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Non-EU Spouse Visa Refused by portuguese consulate Pls Help

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LiveFree15
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Non-EU Spouse Visa Refused by portuguese consulate Pls Help

Post by LiveFree15 » Tue Jun 09, 2015 9:21 am

Monday 8th June 2015.

Hello,

My wife and I have made plans to move to Portugal but because she is from guinea she is required to get a entry visa. I am a British citizen (EU Citizen ). We plan to travel together from the UK to Portugal where we will live and work.

We travelled to the Portuguese Consulate in Manchester in order to finalise the visa application that was made on-line on the 1st of May. At the Portuguese consulate my wife's visa application was refused, these are reasons given:

1: travel documents required
2: UK Residence card or stamp required
3: passport no more than ten years.

1 and 2.
My wife's current immigration status is as a overstayer so she does not have a residence card . We got married after she overstayed in UK that's the reason we would like to move to Portugal to live and work. As EU citizen my wife has every right to travel with me right?

According to Directive 2004/38/E
There is no legal requirement that:
The non-EU family member holds a specific immigration visa or status.

According to Directive 2004/38/E only the following requirements need to be satisfied:

The visa applicant is a direct “family member” of an EU citizen and has proof (marriage or birth certificate or some combination) of the relationship)
The visa applicant will be travelling with, or joining, the EU citizen for a visit or permanent move to an EU member state. (If they are going to the “home” country of the EU citizen, then there can be a requir
All travellers require a passport (or a national ID card for the EU citizen)
We meet all these requirements

There is no legal requirement that:

The non-EU family member holds a specific immigration visa or status.
The family member apply in their country of origin
There is also no legal requirement that you submit:

proof that you will return at the end of the trip
airline tickets
3. Her passport is older than ten years but was extended for 1 year by the Guinean embassy in Lisbon, Portugal in order for her to travel to portugal. The passport is valid now.

While at the consulate I clearly showed the official Directive 2004/38/
But we were still refused.

I have contacted Solvit.

Please help us as I am starting work in August in Portugal.

LiveFree15
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Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2015 11:57 pm

Re: Non-EU Spouse Visa Refused by portuguese consulate Pls H

Post by LiveFree15 » Tue Jun 09, 2015 3:34 pm

Anyone Please!!!

liksah
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Re: Non-EU Spouse Visa Refused by portuguese consulate Pls H

Post by liksah » Tue Jun 09, 2015 11:52 pm

Sorry that your spouse is facing this issue. You could try and escalate the matter within the Portuguese Consulate. Perhaps the people who you spoke to just are not well informed about this issue or perhaps there is some kind of diplomatic snubbing going on here at the cost of regular people (the UK has been making it notoriously difficult for spouses and family members of EU nationals.. just check the UK forum here.. =/)


However, the law is the law and you should be able to find someone reasonable enough in the Portuguese consulate to help you out. No, the current immigration status does not matter.

Your other option is to go by land/road/ferry and try to get into France on the basis of your marriage documents, passports, etc. They are supposed to grant you entry at the port of entry if you can prove that you are direct family. Of course, this might fail but it's worth a shot based on the refusal you have received from the Portuguese. An offer letter from your employer will also help. How is your French?

LiveFree15
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Re: Non-EU Spouse Visa Refused by portuguese consulate Pls H

Post by LiveFree15 » Wed Jun 10, 2015 8:05 am

Thank you kindly for replying.

That's exactly right about her current immigration status, I even showed them directive 2004 pointing out that her current status is null and void when it comes to EU spouse visa.

This is a clear violation of Directive 2004/38/EC RIGHT?

We would like to move to Portugal as my wife speak Portuguese. They have no right to refuse the visa, I have asked to speak to the consulate general personally and show him directly.

My Portuguese is better than my French.

Thank you

LiveFree15
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Re: Non-EU Spouse Visa Refused by portuguese consulate Pls H

Post by LiveFree15 » Wed Jun 10, 2015 11:15 am

liksah wrote:Sorry that your spouse is facing this issue. You could try and escalate the matter within the Portuguese Consulate. Perhaps the people who you spoke to just are not well informed about this issue or perhaps there is some kind of diplomatic snubbing going on here at the cost of regular people (the UK has been making it notoriously difficult for spouses and family members of EU nationals.. just check the UK forum here.. =/)


However, the law is the law and you should be able to find someone reasonable enough in the Portuguese consulate to help you out. No, the current immigration status does not matter.

Your other option is to go by land/road/ferry and try to get into France on the basis of your marriage documents, passports, etc. They are supposed to grant you entry at the port of entry if you can prove that you are direct family. Of course, this might fail but it's worth a shot based on the refusal you have received from the Portuguese. An offer letter from your employer will also help. How is your French?

