Weekend tourist visit to Austria

[anurikavidya]

Hi,

We are planning to visit Austria for a night stay (weekend visit - Sat morning deaprture from London and coming back on late evening on Sunday). My questions are

1. Is this short stay worth a try to cover atleast few important tourist
attractions in Austria ?
2. What are the important places which we can cover in these two days
(actually 1.5 days)
3. Which is the cheaper mode of travel from London - Train or Flight ?
If so, which Train or flight gives the better fare ?
4. Is it easy to get a schengen Visa from austrian embassy in London ?
Also, how long it may take ?
5. Can we get schengen visa for 6 months/1 Year from austrian embassy
so that i can visit other european countries later point of time from
London ? (Multiple entry)
6. Please suggest someuseful websites/URLs on austria and also
flight/train/hotel related websites

Thanks in advance and i appreciate your reply.

Regards
Anurika

[Wanderer]

Hi,

We are planning to visit Austria for a night stay (weekend visit - Sat morning deaprture from London and coming back on late evening on Sunday). My questions are

1. Is this short stay worth a try to cover atleast few important tourist
attractions in Austria ?
2. What are the important places which we can cover in these two days
(actually 1.5 days)
3. Which is the cheaper mode of travel from London - Train or Flight ?
If so, which Train or flight gives the better fare ?
4. Is it easy to get a schengen Visa from austrian embassy in London ?
Also, how long it may take ?
5. Can we get schengen visa for 6 months/1 Year from austrian embassy
so that i can visit other european countries later point of time from
London ? (Multiple entry)
6. Please suggest someuseful websites/URLs on austria and also
flight/train/hotel related websites

Thanks in advance and i appreciate your reply.

Regards
Anurika

1. Few days no

2. Wien, Stephansdom, Oper, Prater park in Wien alone.

3. Dunno about train - it's certainly over night from Paris - I took this train as a student. Flights around 300/400 quid now the summer is here. I paid 230 at xmas from Manchester to Wien

4. Dunno

5. Dunno - it's lottery, if it's ur first it'll prolly be for the length of ur trip. And why ask the same question multiple times with just the country changed?

6. Google

[anurikavidya]

Thanks for the reply and to answer your question as to why the same question with country being changed, somebody posted in this forum that going to Austria is hassle free compared to other countries w.r.t schengun Visa and it's duration and at the sametime it is cheaper.

My plan is to visit atleast one european country in a weekend only and at the same time getting the schengun visa for a longer duration.

Some people says that if we take the Travel insurance for a year, there is a probability that we may get the schengun visa for a year eventhough our travel days for 2-3 days. Please share ur comments on this.

Regards
Anurika

[Wanderer]

Thanks for the reply and to answer your question as to why the same question with country being changed, somebody posted in this forum that going to Austria is hassle free compared to other countries w.r.t schengun Visa and it's duration and at the sametime it is cheaper.

My plan is to visit atleast one european country in a weekend only and at the same time getting the schengun visa for a longer duration.

Some people says that if we take the Travel insurance for a year, there is a probability that we may get the schengun visa for a year eventhough our travel days for 2-3 days. Please share ur comments on this.

Regards
Anurika

I think ur first schengen visa would most likely be a short one for length of visit plus a bit.

That's certainly been the case for my Russian pals. Why not just go for France? I find even Berlin a bit of a struggle for a weekend, and France is one of the easiest too I think.

Best to just go for a nice easy short trip to the nearer states first. Until then i feel u'll struggle for the long term multi visa ur looking for.

I can't see an insurance purchase influencing the issuing officer, in fact, we don't even bother with insurance, just doesn't feel like we need it. I was never in favour of the Common Market but now I am, I must admit that being able to hop on a plane almost like it's a bus and arrive in any mainland Europe is a doddle. Much like Crucifiction.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Train is a really long trip. Not a good option for a weekend trip.

If it is your first trip to Europe, I would go for at least two nights. It allows you to settle in a bit and enjoy things a bit more.

Do you have an EU citizen family member who you live with? If you do then the visa is easy to obtain, and will not cost anything.

