements with the Schengen States.)










They still don't allow EU citizens partners to travel visa free even when the Schengen Directive state that EU spouses don't need any visas to travel. Fact.

Not true. My non-EU partner has never paid for a schengen visa.

I don't think you understood me. I mean VISA FREE like NO VISA.

According to Schengen Law, EU spouses should be allowed to travel with their EU spouses without having to get a visa in the first place, just the marriage certificate and both passports! But people are still being turned away at borders for not having a visa even if they don't need the Visa in the first place!! Once again the Schengen countries treating non EU spouses like Dirt!!






You have to wait at least weeks if not months (during the summer time to make an appointment for one of these Schengen visas. Fact.

Not true, the last one we got was obtained within 2 weeks, you just need to be organised - and get your facts right of course.[/quote]

I'm glad you are happy to wait two weeks before you can go on holiday but most people would like to go on holiday when they feel like going on holiday. It's impossible for a third country national to book a last minute deal because they don't know when they will get the appointment at the embassy? Some might take two weeks like in your case and some take months during the summer period.

[mym]

(duplicate post)

[mym]

Your quoting the Belgium embassy but have you even read how much your alternative method cost? the Belgium ebassy charge £22 for their "alternative service" plus 60 Euros for the visa.

We made an appointment at the Embassy (via a normal phone line) and collected the (free) visa with no trouble. Do some proper research.

I'm not talking about people that are married to EU citizens or Eastern European countries that have special agreements with the Schengen States.)[/b]

Your rambling style gave the impression that you were.

I'm glad you are happy to wait two weeks before you can go on holiday but most people would like to go on holiday when they feel like going on holiday.

Most people go on holiday in a planned fashion.

[JAJ]

I would like to know if anyone knows what is the whole point of the Schengen Visa State? It's expanding every year and suppose to make travelling in Europe easier but at what cost??

On this forum you will hear people complaining about embassy staff treating Non EU spouses like dirt.

But wouldn't they do this anyway, even if the Schengen area did not exist?

[ratsut]

hmm to have my say.. I have been travelling for many years as a British citizen and I have always had problems with attitudes of embassy staff.. I just had to accept this as part of the process of dealing with civil servants. I have however never been refused a visa.

I am now applying for a schengen visa for my girlfriend to visit me (having spent a great deal of time with her and her family at her home in her country).. and considered it civil, polite, the next step (and presumed no problem) to have her visiting me in my home currently in Germany.. however she was denied. Now I am stunned that I as a respectable high tax paying member of a european state am not allowed to invite who I want (in this case a person very close to me!) to my own home. I think it is disgraceful. I feel shamed to her and her family... and it seems the embassies really do go out of their way to make people feel like a second rate annoying citizen.

I wanted to offer security in escrow accounts but no. I offered to have her tagged but this was laughed at (although I was quite serious at the time).. how is it that genuine and upstanding european citizens are not allowed to invite people to their own homes? Where is the freedom?

It seriously irks me that some beurocratic a*shole who is having an eternal bad day in his dark embassy office can have such power and make such life altering decisions that have dire consequences to his own people. There should be a more accurate and judicial system that entitles European citizens a real freeedom of choice on who they want to invite to their home... rather than this seeming dartboard selection method.

(I applied for a 3 month visa with all correct paperwork in order (as we were told we were entitled to a 3 month visa) and then denied on the basis that we were applying for 3 months on an initial visa?!.. oh.. and told please do not come back for 6 months - you second rate people.)

hmmm.. sorry for the long post. I'm just very very angry as this is having massive consequences on my day to day life, my love life, my sleep and my career.

[bb21]

Nice fact-free rant.

Welll is not fact free, because all EU embassies charge a pound a minute rate. Fact.

Not true. Most embassies have alternative methods, Belgium does for example, so do many others.

I think you have to look at some of these "alternative methods" in perspective. For example, I faxed my application for an appointment with the Portuguese Consulate General in Manchester for an appointment and had to wait for THREE weeks for a reply JUST to book an appointment, during which time I faxed my request through twice more and emailed them twice as well, and they don't even have a phone line for you to ring. It's letters, faxes or emails. Taking into account the above, for many people anxious for an appointment, the premium rate phone-line's the only viable alternative, if one is provided. I tried ringing up the customer services number (non-premiun) also twice and was told that the guy in charge of visa wasn't there.

w.r.t. the 09065 numbers, I spent 9 minutes and 44 seconds going through the booking process with the Swedish Embassy and I did not even listen to the menu items as I had already heard them with some other embassies. It therefore hardly surprises me that such a phone call costs in excess of £12/13, that is if you can get an appointment within the timeframe you wish. Otherwise just finding out if a suitable appointment is available would set you back at least £4.50 (4 minutes) and that's the same for all embassies operating that number.

I'm sure that not all countries are as inefficient as the Portuguese and Finland, as I have found out, do not require an appointment and sees everyone that turns up on the day, but problem is they only issue single-entries as I was told on the phone.

Not a pleasant experience to start your holiday surely.

Edited to say: it's 4 minutes 31 seconds above not 4 minutes