Travel to Eurpore - UK ILR holder

[gd_chandrasekar]

Hi

I recently got my British Naturalisation, I have applied for Brtitish Passport and waiting for thier response.

My wife will be eligible for ILR end of this month, currently she is on FLR(m). I have booked an appointment at Cryodon.

Question:
I have read post which says 'Spouse of EEA citizen' stamp will allow free movement in Europe. Could any one pls tell me how to get this stamp in her Inidan passport so that we dont need to apply for Schengen visa to travel to Europe. We are planning to visit Paris to celeberate our 2nd wedding anniversary.

Thanks
C

[John]

She will still need to get a Schengen visa, but given she is now married to a British Citizen ... you ... the cost of that Schengen visa is .... free!

[gd_chandrasekar]

thanks John.

Do we need to go in person to apply visa? which would be really difficult for us to take a day(or half-a-day) off from office.

She will still need to get a Schengen visa, but given she is now married to a British Citizen ... you ... the cost of that Schengen visa is .... free!

[John]

Have a look at this webpage.

But do appreciate that this is a new procedure, and personally I have no idea how it works, apart from what is on that webpage. My wife became a British Citizen in 2004 so our days of applying for Schengen visas are well behind us.

[Casa]

The Spanish Consulate have also outsourced their visa application service, which as the link to the French visa shows, is chargeable...whether you would normally be exempt from fees or not.
If you apply direct with the Spanish consulate in London for a Schengen visa you will both have to attend an interview and return 7 or 10 days later to collect the visa. This may differ with other countries.

[hasiphasip]

Am I correct in thinking that if my wife has got her ILR although not a British Citizen yet then she can travel with me without a Shengen Visa as she is my Wife and I am a British Citizen?

[John]

Am I correct in thinking .....

No!

[hasiphasip]

Why not?

I thought....."Persons enjoying the Community right of free movement are authorised to cross the border of a Member State on the basis of the following documents, as a general rule:
– EU, EEA, CH citizens: identity card or passport;
– members of the family of EU, EEA, CH citizens who are nationals of a third country: passport. They may also be required to have an entry visa, if they are nationals of a third country subject to the visa obligation, unless they are in possession of a valid residence permit or card, issued by a Member State (or by EEA countries or CH)."

Surely then if I am a Uk Citizen and she is my wife and has a ILR in the UK then she qualifies on the above. Or am I missing something (if so, what?)

[John]

The problem is that :-

a valid residence permit or card

-: means a document issued under EEA/EU regulations, and your wife does not have one of those. She has a document issued under UK immigration law, not under the terms of the EU Directive.

[hasiphasip]

Can I get one of these?

[John]

No, but a Schengen visa can be applied for, and the application fee is ... £0 !

[hasiphasip]

How crazy, we are in the EU but she doesn't qualify. Just goes to show what a load of cr*p the whole system is.

I am a EU citizen and she has the right to remain in the UK (which last time I looked was in the EU) but doesn't have the silly bit of paper with an EU stamp on it.

And the funny thing is that once she gets a Shengen joke visa she can travel to any Shengen country.....laughable.....

Getting the Shengken visa was a bit of a pain last time, so I guess we will spend our money in Thailand again rather than the EU until we get the UK Passport. All seems a bit daft as she has been paying tax here in the Uk for the last 6 years.

To think we pay these jokers that make up this rubbish crazy amounts off money to think up this stuff.

What a crazy world.....

Surely she has the right to stay in an EU country (The UK) so that would qualify. Given that it was issued by the UK Immigration people it is the right to remain in an EU country, or I suppose the EU doesn't recognize the UK (unless they want some money to bail out Greece of course )

p.s. Thanks for your advice John, you are a true gent. I never noticed the difference and I would like to think I am fairly intelligent person.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Can I get one of these?

You have likely resided in the UK for the entire (short) duration of your British citizenship. Prior to that you were a non-EU-citizen living in the UK. So her entry into the UK was on the basis of UK law and so she does not have this Residence Card.

If you and your wife move to reside any other EU/EEA member state, and you (the EU citizen) work there (or otherwise exercise your treaty rights), then your wife will be issued with a "Residence Card". When she has this RC, then she can travel without a visa.

[hasiphasip]

That's great. Thanks very much..... I understand it now!

