EEA Family Member - Directive 2004/38 - Refused boarding!!

Hello all,

As the subject line states: Me and my wife have just attempted to travel to France exercising our rights under the Directive 2004/38.

I am a British citizen and my wife is a Moroccan citizen.

We had attempted to obtain a schengen visa etc however the French embassy in Morocco claim that there is no such thing and that we need to submit all various different documents etc. They stated this would take roughly 3-6 weeks and there is a 2 week waiting period for appointments.

Anyways, cut a long story short: We decided to attempt to travel visa free to France using the directive and proof of our rights (marriage certificate etc). We got to the airport, got our boarding passes from the self service machine and went to drop off our baggage. We was flying with AirFrance (as we had previously flown with Air France last November in the exact same way with NO issues at all).
When we got to dropping off our baggage at check-in they asked for our passports and then looked through them and asked where is my wifes visa. I explained she didn't need one as stated in the directive as she is my wife and thus a spouse of an EU national (I placed both an english and french version of the directive for them to look at) they read through it and said: no, she needs a visa. Go speak to our office over there.
We went over to the Air France sales desk and spoke to the man working there. We said hello. His reply: "What do you want? She has no visa she cannot go you must stay here". We explained everything, provided the directives, a copy of our marriage certificate, a translation of marriage certificate etc. Again, he was adamant we cannot go. He went as far to say that the directive was from 2004 and is now no longer current and out of date so it is not valid or legit. We explained it was and that if he was denying us boarding we would like this in writing. He had a smirk on his face and stated he would not sign or write anything. I asked for his name, he smiled and said nothing. I then requested to speak to a manager. The manager came 4 hours later. By which point our flight had left. He read through the documents and said the same thing: She cannot board, the directive is not right. Anyways after a long time of explaining everything he said: If Charles De Gaulle give you clearence then you can go and i will arrange another flight for you. We tried calling AirFrance and after another hour of waiting on the phone got through to "customer care" team who again said they had no idea and if he is denying boarding then that is final. I explained that he stated he only needed confirmation from their immigration team etc. She asked me to wait, we waited 20 minutes later: sorry sir, we cannot offer that sort of validation. Needless to say, that was a waste of time and money calling.
He said he would speak to someone, he called french consular in Morocco, whom said: No she needs visa, no such thing as the directive and even if it was they never heard of it.
It is worth pointing out that EVERY SINGLE person (check-in, AirFrance desk, manager, consular office) they are ALL Moroccans and have NO knowledge of anything but Moroccan law.
We asked him why he doesn't follow procedure and contact immigration at charles de gaulle (our destination) to see their oppinion on clearence. He said he doesn't need to, he speaks to French Embassy and they said No. He then went on to say that the directive is not correct and to quote him in broken English: "You go to France, we are AirFRANCE and we are France". Those are his exact words.
Anyways, they refused anything in writing. Thankfully i had the whole thing recorded. Security cameras everywhere, photos, everything to prove we were there. Even our boarding passes.
We spoke to the immigration officials at the airport in Morocco and they said the same thing: She needs a visa. They too went as far to say that the directive is not real and implied we had faked the document. They stated that it doesn't matter as this is Morocco and EU law doesn't apply.
Needless to say we wasted many hours and are now stuck in a hotel not sure what to do next.

As i said, we traveled before no issues in exact same way at the same airport same airline everything. We even have our stamped boarding passes and my wife has the French immigration stamps in her passport. When we ask them how we got these they just shrug and say they have no idea.

We are at a total loss. We had booked our train, our accommodation for 6 months, everything has now been ruined.
We have already complained to AirFrance although they are unwilling to change their position. She must have a schengen visa AND a RETURN ticket.

What should we do? How should we complain? Should we Sue? (our rights have been violated, even myself as a British citizen was refused boarding!)

Ps. to all mods: Sorry if this is in the wrong location, not sure best location for it.

I think they were right to refuse you boarding, as Morocco Airport is not a french border.

If you had arrived at the French border, then on the basis of Directive 2004/38EC, they will have no legal basis to refuse you entry.

I am sorry for your difficulty, but you have to be in possession of either a visa or Residence Card.

Contact SOLVIT and see what your options are. Air France could be able to compensate you, but I'm not sure.

Thanks to the both of you for your prompt reply.

Yes we are a little confused about the whole thing because as i said we traveled before in the same way with no issues at all.

The issue wasn't even when attempting to check-in as we already had our boarding passes and the such. We were just dropping off our baggage's. So had we not had baggage to checkin then we could of just gone and there would of been no issues at all.

Anyways, we will contact SOLVIT and see where we get with this. I will be pushing this rather hard with a legal consul too because the way they handled the whole thing (AirFrance etc) was just terrible.

Not too sure what to do next as the french embassy deny all existence of the Directive 2004/38/EC so there is NO possibility of getting a visa free of charge or on an accelerated procedure and thus they will ask for the plethora of documents: Bank Statements, Employment proof, Accommodation proof etc etc.

