="weetabix"]I am trying to get a Schenegen visa for my wife. I am British and she is Asian. However at the Italian embassy they insisted we provide proof of insurance, flight tickets, hotel reservations etc. I pointed out that these were not needed for the wife of an EU citizen they said they were . Am I right or have the regulations changed. If I am right what can I do ?
Steve Pip[/quote]
hi mate,sorry to hear about your troubles,a friend of mine had same treatment from the italian embassy in algeria,my friend's wife complained directly to the european commission in their website *youreuropeadvice* and to be fair their reply was smooth and quick here is a copy of the email:
Dear Madam:
Thank you for being in contact with Europe Advice. You indicate that you are of British nationality and staying in the UK. You are married with Algerian national, and want to spend some months in Italy, with your husband.
You indicate that your attempt to obtain information of the elements with Italian consular services has ended with the following information:
You must already be resident in Italy
Demonstrate that your husband should have sufficient economic means as well as medical insurance etc ...
All these here above described conditions are contrary to law, under the Directive 2004/38 and thus deemed void.
According to the 2004/38 Directive, your husband is only required to prove the following conditions:
he is married to a British citizen (marriage certificate, british passport)
And you'll be traveling together in Italy (declaration or evidence by which you will be traveling together).
In light of the advice given by the Italian Consulate a complaint with Solvit is in order, which could possibly intervene to respond to the request made by your husband:
http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/site/index_en.htm
Please also find the link to the Italian Consulate in London:
http://www.conslondra.esteri.it/Consolato_Londra
Please note further that the visa application process is provided for by the Rules Europeen No 810/2009 (the Visa Code) which must be applied in the light of verses rights on your husband virtue of Directive 2004/38.
You will see the advice given by the visa which is supposed to guide the actions of all the consulates of Member States of the Schengen agreement guide:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/po ... 620_en.pdf
I hope that this will serve to clarify the question you and thank you again for coming into contact with Europe Advice.
Your cordially.
Your Europe Advice.
To submit another question, please visit Your Europe Advice , but do not reply to this email.
also my friend wrote an email to complain to the ministry of foreign affairs about the situation and against the consulate,his wife received an email from the ministry and this is a copy of the email:
Ministero degli Affari Esteri
Servizio per la Stampa e Comunicazione the Istituzionale
Ufficio Relazioni con il Pubblico
Piazzale della Farnesina 1
I-00135 - ROME
Dear Madam,
in response to your email, I wanted to let you know that i have sent your message to the appropriate office of the Department of foreign affairs and the visa office of the Italian Embassy in Algiers.
Sincerely,
Silvia De Nardo
Office of Public Relations
then my friend's wife received a couple of calls from what i believe the consulate in algeria,regarding my friend's application,and one of the calls actually went to voicemail(my friend's wife did not pick the call because she did not hear the phone,so it went to voicemail) and in that voicemail,someone from the consulate asked her to make an appointment for the visa to be issued.
i have no updates on the matter right now about what happened next but i'm sure that as far as i'm aware,i explained the whole situation in light of what i know and i hope that it will help u sort out your issue.
also keep in mind that in their website:
http://www.esteri.it/visti/home_eng.asp enter from where u would apply for the visa and the nationality you will get this :
Documents required for FAMILY REASONS
(Formerly FAMILY MEMBER - JOINING FAMILY MEMBER)
FAMILY REASONS
EU or European Economic Area citizens
1-visa application form (click here)
2-recent passport-style photo
3-passport or travel document valid for at least three months after visa expiry date
4-copy of the EU or European Economic Area citizen’s identity document or passport along with a declaration requesting the presence of the family member in Italy and swearing to be in possession of the requisites foreseen by the law.
5-administrative documentation (marriage certificate, birth certificate, etc.) attesting to the familial relationship
6-in the case of minor children, written permission from the child's other parent for visa to be issued
also note in the italian embassy in london if u want to apply for a visa to your non eea citizen spouse check in the link below what they require:
http://www.conslondra.esteri.it/Consola ... e_Docs.htm
Home > Consular Services > Visa for foreigners travelling to Italy
1) visa application form (click here)
2) one recent colour passport-size photo;
3) passport or travel document valid for at least three months after visa expiry date, with at least two adjacents blank pages to affix the visa sticker;
4) copy of the EU or European Economic Area citizen’s identity document or passport along with a declaration requesting the presence of the family member in Italy and swearing to be in possession of the requisites foreseen by the law;
5) administrative documentation (marriage certificate, full birth certificate, etc.) attesting to the familial relationship. In the case of minor children, written permission from the child's other parent for the visa to be issued (see our website "Visa for Minor").
my advice to u is:
1-contact my europe advise and explain the situation,after receiving the reply use it and send it to the consulate.
2-contact the ministry of foreign affairs and complain to them about the treatment your spouse has been enduring and their breach of eu laws and violating your free movement rights(hopefully then they will contact u)
3-use any reply u get and send it back to the consulate,im sure if u send them all the proofs i just mentioned they would back down and issue the visa to your wife.
good luck
