New Schengen visa exemptions for 6 countries

[globocentro]

The Airport tv series is quite old, most of the episodes are from 2000 I think. There has been more scope in the past to deal with citizens from countries who do not require a tourist visa to enter the UK as they could change their status whilst in the UK without a problem - I'm sure there are many people on here who would be more clued up on this point.

Also, this particular woman was a professional who had a job contract with a UK employer and I believe she had a British husband. This obviously changes the circumstances.

Also, I've seen a number of episodes where white South Africans were turned away because they couldn't prove that they had sufficient funds. globocentro you obviously have a chip on your shoulder and I know the reality of discrimination is difficult to accept but don't make selective reports by omitting facts to conveniently emphasize the point you're trying to make.

Excuse me? Are you implying that someone who married a British citizen can be exempted from immigration regulations? A non resident is subject to all the immigration regulations of a non resident until he/she make an attempt to convert her status, regardless of whether she is married to British citizen or not. The woman didnt make any attempts to apply for resident status prior to her visit and she must be treated like a non resident in the eyes of the law.

Saying that i conveniently omit facts is unfair. I personally know someone who was denied entry to Briton despite having a British husband. She wasnt even enterting UK for employment. She was merely entering UK to visit her husband. However, she had to endure the inconvenience of holding a passport from a predominantly non white country. She met all the requirements of a visa waiver entry. If you staunchly believe that having a British spouse will arouse more empathy from Immigration in Heathrow, how do you explain this case? The I/O probably knows that she will have little trouble obtaining a spouse visa after her arrival anyway.

[sudhy6]

I think we are all digressing! Someone please answer, has this rule been implemented by any of the countries yet?

[joesoap101]

Excuse me? Are you implying that someone who married a British citizen can be exempted from immigration regulations? A non resident is subject to all the immigration regulations of a non resident until he/she make an attempt to convert her status, regardless of whether she is married to British citizen or not. The woman didnt make any attempts to apply for resident status prior to her visit and she must be treated like a non resident in the eyes of the law.

Saying that i conveniently omit facts is unfair. I personally know someone who was denied entry to Briton despite having a British husband. She wasnt even enterting UK for employment. She was merely entering UK to visit her husband. However, she had to endure the inconvenience of holding a passport from a predominantly non white country. She met all the requirements of a visa waiver entry. If you staunchly believe that having a British spouse will arouse more empathy from Immigration in Heathrow, how do you explain this case? The I/O probably knows that she will have little trouble obtaining a spouse visa after her arrival anyway.

I did not imply that a person married to a British citizen be exempted from immigration regulations. However, in such circumstances the British immigration officers do have some level of discretion - and like I've said, 7 years ago things were a bit different. You could travel to the UK as a visitor and change status- it was only more recently that citizens who did no require a tourist visa, and who were intending on staying in the UK for longer than 6 months, had to apply for prior entry clearance.

Lastly, stop referring to visa waiver- the UK has no visa waiver, the Americans use that term to describe their visa free regime!

[Dawie]

Lastly, stop referring to visa waiver- the UK has no visa waiver, the Americans use that term to describe their visa free regime!

I completely agree! You can't have a waiver from something that you never needed in the first place.

I hate it when people use American immigration terms for the UK. Like refering to immigrants as "aliens". That really gets me. Aliens are from outerspace, not from foreign countries.

[Shiva79]

Thats so dearly beloved and bias. I dare you to go to mauritius and find one person who is starving and i'll agree my country is poor. You saw wat u wanted to see in mauritius. My parents earn £100 a month. yet my brother AND i R studying in universities in UK. Thats coz we dont lead grand lives, but know how to economise and prosper. As for south Africa, you still have so many issues. Wealth n economy is not everythg. Wat about the beloved btw white/black/asian? Wat abt the crime rates? Wat about the rapid spread of AIDS? We are educated and hard working. An asset. Plus, we have a culture that you can only dream about. We have a lot more to offer. Btw, if South Africans are rich, do they come over and distribute their money??? No! So y should they have free entry everywhere?

