travelling to the netherlands

susu87 · Post by **susu87** » Thu May 21, 2009 7:13 pm

hello
i checked with the netherlands embassy and they said that if im here in the uk on a eea residence card as family member of eea national,i dont require a visa to go to holland,as im a non eea national my self married to eu national,but my question is what if me and my partner go to holland and i stay with his family some weeks,meanwhile he cant stay long so he go back to england,would it be allowed for me to stay there??and he return to england??or would the dutch authorities not allow it??

thnx

Post by **Directive/2004/38/EC** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:35 pm

It should be no problem.

When travelling, be sure you have a photocopy of your EU-partner's passport and of your marriage certificate. You should never have to show either, but if you do it is nice to have them.

susu87 · Post by **susu87** » Fri May 22, 2009 1:23 pm

im very confused now.i called few days ago and the netherlands embassy sAID i dont need to travel back but cant guarantee,now i called dutch consulate in manchester she said,absolutly u need to travel back same time togather so what do u think.im stuck i need to book the tickets n dont know which is true

Post by **Directive/2004/38/EC** » Fri May 22, 2009 1:36 pm

What exactly are you worried will happen? What is the worst case?

susu87 · Post by **susu87** » Fri May 22, 2009 2:08 pm

im afraid that they might say that my stay in holland,was illegal during the duration the weeks when the eea left back to england and i stayed in holland...

Post by **Directive/2004/38/EC** » Fri May 22, 2009 3:15 pm

I assume your husband is from the Netherlands and that he is working in the UK.

You will be resident in the Netherlands for the duration of your visit, on the same legal basis as your current residency in the UK. If you and your husband wish, you can stay and live in the Netherlands. Or come home, as planned, at the end of your holidays.

For a minute forget about the Netherlands. Think for a minute about your present residency in the UK, and specifically the following travel scenarios:
(1) You stay in the UK. Your husband goes for a one week trip to Paris. Would you be considered illegally in the UK? (Clear answer: NO)
(2) You and your husband are moving to Paris. Would you be considered to be illegally in the UK if your husband goes ahead and you follow a few days later when the new apartment is ready? (Clear answer: NO)

Now back to the Netherlandsâ€¦
Lets say you and your husband were planning to fly out on the same day, him on the 9am flight and you on the 6pm fllight. I do not see how that is going to be a problem.

Will staying a few extra days be a problem? I doubt it.

You have a right of free movement with your husband and it does NOT mean you have to be always in the same country as your husband during the entire duration of your residence in the EU.

That said, if you will sleep better knowing you are flying together, then that is probably the better option for you. I doubt you will be able to find any absolutely reasuring definitive answer to your question.

susu87 · Post by **susu87** » Fri May 22, 2009 4:18 pm

ur right i just called again,and the consulate said we just need to go in together,but not necessarily exiting together,n said they r sure,so i pray to god,things go fine..

Post by **Directive/2004/38/EC** » Fri May 22, 2009 4:22 pm

You need not worry about travelling in the EU with your spouse. You have a very stong legal position as a family member of an EU citizen. It is very hard for you to be "illegal". No praying to god is needed!

For example:... If you were driving to the Netherlands, and stopped in Belgium along the way, you could work for a few hours fully legally. You can travel without your passport or a visa if required. You can decide to stay in a country or move back to your partner's country with minimal hassle (see http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2007/04 ... ional-law/ ).

Have a good trip to the Netherlands and do not worry!

DFDS. · Post by **DFDS.** » Thu May 28, 2009 4:32 pm

Members will continue to get confused as long as they do'nt frain away from calling embassies & consulates, to substantie on there freedom of movement, especailly when they have trvl plans already.

What am trying to say is that you do'nt expect the correct answer straight away when you phone the consulate.You better off visiting their respective websites as they are always updated, read & understand.Some embassy staff are not awere the RC is equivalent to a visa, & on inquiring from them where you need visa to enter there territories they will answer yes! you need visa.

ribena · Post by **ribena** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:12 pm

Hi,
Just posted on another thread. Did't notice this one before.

I just received a reply from Holland embassy saying non-visa national do not need to apply for schengen visa although non-eea national has a residence card.

Post by **Obie** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:07 pm

Please see the Dutch Embassy Website on this.