Really appreciate you taking the time to answer this.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

With pleasure. It is a bit confusing initially. There is a lot of little articles about different aspects of EU free movement on my blog, in case you want to go a little deeper.

[hasiphasip]

Just seems strange that I am an EU Citizen (or I thought I was!) and yet despite my wife having ILR we can't travel to the EU without a Shengen visa.

Crazy eh?

[John]

Just seems strange that I am an EU Citizen

Yes, but ...... ! Your wife is not in the UK because you are an EU Citizen, she is here because you are British. That is the distinction you need to take on board.

[acme4242]

Just seems strange that I am an EU Citizen (or I thought I was!) and yet despite my wife having ILR we can't travel to the EU without a Shengen visa.

Crazy eh?

Yes it is absurd,
Its up-to the British state, and they decided to feck their own citizens and family, simple as that.

Its worth to note that other EU countries don't do this to their own citizens
and ensure equality at least.
For example the Italians wrote into their EU law.

“The provisions of this Legislative Decree, if more favourable, apply to the families of Italian citizensâ€

[hasiphasip]

Yes I agree it is crazy.

Free movement of people which is one of the main things of the EU but we talk to it up.

At least all gas boilers conform to the same spec and all bananas are straight despite being able to have free movement for me and my wife.

Just goes to show how bonkers the EU is

Thanks again all for you clarification on this point.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Hasiphasip; the visa problems and apparent inconsistencies would not be there if the UK had not opted out of Schengen. This was the UK's decision.

Schengen countries recognise each others' in-country issued residents permits (and cards). The UK chose not to join. Therefore spouses of British citizens with spouses who are visa nationals and have permits issued under the immigration rules need a visa to get into the Schengen zone.

The UK will not join, though I suspect the Home Secretary wished they had as she could have blamed someone else for her current troubles.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Hasiphasip; the visa problems and apparent inconsistencies would not be there if the UK had not opted out of Schengen. This was the UK's decision.

It is really not clear where this statement is coming from or even what it is about.

(1) Schengen is less uniform than you suggest.
(2) The UK, like all EU member states, has the freedom to decide what they will do for their own citizens. UK has a long history of making it hard for their own citizens to bring their non-EU family members to the UK. EU law can be a good example for the UK, but they are not required to implement it for their own citizens (except for those returning from working in other EU member states).

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Sorry, maybe I should have quoted the chap. It might have been clearer.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

How crazy, we are in the EU but she doesn't qualify. Just goes to show what a load of cr*p the whole system is.

I am a EU citizen and she has the right to remain in the UK (which last time I looked was in the EU) but doesn't have the silly bit of paper with an EU stamp on it.

And the funny thing is that once she gets a Shengen joke visa she can travel to any Shengen country.....laughable.....

Getting the Shengken visa was a bit of a pain last time, so I guess we will spend our money in Thailand again rather than the EU until we get the UK Passport. All seems a bit daft as she has been paying tax here in the Uk for the last 6 years.

To think we pay these jokers that make up this rubbish crazy amounts off money to think up this stuff.

What a crazy world.....

Surely she has the right to stay in an EU country (The UK) so that would qualify. Given that it was issued by the UK Immigration people it is the right to remain in an EU country, or I suppose the EU doesn't recognize the UK (unless they want some money to bail out Greece of course :) )

p.s. Thanks for your advice John, you are a true gent. I never noticed the difference and I would like to think I am fairly intelligent person.

If the UK were in Shengen, it would simplify things, but it´s not so you get what may appear to you to be inconsistencies.

[Manuchao]

Hi,
I had a similar problem, I am a non-EU family member, wife is Spanish living in the UK since 2001. I got a Indefinite Leave to Remain permit after 5 years on my own, then just after applying for Spanish visas every year for traveling together with family decided to apply for a Permanent Residence Card since now I qualify as EU dependant, which I got it.

However this new residence card does not state anywhere that it was issued to a EU/EEA family member, which is what it says for a residence card issued under 5 years of residence.

I Have not yet tried to travel with this "permanent" (lasts 10 years) card and without Spanish visa, will do in December. Hope Spanish authorities will believe it was "issued for a family member of EU/EEA" as this is not written there nor in the letter from the Border Agency.

[geriatrix]

Now that you have been issued PR, you don't require any other confirmation from UKBA.