Free EU visa for family members

[Gerry_Marsden]

I am aware that for non-EU spouses of EU citizens there is no fee for a Schengen visa. However, is it the case that you must submit the application in person at the embassy of the country you wish to travel to, or can the application be submitted by post?

I did a search but I couldn't find this information.

Thanks.

[John]

is it the case that you must submit the application in person at the embassy of the country you wish to travel to, or can the application be submitted by post?

That will vary dependent upon the country whose embassy/consulate you are applying to. They tend to have different rules.

Can you say :-

• to which country you intend to apply?
• in which county you live?

[Gerry_Marsden]

Thanks for the reply, john.

At the moment I'm living outside the EU, but we're planning on moving back to the UK at the end of the summer. Will need a visa for Spain.

[John]

As I understand it, if the application for a Schengen visa is to Spain the applicant needs to attend in person at the appropriate Spanish Consulate, and exactly which one that is will depend upon the county the person lives in, in the UK.

[Dawie]

Actually Spain (along with France and Portugal) is one of the few Schengen countries that will allow you to apply for a schengen visa via a third party (such as a visa agency).

Try this link:

http://www.theschengenoffice.com/

Otherwise there are literally hundreds of other visa agencies in the UK that can do the application on your behalf. The one above is one that I have personally used for a Schengen visa for Spain before.

One point to remember, if you come from a "dodgy" country such as Iran or Iraq they will almost certainly require to come in person no matter what and you can expect a very long wait for your visa. If you come from a middle-income country (such as South Africa in my case) then there's no problem doing it through an agency and they usually issue the visa within 24 hours of the application.

[Gerry_Marsden]

How about Russia?

[John]

Gerry, where is your wife from? Which country?

I ask that because my wife has both a Thai passport and a British one. Armed with the Thai one she can enter Russia without needing a visa .... but I only have a British passport ... so I would need a visa.

Thais not needing a Russian tourist visa? Yes, thanks to a reciprocity agreement between Russia and Thailand.

[tt]

I'm wondering what information you have about the Thais not needing visas to Russia. On all info I have before me at present, Thais still do need a visa to Russia, much in the same way as any Westerner.

I have heard that Russia is considering a visa waiver for Thais, but would be interested to see the hard proof for this?

[tt]

I was just hoping you had "inside information" about this, cos all info I have shows Thais need a visa to Russia, and that is not good news for the Thais I know.

[John]

TT, this is the source of my information :-

Thailand, Russia sign visa exemption pact

Dated last December I would have expected that to be in force now, but if not, hopefully soon.

[Gerry_Marsden]

One of the problems with Russia, John, is that the law changes almost every six months. Sometimes even if you contact the relevant authorities, they don't know the state of play. A statement made six months ago regarding upcoming changes to laws can be irrelevant.

If you need any information regarding travel to Russia, my advice is to post a message on this forum.

www.expat.ru

you can normally find someone who knows what's going on.