YOU:
You are non-EEA national who normally requires a visa to travel to Europe (Example: you hold a passport from India, Pakistan, Algeria, Morocco... etc)
YOUR RESIDENCE CARD:
You have a residence card you obtained under EEA rules. The EEA residence card shows that you are a family member of an EEA national. Like this one:
The card must be still valid and you must also show a valid passport.
CIRCUMSTANCES OF YOUR TRIP:
You are travelling with your EEA sponsor (the person who sponsored your EEA card) to an EEA country (we don't care about Schengen or not, we just need an EEA country).
Fine print: legally, you can even travel alone to join your EEA national. For instance, if your EEA national takes a flight to Germany a few days before yourself, you can join him to Germany without a need for visa but most companies won't let you in their flights. Take a solicitor with you if you want to try this!
PAPERWORK:
You don't need a visa!
Take with you:
- Your passport
- Your EEA residence card
- Proof of relationship to your sponsor (like if married, take a marriage certificate)
YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Most airline staff and immigration officers, don't know you have the right to travel without visa in the circumstances described above. Many will try to challenge your right to travel but you have to insist that you are a family member of an EEA national and according to Directive 2004/38/EC (You need to know that by heart or write it down somewhere).
If anyone tries to block your way, airlines or official, ask to escalate immediately to his manager or the on-duty senior officer.
The regulation 2004/38/EC has been implemented in 2006. If anyone you meet doesn't know about it, it means the person in front of you is more than a decade out of date and you should immediately ask for escalation as talking to that unprofessional agent is a waste of time.
Fine print: a EU Directive applies to all EU countries. It's not like a Regulation. A Regulation has to be translated into local legislation but not a Directive. A Directive is valid as is in all EU countries.
PREPARE YOUR TRIP:
- If you can, contact the Embassy of the country you are visiting and ask them if you require a visa. Most of them reply without 24-48 hours and will tell you that no visa is required. Print the email and take it with you.
Here is an example of response I got from the Irish Embassy in London:
Still with that, we were challenged by Aer Lingus employees who too ages to process the check-in also at our arrival at Cork, the border control agent asked for a visa.
- Print the 2004/38/EC and take it with you. Full text is here from official source:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Le ... 123:en:PDF
Article 5, says that you don't need a visa:
Article 10 defines the card you for an EEA family member:
- Print this document and take it with you:
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/t ... dex_en.htm
EXCEPTIONS:
- This is not applicable to you if your sponsor is British and used British (non-EEA route) to get your residence, In that case you need a visa
- If your sponsor is British but you managed to go through EEA route (dual national, Surinder Sing... etc) still ask your sponsor to travel with his EU passport (non the British passport)
LAST NOTE:
Don't be afraid if you are challenged by anyone. It's YOUR right to travel. EU countries agreed to grand you this right. Don't let any airport help question EU decisions. Every time any of them questioned my right to travel with my wife, I ask him for his name/reference then stop dealing with him until a more senior person shows. Needless to say that in 100% of the case, when back home, I send a letter to their company/authority employing that person and I send also a copy of the complaint to the European Ombudsman. In all cases, my wife received full written apologies.