[Shiva79]

So we are idiots??? British are not dearly beloved??? U sure u were in the UK? Am a student in UK and my family pays out 10 000 pounds a year for my studies. Even then, British ppl sweetly ask me all the time, "When are you going back?" meaning Piss off. Ur boss has no option but to be nice coz he is in UR country. Bring him over here and see how that changes. As for Mauritians being dearly beloved among themselves, Name one country where there is no beloved. for goodness sake, Muslims in Iraq killed each other coz of caste. At least we dont do that. U want to talk about rational...so stop saying things like "And also I don't think U.K citizens are dearly beloved... French citizens are, to some extent. The rest of europe I don't know, although portugal and spain do not appear dearly beloved to me..." If you "think" or you "dont know" then dont talk. Look at facts and not how they "appear". I cant believe you seen each and every european to conclude that they are the best nor have you met all mauritians who are dearly beloved or baosts. The slow administration is not due to mauritius, but things have to be properly evaluated before implementation. Finally, you do not and cannot protect anyone from insult. You are one urself.

@palpicolo: SHUT UP YOU PROUD IDIOT! Mauritius is a a paradise only for tourists. I can tell, I'm a Mauritian and I live there >_< Mauritians are dearly beloved among themselves, are proud, like to boast themselves (like palpicolo just did), and I just can't stand it when they do it! And no, I'm not going to protect you just because I'm Mauritian... You're an idiot, that's all there is to it... Just thought I'd say that: Stop being the average selfish Mauritian and start to think rationally!!!

And also I don't think U.K citizens are dearly beloved... French citizens are, to some extent. The rest of europe I don't know, although portugal and spain do not appear dearly beloved to me...

And yes, 1year after the initial publication in the european journal, Mauritians still require a VISA to enter schengenland... Now talk about slow administration -_- Any news about seychelles and the others?

[Shiva79]

Shove the golves up ur a**!
1st: Thank God we are not legalising drug in Mtius. Draconian or not, drugs are destruction n we are proud not to jump on bandwagon and follow kate Moss to destruction.
2nd: We have one of the biggest tourist industry in the world...all of them dont go to hotels. In case u didnt know, there is a new world restrictions about marine pollution which all country have to observe and i instead of yapping away, produce pictures of dirty beaches in mtius. Btw, all the tourist that go there are not blind. South African beach and sea are infested with sharks.
3rd: A south African talking of race relation, riots and beloved is laughable. Do you not have seperate pavements, shops and clubs for black and white??? You moved away from that shit??? My mule u did!!! N creole people do not suffer at the hands of Hindu mauritians, they suffer coz they are lazy and laid back. they have no sense of responsibilty and invest no money or time in their kids education. My parents sent me to Uk to study because they have saved up for 30 years, not because they stole from a creole (which btw have nothing worth stealing from)
4th: There are a tiny percentage of rich people. Wat about those who r dying of stravation, of AIDS or dearly beloved attacks??? Find one Mauritian dying of hunger and i'll submit!!! Unlimited potential and wealth my mule. If you were that big, why are you still trotting behind The US and Europe?
Finally, publish wat u saw and experienced in Mauritius...maybe then the thousands of tourist flocking to spoilt and ugly Mauritius might divert to South Africa and become shark bait. Wat are you waiting for???

[Shiva79]

Scengen Visa has got nothing to do with economy. Btw, find a single person starving in Mauritius and i'll bow to you.The rate of AIDS is still very low too, touch wood compared to South Africa. I dont know wat u mean by poor. Sure our standard of living is not as high. Thats because we know the value of sacrifice and saving. My parents earn £100 a month and yet here i am paying £10 000 a year for my studies in UK. Most Mauritians can afford to do that BECOZ we save for the future. We may not have big houses and big cars or go on fancy holidays but we work hard and plan ahead for our children. In return, we dont dump our parents in retirement homes later on.

BESIDES NO ONE STARVES IN MAURITIUS. As for ur economy being big, that can change any minute. beloved and discrimination is rampant in South Afirca. Is it not true that you still have different shops,pavements and schools for black and white people?? Rub it the wrong way, and all that would crumble like domino. In any case, small population means better control over immigration and passport fraud. South Africa has a very long way to go to establish any kind of civil and
human rights law. Does not look such a good state then, does it???

The requirement to obtain a Schengen visa will soon be removed for nationals of:

Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Mauritius
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Seychelles

This exemption will come into force when the above countries conclude their visa agreements with the EU.

In addition to this Bolivia will be added to the visa-required category from April 2007.

To be honest I'm a little sickened by this. Most of these countries/territories are some of the poorest areas in the world and yet citizens of my country, South Africa, by far the biggest economy in Africa, continue to require a visa to visit Schengenland.

It's no accident that all these territories are islands.

[Administrator]

.

OKay now.

I hope we all feel better having THAT off our chests.

Topic locked.

Maybe we could try again and keep it related to Schengen visas in the future ..?

the Admin