" Only passports that have been issued not extended during the past ten years can be endorsed with a visa"

Does this apply to Directive 2004/38/EC ???

My wife extended her passport for 1 year so that she could travel with me. We plan to permanently move to Portugal.
I had to go to the Guinean embassy in portugal in order to extend it, renewing it will take a few months.....we want to move asap.

LiveFree15
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Re: Non-EU Spouse Visa Refused by portuguese consulate Pls H

Post by LiveFree15 » Thu Jun 11, 2015 12:31 pm

Anyone Please!! Some advice.

LiveFree15
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Posts: 11
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EU Spouse -passport rejected by Consulate Urgent help needed

Post by LiveFree15 » Fri Jun 12, 2015 5:55 pm

Hello Everyone,


I would like to exercise my right according to Directive/2004/38/EC to permanently move to Portugal with my wife.
I am UK Citizen and my wife a Guinean Citizen who overstayed her visa before we got married due to health reasons. We were told by the Portuguese consulate that My wife's passport could not be used to obtain a entry visa because it was over TEN years old. Her passport is currently valid, it was extended by the Guinean embassy in portugal for 1 year on 10/4/2015 so that she would able to travel with me.

She can not return to Guinea because she fears for her safety and the Guinean embassy in Portugal can't renew the passport without her physically being there, new passport require fingerprints. No Guinea embassy in the UK.... Once in Portugal it will only take 15 days to renew it

Q - Is this a violation of Directive/2004/38/EC by the Portuguese consulate???? Directive/2004/38/EC Article 5 only states that the passport has to be valid which it is.

Please Help Anyone :cry:

ban.s
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Re: Non-EU Spouse Visa Refused by portuguese consulate Pls H

Post by ban.s » Tue Jun 16, 2015 4:12 pm

Also see
LiveFree15 wrote:I would like to exercise my right according to Directive/2004/38/EC to permanently move to
Portugal with my wife.


I am UK Citizen and my wife a Guinean Citizen who overstayed her visa before we got married
due to health reasons. We were told by the Portuguese consulate that My wife's passport could
not be used to obtain a entry visa because it was over TEN years old. Her passport is currently
valid, it was extended by the Guinean embassy in Portugal for 1 year on 10/4/2015 so that she
would able to travel with me.
She can not return to Guinea because she fears for her safety and the Guinean embassy in
Portugal can't renew the passport without her physically being there, new passport require
fingerprints. No Guinea embassy in the UK.... Once in Portugal it will only take 15 days to renew
it

Q - Is this a violation of Directive/2004/38/EC by the Portuguese consulate????
Directive/2004/38/EC Article 5 only states that the passport has to be valid which it is.


Directive/2004/38/EC, clearly states that:

•the national authorities demonstrate that the visa applicant is a genuine, present and
sufficiently serious threat to public policy, public security or public health; or
•the national authorities demonstrate that there was abuse or fraud.

Please help i have Business opportunity next month.

LiveFree15
Newly Registered
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2015 11:57 pm

Re: Non-EU Spouse Visa Refused by portuguese consulate Pls H

Post by LiveFree15 » Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:16 pm

Does anyone know a lawyer that deals with EU free movement law with knowledge of Directive 2004 EC and the Visa code???

Anyone ?? :shock: :shock: :?: :shock: :?:

PrestonLancs

Re: Non-EU Spouse Visa Refused by portuguese consulate Pls H

Post by PrestonLancs » Wed Jul 01, 2015 1:23 am

Portugal is under no obligation to grant a visa to an applicant in UK when the applicant is in UK illegaly.
You have not read the directive carefully. It is a well establisehd principle, and followed by every member states.

Let me quote you from the directive:

There is no legal requirement that:

The EU citizen is already (or will be) living or working in a different EU member state
The non-EU family member holds a specific immigration visa or status. It is fine for them to have a nationally issued visa or a student visa or a visitor’s visa or even implied status
The family member apply in their country of origin
The family member resides or previously resided in the EU/EEA (This older requirement of some member states was overturned in several ECJ cases, especially Metock)

The directive says the applicant does not need to have a specific visa. The directive does not at all say that the visa should be granted even if an applicant has no legal status in the country they are applying. To put simply, portugal cannot require that an applicant must have an ILR in UK, or a minimum of 1 year visa in UK etc. But they can require that the applicant has some kind of visa/status in UK.

You can go and spend money on soliciotors, but in my opinion, you will get nowhere with this.

But yes, if somehow, you manage to leave UK on ferry, then when landing in france, french immigration will have to allow her in. All technicalities. Silly. But it is the way it is unfortunately.

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