Post
by zimlady » Wed Nov 06, 2013 10:38 am
Oh, Directive, that was a very stressful arrival in Alicante... firstly, we got held up in traffic on the way to Gatwick, and only just caught our flight, so far, so good.
Arrival at Alicante Airport, at about 11:30pm, and we were strolling along, towards the only IO, (may have been just a security guard, for all I know!), and as my husband and I were a little apart from the rest of the travellers, he 'pounced' upon us, and requested our passports. We handed them over, my husband's Portuguese (and therefore red) passport, and my lovely green Zimbabwean passport. So, the fellow flips through my passport and says 'Visa?', so I explained in mixed English / Spanish / Portuguese that with my RC, I didn't need a visa. His response was that I did require one, as I had a Zimbabwean passport. I then produced the Directive in Spanish, and he said 'No intressa'... I also showed him my marriage certificate, keeping in mind that I have been married for 27 years, and the reply was 'no valido, muito veijo'... He then proceeded to tell me that I was illegal, and not allowed in, at that point I was ready for a fight. I asked to see his superior, that's when he said 'illegal, okay, passa...' Totally confused.
Subsequent to that, in October this year, my RC had expired, and my PR had been refused, but I had an email from the case worker that it was under reconsideration, and also confirmation of my appeal. When we went to the Easyjet counter to find out if they would let me fly, the very pleasant young lady told us that our marriage certificate was not valid, as it is not European, therefore I could not fly without a visa... If I wasn't so stressed about my PR, I may have laughed about it, but at the time, it really wasn't very funny.
I'm a few days away from being able to apply for Naturalisation, but I have a trip booked to Spain in December, and I am so tired of the immigration staff who are either not clued up on the rules, or simply bored and on a power trip... So, there we have it, my only option right now is a Schengen visa.
Hopefully my little story entertained everyone, we laugh now, but it is very frustrating simply trying to enjoy the rights that you have, and having to carry more paperwork than clothes when you go on holiday!!