We are now considering going to Ireland and having looked into this with greater detail this would be the more suitable option.
In regards to this, does anyone know which visa it is we would need to apply for to use the Directive? Is it Class C Short Stay Single visit Family member of EU (Spouse) or is it Class D Multiple visit Family member of EU (Spouse) ? I have read in places its Class C but also read that the Minister for the EU in Ireland has stated its Class D multiple visit that needs to be applied for and that a decision would be made in 5 days without having to refer to INIS?
Also, is the 4EUFAM card issued by Ireland acceptable to exercise a right under the Surinder Singh framwork?

Thanks again,

Any ideas?

Air France were correct to refuse you boarding. They are an airline. Not legal, immigration or EU law experts. EU free movement directive applies to France, the country, not Air France the airline. You could not obtain a visa from embassy of France itself, and now you want to blame air france. If you are sure about your rights, then prove that by obtaining a visa. Why just wind yourself up, and chase an airline.

Do not want to be rude mate, but I do not know which world you live in, that French embassy told you there is no such kind of schenegan visa. Actually your statement itself proves that you never even tried to apply for a visa. Schengan Visa, and also specifically about family members of EEA, is clearly mentioned, and also the whole procedure, on French embassy in Morocco website. I am sure I do not need to tell you that millions of people apply for all kind of French visas from Morocco every week.

I think millions might be a bit exaggerated. We shall say, Thousands.

Here is the link to the French Embassy Morocco pages, which gives information about visa for family members of EEA nationals. I guess you understand French.

http://www.consulfrance-ma.org/Membre-d ... sortissant

@PrestonLancs

Thanks for the reply, albeit a little rude and upfront.

If you read my last comment on the matter you will see that i stated the manager of AirFrance at Casablanca airport called the French Embassy and claimed there was no such thing as the Directive 2004/38/EC. I never once mentioned the Schengen visa.

I would also say that thousands is indeed a gross exaggeration of how many applications are made. Not too sure if you have ever been to morocco or not

Air France were wrong in denying boarding, check out many of the information online. We were well within our rights. Even Air France head office acknowledged this and so have SOLVIT. However, it is not their fault entirely due to the fact the airport staff are actually not even AirFrance employees but employees of the Moroccan State, thus having very little to no knowledge of EU law/policy. An Air Line is not above the law but are in fact subject to it. As i said, we have flown with them before in the exact same way and had no issues previously, it was merely that of some airport employees whom were unaware which is understandable.

I am well versed on the law and the rights surrounding this matter, as well as the process of visas etc. I never stated we could not get a visa, not sure if there is a slight misinterpretation of my last comment in your comment so its all good

I don't understand too much french

And to answer your question of where i am in the world: Morocco but i am a UK citizen.

Anyways as i said, thanks for the comment.

PrestonLancs wrote:Air France were correct to refuse you boarding. They are an airline. Not legal, immigration or EU law experts. EU free movement directive applies to France, the country, not Air France the airline. You could not obtain a visa from embassy of France itself, and now you want to blame air france. If you are sure about your rights, then prove that by obtaining a visa. Why just wind yourself up, and chase an airline.

Do not want to be rude mate, but I do not know which world you live in, that French embassy told you there is no such kind of schenegan visa. Actually your statement itself proves that you never even tried to apply for a visa. Schengan Visa, and also specifically about family members of EEA, is clearly mentioned, and also the whole procedure, on French embassy in Morocco website. I am sure I do not need to tell you that millions of people apply for all kind of French visas from Morocco every week.

I think millions might be a bit exaggerated. We shall say, Thousands.

Here is the link to the French Embassy Morocco pages, which gives information about visa for family members of EEA nationals. I guess you understand French.

http://www.consulfrance-ma.org/Membre-d ... sortissant

You've not been helpful, but aggressive and rude. In addition,I find you irritating.

If you you're moody and can't be bother to give constructive advice or show sympathise towards people that need a form of help or advice then hold you piece rather than compound their misery.

Have some respect

I dont think PrestonLancs is being rude at all, the information written seems accurate to me. Ok its maybe not what the OP wants to read but its true. The airline cant let a person on board if they dont have a visa or residence permit, they would face a big fine if they did.

PL did take the time and made the effort to post the link, I think he should be respected for that. How a person phrases or how another person reads a post is a bit like Chinese whispers, you cant always take in the way the writer intends it to be read. So many arguments start online because of misinterpretation, please just accept that if a person is replying they are doing it in good faith even if they are wrong or seem a bit harsh or grumpy.

The OP made an error trying to travel visa free, seems a bit of confusion about the legality of it, yes you can be at the border and request entry under the directive. The problem is how do you get to the border in the first place, you certainly cant just fly in because you wont be allowed on any plane.

My recomendation to the OP is to apply for the Schengen visa, its a pain in the butt assembing all the docs but thats what we all have to go through. There should be information on the visa application that relates to family members of an EEA citizen. Be sure that the application clearly states that your wife will be joining or accompanying. Lots of the boxes dont need to be filled in like accomodation income insurance or travel arrangements.

Its not always an easy or straightforward application, there are members of this forum who have been trying for years to jump through the hoops to be reunited with their loved ones. Not trying to put people off from trying, but you have to be prepared for a few knock-backs.

If you cant get on with the French site then try this

http://www.schengenvisainfo.com/downloa ... tion-form/