Best wrong thing about UK visas I ever heard!

[ca.funke]

A German/Lebanese couple I know live together in Zürich.

The Lebanese part went to apply for a UK visa. (Since they want to travel together he shouldn´t have, but that´s another story...)

He was told that, should he travel together with his wife, she (the German national) would have to apply for a visa as well!

Coolest single piece of incorrect info I ever heard! (Copyright WorldBridge Zürich)

[docteurbenway]

Thats the U.K. for you.

By the way, do you have any new information regarding the infringement procedure against the U.K. for violating Directive 2004/38/EC?

[fysicus]

A German/Lebanese couple I know live together in Zürich.

The Lebanese part went to apply for a UK visa. (Since they want to travel together he shouldn´t have, but that´s another story...)

He was told that, should he travel together with his wife, she (the German national) would have to apply for a visa as well!

Coolest single piece of incorrect info I ever heard! (Copyright WorldBridge Zürich)

Funny indeed, but it depends...

If they plan to fly with RyanAir the info may not be so incorrect from a practical point of view...

[ca.funke]

By the way, do you have any new information regarding the infringement procedure against the U.K. for violating Directive 2004/38/EC?

Yep - I complained to the ombudsman, stating that I feel "the Commission isn´t doing everything in its power to alleviate the problem", since this has been a problem since 2006 (when 2004/38/EC came into force), thus for about 6 years now.

To cut an 8-page answer(!) short, the Ombudsman thinks all is dealt with within a perfectly normal timeframe, which doesn´t justify any complaining.

Let´s see, maybe by 2018 the problem will be solved...

[ca.funke]

Funny indeed, but it depends...

If they plan to fly with RyanAir the info may not be so incorrect from a practical point of view...

Would Ryanair stop a German national with ID/Passport from boarding?

I remember >>this<< recent (Easyjet) example, where a non-EU national was denied boarding, while the EU-part was explicitly not denied, although she decided not to fly without her husband.

So after all I still guess it´s totally out of the question for an EU/EEA national to even apply for a UK visa. The application should not be accepted, should it be accidentally accepted it should be refused, free of charge, on the grounds of "no visa needed".

I´d really like to see an EU/EEA passport containing a UK visa. This should be close to impossible? (I shall hope?)

[fysicus]

I didn't mean to be serious, of course. But RyanAir has a history of denying boarding for the most silly reasons, and this one, though it probably has never happened yet, is not totally unthinkable.

One of my favourites, a few years ago

[ca.funke]

For above silly reason I am paranoid, and just for Ryanair I always carry both my ID´s and both my passports, just in case. If they don´t like one, they can pick anotherone...

...I am waiting for that day that they´ll make me pull out the 2nd/3rd/4th option, by which time they´ll probably hand me over to the police as a "suspect" for possible "forgery"...

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

I came across VFS claiming that certain countries were not actually members of the EU (or was that of the UK or both). These people can be little more than clerks, screening applications, but leaving applicants screaming!

[ca.funke]

Hi EUsmileWEallsmile,

UK not in the EU, Ireland part of the UK, Vatican/SanMarino in Schengen or most recently >>Switzerland not in Schengen<<...

...if you listen to what people say carefully, you´ll easily hear any of the above and more incorrect things at some stage.

>>This<< diagram helps to be in the know.

[newbieholland]

Hi EUsmileWEallsmile,

UK not in the EU, Ireland part of the UK, Vatican/SanMarino in Schengen or most recently >>Switzerland not in Schengen<<...

...is you listen to what people say carefully, you´ll easily hear any of the above and more incorrect things at some stage.

>>This<< diagram helps to be in the know.

Lol I didn't need to be famous for that post. I know they were not in Schenegan but under EEA countries a few months ago before they joint the schenegan.

[ca.funke]

...I know they were not in Schenegan but under EEA countries a few months ago before they joint the schenegan.

Although >>Switzerland joined Schengen in December 2008<<, it was >>never an EEA member<<.

Lol I didn't need to be famous for that post.

I don´t think it´s something bad to mess this up. I just happen to know for sure since I live here and was personally affected by this.

This is a usual problem with writing in an English forum as a non-native: My English is sort-a-OK, but I can´t write as naturally as a native English speaker would - thus I can´t write to display the sarcasm I´d sometimes like to express...

...so I mean all of this with a wink

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

This is a usual problem with writing in an English forum as a non-native: My English is sort-a-OK, but I can´t write as naturally as a native English speaker would - thus I can´t write to display the sarcasm I´d sometimes like to express...

If you think your English is "sort-a-OK", then you must find the English of the rest of us appalling!

[Plum70]

thus I can´t write to display the sarcasm I´d sometimes like to express...

Anyone who knows how to use "thus" in a sentence grades very highly in my books.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

CA Funke - excellent posting, please keep it up. I wish my German was conversational, let alone fluent like your English.