Dear Forum,
I just found this threat, here my my reply as Swiss Citizen
Our Government is confused, they are eager to make no mistake and over shoot a bit - you don't believe, well here is my story.
I am living abroad in the Caribbean, married happily to a Russian Women, we have one son and our daughter has to be manufactured yet, we are working on it...
How happy I was when the news coming up Swiss will join Schengen in 2005! then 2006, then 2007, then finally December 2008
This will make our life so much easier - so I thought. Traveling with my wife anywhere to a country having a dog with more then two flies on it requires a visa. The Russian passport, the passport with the plague - nobody wants to touch it - YAK
Living on a small little island you don't have all the embassies of the world close by, so you need first a visa to be able to apply for a visa. I spend year by year more then 3000.00 just for passport shipping, crazy!!
But all this will be history as our glorious Government decided to join Schengen - BRAVO!
So I thought...
As my wife still had a valid 2 year Swiss visa, the Swiss embassy could first could not issue a new Swiss-Schengen visa - the old one first had to expire. OK so we waited another 6 month, meanwhile sending her passport happily back and forth with Paris to get a French Schengen visa she need for transit. Issued exactly by itinerary, not a day more!
As the expiration day arrive, her passport will expire in December 09, makes no sense to apply for her the new Swiss Schengen visa, as it will be only valid a short Period - her US visa however will be valid together with the new passport, how cute and thoughtful...
So, after 3 month we have her new passport - but now MY SWISS embassy want Euro 60.00 from us - Ehm, sorry, it's my wife...
Even after proof her that we never had to pay the French and showing her the tax regulation that Spouses of Swiss or EU citizen don't need to pay this fee - we are still "negotiating" this one with the embassy (keep in mind that this "free" visa cost me USD 150.00 shipping each way, also $ 300.00 in total)
Then the embassy figured out that Switzerland is not in charge anymore for the visa as first entry is ether France (Paris) or Holland as there is no direct flight from here. Even as I told them this are only transit and not main travel destinations - It felt on deaf ears. So no long term visa as in the past, no multiple entry as in the past, each time we will have to send the passport again and again, but hey, it's FREE .... yeah, right, did I mention the shipping?
Meanwhile, plans changed and I'll close my company here as there are heavily talking of independence so this place will go drain, a real pity.
Again contacting the embassy as now we want return to Switzerland and live there, happily ever after.
So I being told, I first have to apply for my wife and mother of my son for residence allowance (!! -@#**@ allowance!!!!!), who are we just letting everybody cross our borders.
I have to send 4 pictures, a translated and notarized marriage certificate (even though the marriage is registered in Switzerland (another battle) and my wife is registered in SwissStar, the Swiss Census database - THEY KNOW ABOUT IT, in all glorious details ), two Schengen Visa application, CHF 400.00 for fees, copies of my passport, her passport, new police record from country of origin (Moscow, you may know how difficult it is to get one if you are abroad), translated and notarized in English or any official Swiss language (D/I/F), though they have on on file when we registered our marriage and hey, we haven't burglarized any home or robbed a bank lately)
This application has to be sent to the embassy, they will forward it to Bern to the central register, they then will forward it to the state (canton) foreign police and each place has to give their approval, so the whole process should be done in less then 6 month, or eight, or so... who knows?
Did I mention that about 3 0/00, thats 3 out of 1000 marriages are closed for economic benefit, also 997 marriages are made out of love and hope for a future together. OK, some fail- but proven is that the divorce rate of bi-national couples are smaller then in national marriages.
Before 1992 she would have received the Swiss passport the same day, but now she has to wait 5 years (if we live in Switzerland) or 7 years if we live foreign until she will receive this holy red paper.
997 marriages going trough all this nonsense of paper work for 3 absusive couples, the child death rate is higher and we have no problem with it.
I suggested to the Swiss goverment follows:
Automatic Swiss passport regardless of time spend together after the second child, the first one could be an accident, two rather not. Even if two children are produced for economic benefit, at last two new Swiss citizen are made as we are a dying race anyway!
No official response received since.
Fact is, my wife is rather a proud Russian, she wouldn't take the Swiss passport if there aren't this travel restrictions imposed to her. And heavy financial burden for our small family.
Due the recent change in US visa with the personal appointment, it means for me two people return ticked plus child 20%, hotel accommodation due odd flight times, sending passports back and forth equals to USD 1800.00
or USD 90.00 per year and person!
At least, I will have 10 years no hassle!
Why Schengen could not introduce a 5 or 10 years visa. What the heck with this 4 days or 2 week visas???
Now, I just received news that with a recent change in visa regulations one digital pictures and fingerprints have to be taken in order for a Schengen visa.
A friend of us, from Kazakhstan just is going trough this. For her visa long de sejour our French consulate is not in duty anymore, the closest French embassy is the one in Dominican Republic, she flew there - being told all what she has to do is leaving the prints and she can go home, the application is previously filed already.
Meanwhile she spends 20 DAYS in an expensive Hotel (plus USD 800 for tickets), given her day by day new instructions whats next (come back in two days, the visa will be ready, the files are lost, the files are found but are in the wrong embassy and she has to produce the whole paperwork from scratch again - including fingerprints, meanwhile the 3rd time.
I don't know, ever wonder why people join Al Quida, start to experiment at home with explosives? We are more then willing to fulfill our obligations, but they have to make sense.
With all due respect, it is going out of hand. If this procedure has to be made for every short term Schengen visa, it's absurd.
Same for the parents of my wife, two people have to fly 2x 4hours from Novosibirsk to Moscow, spend there several days with embassies to leave fingerprints for a two week holiday in Switzerland?
They are pensioners, living on small income of several 100 dollars (rubels)
the flight to Moscow is rather a luxury thing, not to mention Moscow hotels, I consider Moscow the most expensive place on earth!
So, back to the theme, the Swiss government/politicians/embassies are simply over stressed to make everything right.
Don't forget that Serbia kept Switzerland Schengen on hold for one year until THEY checked that Switzerland is ready for Schengen - this was a joke!
The question is rather, is Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria ready for the EU, or has the EU being forced to take these countries in to make sure they will not fall back to Soviet?
Papa Bush told Sovjet Russia, the NATO borders will remain the same, now they want move the border to to Georgia and Ukraine.
It's all nested together, all politricks
Please bear with my government, it's not easy for us (them)
Thanks for your attention
Bye
George