Schengen Visa for husband of UK national living outside EU

[rajivmirani]

After reading many forums I still can't seem to get the information I need.
I am married to a UK national and the both of us are living in Morocco. We wanted to travel to Europe this summer and wanted to know if I was entitled to the fast track, visa fee free application or do I need to apply for the visa as any other individual. I am quite confused since in the past I have always applied for the Spanish visa via VFS Global and have always had to wait 3 weeks and paid a full fee. I have just recently found out that EU family members do not need to pay for a Schengen Visa and are given priority. I wanted to make sure if I was entitled to this given that I will be applying for this visa from Morocco ( Outside the EU ). If I am then I can easily argue my case.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

[chaoclive]

My civil partner has applied for quite a few free visas from the Netherlands and Spanish Embassies in Beijing. The Dutch were super but the Spanish staff asked for a certified copy of our civil partnership certificate; which I rejected and said was a hindrance as we got the CP at the British Embassy in Vietnam. In the end, they gave us the visa without certification.

See here for the info on the NDL Embassy website re: EEA family members: http://china.nlembassy.org/services/vis ... izens.html

Therefore, long story short: you should be entitled. You should email the Embassy or visa processing centre stating that you are married to a British citizen and asking how you can take advantage of a free visa under Directive 2004/ 38/ EC.

[rajivmirani]

Thanks for your help! Clarified a lot. Unfortunately the Spanish visa procedure here is through VFS Global so I'm guessing I'll have to pay the processing fee. Either way appreciate your input

[chaoclive]

They should still give the visa for free. The UK EEA family permit is free in Beijing but the whole process is handled by the visa processing centre (not part of the embassy).

Contact the embassy. If you don't, you might be missing out on the free visa...at least worth a try.

[Donutz]

Why go to VFS? Under the Schengen visa rules you are entitled to a direct application. See article 17 of the Schengen visa directive 810/2009/EC.

Embassies should also state the right of direct applications on their website. The Visa handbook explains this:

4.4. Direct access
Maintaining the possibility for visa applicants to lodge their applications directly at the
consulate instead of via an external service provider implies that there should be a genuine
choice between these two possibilities.
Even if direct access does not have to be organised under identical or similar conditions to
those for access to the service provider, the conditions should not make direct access
impossible in practice. Even if it is acceptable to have a different waiting time for obtaining
an appointment in the case of direct access, the waiting time should not be so long that it
would render direct access impossible in practice.
The different options available for lodging a visa application should be presented plainly to
the public, including clear information both on the choice and the cost of the additional
services of the external service provider (see Part I, point 4.1).

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/wh ... dex_en.htm

If the embassy is not providing this info, I'd send a complaint (after you finished the application?) and contact the EU aswell.

PS: The directive of free movement can be found here, explaining your rights of a free visa with almost no requirements (paperwork): http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ ... 32004L0038
Be aware that you should be granted an application within 2 weeks of the request and that within 15 days the visa application should be processed.