Married South African couple, different Schengen visas?

[theothergypsy]

Hi there

This is the second time my husband and I have applied for a Schengen visa through the Spanish Embassy in London, the first time we applied was for a trip around 6 months ago. That time we both only received single-entry visas valid for 15 days. We plan on returning to Spain regularly so took a chance and applied for a multi-entry visa even though we only had an official itinerary for one trip next month.

Just received passports back today and I was surprised to see that I have been granted a 6 month multi-entry Schengen while my husband has only been granted a single entry visa. Why would this be, and is there anything we can do for him to get a multi-entry visa too?

About us - we are both South African and we've been living in the UK for almost 4 years. I am on an ancestry visa and my husband has a "visa to accompany spouse" (i.e. dependent visa because of my ancestry, but he has full right to work, valid for the same amount of time etc etc).

My husband is fully employed and I am self-employed. My husband has far more funds in his bank account than I do! All paperwork was identical except for the obvious - bank statements and employer letters. We applied for our visas together at the joint visa application office in London.

We have heard bad things about applying through Spain, so honestly I was surprised to have received a multi-entry visa at all. But obviously now that I have one, I would love for my husband to have one too! Does anyone know if this is a common occurrence? It seems odd that we would receive different visas though we are a married couple. Could it be something to do with me having more "ties" to the UK through my ancestry? Could I speak to someone at the embassy to see about getting the same visa for him?

Any insight, tips or advice would be appreciated!

[liksah]

You could ask them but most likely they will say that your husband should apply again for your next visit. You could make the argument that you'd have to pay again but your mileage may vary.

It could be that they didn't want to give him a multi entry or it could just be a clerical error.

[jerseyb1]

If you know Spain is difficult, perhaps you could consider a trip to France, and getting a French Schengen. The South Africans I know all got 6 months multi entry visas first time, and the 1-5 year visas on second application. Although, this was all pre Paris November, so they might be less giving now. As long as you use it for France at least once, you can obviously use it for all the Schengen countries.