Visa-free entry to Europe for UK residents from 13 October?

[smalldog]

I've just been reading EC Regulation 562/2006 which takes effect on 13 October 2006 and it seems to be saying that visas will not be required when entering Schengen countries for third-country nationals who have a residence permit issued by any EU country. Am I reading this right?

The regulation can be found here:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 032:EN:PDF

The relevant parts are:

15. ‘residence permit’ means:
(a) all residence permits issued by the Member States
according to the uniform format laid down by Council
Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 of 13 June 2002 laying
down a uniform format for residence permits for thirdcountry
nationals (2);
(b) all other documents issued by a Member State to thirdcountry
nationals authorising a stay in, or re-entry into,
its territory, with the exception of temporary permits
issued pending examination of a first application for a
residence permit as referred to in point (a) or an application
for asylum;

...

Article 5
Entry conditions for third-country nationals

1. For stays not exceeding three months per six-month period,
the entry conditions for third-country nationals shall be the
following:
(a) they are in possession of a valid travel document or documents
authorising them to cross the border;
(b) they are in possession of a valid visa, if required pursuant
to Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001
listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession
of visas when crossing the external borders and those
whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (1), except
where they hold a valid residence permit;
(c) they justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay,
and they have sufficient means of subsistence, both for the
duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country
of origin or transit to a third country into which they are
certain to be admitted, or are in a position to acquire such
means lawfully;
(d) they are not persons for whom an alert has been issued in the
SIS for the purposes of refusing entry;
(e) they are not considered to be a threat to public policy, internal
security, public health or the international relations of
any of the Member States, in particular where no alert has
been issued in Member States’ national data bases for the purposes
of refusing entry on the same grounds.

[first2last4]

check this relevant topic.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=4645

[Dawie]

I really really really hope so! I'm so tired of applying for schengen visas despite the fact that I hold ILR here in the UK. It's never made any sense to me why somebody who is fit for entering the UK cannot enter the schengen area without applying for a seperate visa.

To be fair the UK has MUCH stricter visa requirements than most other EU countries.

[Dawie]

I can see nothing in this document that would exclude UK residency permit from being accepted for the purposes of travelling without a visa to a Schengen country.

[Dawie]

John, do you have any opinion on this? The text does not explicitly exclude the UK and Ireland however it does look too good to be true.

[happyfamily]

yes PLEASE could John or any Moderator reply. my husband has a uk residency permit and we want to go freely and easily on holidays to visit my family in france.

[Dawie]

Well, i've been doing more research on this topic.

The UK, Ireland and Denmark have opted out of this directive (like they do with any EU directive that concerns immigration). It's clear that the UK will not allow anyone with a schengen residency visa to enter the UK without requiring a seperate UK visa. What is not clear is whether or not the reverse will hold true, i.e. Will the Schengen countries allow someone with a UK residency visa to enter the Schengen space without requiring a valid Schengen visa.

We will have to hold our breathe and see....