[Wanderer]

Train is a really long trip. Not a good option for a weekend trip.

If it is your first trip to Europe, I would go for at least two nights. It allows you to settle in a bit and enjoy things a bit more.

Do you have an EU citizen family member who you live with? If you do then the visa is easy to obtain, and will not cost anything.

Can i ask if 'EU citizen family member' implies that u have to gone the EEA route and be exercising ur treaty rights or can it be for anyone even on the UK Fiance/Spouse route?

[Docterror]

Can i ask if 'EU citizen family member' implies that u have to gone the EEA route and be exercising ur treaty rights or can it be for anyone even on the UK Fiance/Spouse route?

It can be someone on the UK spouse visa but not the fiance visa as spouses are family members while fiances are not. The spouses of British nationals will also eligible as they are covered by the right of free movement under EU law when they travel to other EEA member states.

[Wanderer]

Can i ask if 'EU citizen family member' implies that u have to gone the EEA route and be exercising ur treaty rights or can it be for anyone even on the UK Fiance/Spouse route?

It can be someone on the UK spouse visa but not the fiance visa as spouses are family members while fiances are not. The spouses of British nationals will also eligible as they are covered by the right of free movement under EU law when they travel to other EEA member states.

And unmarried partners with UPV? I assume the same.......

[Docterror]

Yes! With a small catch though. Unmarried partners are not considered as "immediate" family members but as "extended family members" and so a lot is left to the discretion of the country and the embassy involved. Also since a marriage certificate is used as the basis of proof of being a family member of an EEA (including British) national, since one is not available while applying with the UPV, 2 years cohabiatation proof will have to be submitted while applying in the embassy of Member countries that do accept them.

Also, armed with a marriage certificate in hand, a British national and his wife can demand/argue his way through to any European member state under the right of free movement even without a visa beforehand... something you cannot do with a UPV.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Do you have an EU citizen family member who you live with?

Sorry, I was a bit unclear. Let me try again.

For short stay (weekend away) visas to be issued on the basis of Directive 2004/38/EC, you need to have one of a specific set of relationships to an EU citizen, the EU citizen must be coming along for the trip, and you need to be able to prove the relationship to them. All travellers require a passport (or for the EU a national ID card).

There is no requirement that the EU citizen be exercising their treaty rights in normal day-to-day life (i.e. that they are living in another EU country than their home). The EU citizen will be exercising their treaty rights by travelling for the weekend, and that is what is important.

There is no requirement that the non-EU hold a specific immigration visa or status. If the non EU citizen has (in the UK) ILR or ILE or a Residence Card or an EEA family permit or a student visa, then that should not a problem. There should be nothing precluding the non-EU citizen being on a visitor's visa, if there is other evidence of a substantial and ongoing relationship. The key issue is the nature of the relationship (is it real and substantial?). (Time together is one indication of how substantial the relationship, but it can not be arbitrarily fixed at 2yrs.)

The Directive defines two types of non-EU person who fall under its remit.

There is the limited definition under Article 2 of "family member", which includes spouses, decedents (of EU and of non-EU partner) who are dependent or under 21, and dependent ascendants. This includes civil partnerships and gay marriages, if the visa-issuing country recognizes these relationships. This category people have the simple life because they have easily documented relationships. They can plonk down their certificates, and must be issued the visa quickly.

The more bread definition under Article 3 is of "Beneficiaries". These are people who don't fall under Article 2, but would still be normally seen as family members. Examples include long term unmarried couples, civil partnerships (if not recognized in Article 2), other extended family members who live with the EU citizen, and so on. This would include, for example, the non-EU citizen parents of a child who has EU citizenship, something which does not fall strictly within Article 2. This category may have to work harder to get their visa. They typically do not have the certificates to prove the relationship, and so the visa issuer is allowed to make extra enquires or ask for more information. But in the end, if the relationship is there, the visa must be issued. Visas in this category should also be issued at no cost – Approach the EU’s Solvit group (http://europa.eu.int/solvit/) if you are ever required to pay for this.