They said family member of Dutch citizens are not allowed to travel with just Resident Card, and should applying for a visa. I am not sure if they are essentially saying that their citizens who were previously exercising treaty rights in another member state as worker or self-employed don't benefit. Poor implementation.

Also please note that they warned that you should be accompanying or joining the EEA national in Holland in order to benefit from the visa exemption.

I suppose one has to be content with this, because when you look at States like Ireland and UK, you can't complain to much about the Dutch

ribena · Post by **ribena** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 10:10 pm

HI Obie
I did read on the link prior me sending an email to Dutch embassy. As a non-visa national, no visa is required but now that I have a residence card, I either need to apply for schengen visa if I were to travel without my husband (which I intend to do) or travel with him then no schengen visa is required.

Due to the 'overlap' advice, that was the reason why I emailed them for clarification.

I have stated very clear in my email what is my status in the UK and I shall print the email from the embassy when I travel to NL.

argh. how hard is it for them to stick to the directive??

Rozen · Post by **Rozen** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:26 pm

ribena wrote:HI Obie
I did read on the link prior me sending an email to Dutch embassy. As a non-visa national, no visa is required but now that I have a residence card, I either need to apply for schengen visa if I were to travel without my husband (which I intend to do) or travel with him then no schengen visa is required.

Due to the 'overlap' advice, that was the reason why I emailed them for clarification.

I have stated very clear in my email what is my status in the UK and I shall print the email from the embassy when I travel to NL.

argh. how hard is it for them to stick to the directive??

If you have a UK Residence Card, you can travel to NL visa free accompanied by your EU partner!
Even if you have a UK RC, you will have to apply for a Schengen visa to travel to NL without your EU partner! (Unless, ofcourse, you're a non-visa national!)
I did this many times to and fro before relocating permenantly to NL.
You reckon NL don't stick to the Directive? What about UK? Even though I now have a Dutch RC, I still have to apply for an EEA FP to travel to the UK with my EU husband, and an ordinary visit visa if I'm travellling without him!

No country is perfect as far as the Directive is concerned. They all have pros and cons, unfortunately.

Post by **Directive/2004/38/EC** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 2:48 pm

DFDS. wrote:What am trying to say is that you do'nt expect the correct answer straight away when you phone the consulate.You better off visiting their respective websites as they are always updated, read & understand.

Sadly the embassy websites usually offer answers every bit as bad as the answers of the visa office of the embassy.

ribena · Post by **ribena** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:10 pm

Rozen,
I am a non-visa national for Holland, then I wouldn't need to apply for the Schengen Visa?

Would be nice if countries would follow the rules hehe

Rozen · Post by **Rozen** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 7:01 pm

ribena wrote:Rozen,
I am a non-visa national for Holland, then I wouldn't need to apply for the Schengen Visa?

Would be nice if countries would follow the rules hehe

If you're a non visa national, then there's no need! Just hop on a plane and come on over! The weather is brilliantly hot right now!

Post by **Obie** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 7:13 pm

Rozen wrote: If you're a non visa national, then there's no need! Just hop on a plane and come on over! The weather is brilliantly hot right now!

Ooh!!! i am so jealous. It is terrible in Dublin. I just wished we had taken the option of Holland, when my sibling's transfer was offered rather than this isolated dump of a country.

ribena · Post by **ribena** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 4:28 pm

Rozen wrote:
ribena wrote:Rozen,
I am a non-visa national for Holland, then I wouldn't need to apply for the Schengen Visa?

Would be nice if countries would follow the rules hehe
If you're a non visa national, then there's no need! Just hop on a plane and come on over! The weather is brilliantly hot right now!

Hey Rozen,

Where about are you in NL? I am going to Leeuwarden alone .. to meet the in-laws for the first time! scary ...

Rozen · Post by **Rozen** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 5:32 pm

ribena wrote:Hey Rozen,

Where about are you in NL? I am going to Leeuwarden alone .. to meet the in-laws for the first time! scary ...

Hi Ribena! We live in Archipel, which is in the Centrum District of Den Haag. You're going to Friesland, which is way up North, whereas we are in Zuid Holland. I must say, I have trouble understanding the dialect in that part of the country. It's like they speak a different type of Dutch over there!:? Hope you have a better command of it than I do! Wish you all the best, and good luck with your in-laws!:)

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travelling to the netherlands

travelling to the netherlands