border control and EU's spouse without residence card

Hi all,

As far as I know brexit did not yet happen so EU rules still apllies: A EU country can't refuse entry for your spouse if you are a EU member.

We are planning to go to France to see family this summer but my wife sent her residence card for the EU application scheme. She still has her passport with her though (which will expire in less than 6 month from the date of travel)

Is it possible to cross border and come back without too much trouble, even without the residence card but instead the passport + marriage certificate ?

Thanks

barbapapa wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 07, 2019 8:03 am

Is it possible to cross border and come back without too much trouble, even without the residence card but instead the passport + marriage certificate ?

It is possible, not by no means guaranteed.

Also, it is not UK border control officials you should worry about, it's airline staff, which have been known to deny boarding planes to the UK to non-EU family members of EU citizens without Residence Cards, as this member painfully found out.

Bottom line is, one thing is to have a right, another very different thing is being able to prove that right. The Residence Card is the way to prove the right. No card... anything can happen.

barbapapa wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 07, 2019 8:03 am

Is it possible to cross border and come back without too much trouble, even without the residence card but instead the passport + marriage certificate ?

If the marriage certificate was issued by an EU country and you can reach the border, it should be straightforward to cross it. Airlines are generally tasked with preventing non-visa nationals without suitable visas from reaching the border. (Residence cards serve as visas.)

Thanks @kamoe and @Richard.

Our marriage certificate was made in India but because France require its own registration, we also have a french family book ("carnet de famille"). Do you think this would facilitate entry and re-entry ?

Actually the main worry is the return since if they refuse my wife to leave, the worst case is we go home. But if they refuse her to come back, we are stuck

I can confirm the trouble with the airlines, my non-EEA spouse has just been denied boarding by Ryanair.

Having ready all the EU Legal text printed and highlighted didn't help, nor the email from my immigration lawyer and UKBA FOI Request 43989 in addition to all the documentation that was prepared for the EUSS FP application.

Wonder if any legal recourse would be possible.