Meeting family member in EU country with the EU residence card

Hi, I'm a EU national married to a non-EU national and this Christmas we are travelling to visit my family in Spain but we will travel separately because of work. He had the EU family residence card and I know he is allowed to travel by himself as long as he joins me but I was wondering what he is going to be asked on the airport and how he can show that he is joining me in Spain. I will be picking him up from the airport in Spain, not sure if that would be enough or if he needs any documents or any extra prove. Thanks in advance!!

Legally yes. The law says that he can travel with you or to join you.

My wife has an EEA card and when she travels with me, we always have to face delays hassle from airlines. Many check-in desk employee, including at major airports, are clueless when it comes to EEA regulations.

I don't see any company letting him aboard alone.

To avoid disappointment, I recommend either you change your travel plans and fly with him or apply for a visa.

Sorry for the late reply and thanks a lot for the advice.

I did what you said and got an appointment to apply for a visa. I collected all the necessary documents and went to the appointment with my husband and once there we wrote told he didn't need to apply for a visa. I told the woman that even the company that he is flying with told us that he would be needing a visa, and she said that he doesn't need it because he will be meeting me in Spain as I'm flying before him and because I'm Spanish. She also told me that he would need to take with him the marriage certificate and just in case our tickets for travelling back and if I wanted for peace of mind for myself, a letter from me explaining how he will be meeting with me in Spain. I asked if we could apply for a visa just in case as I wasn't completely convinced, and she told us that that wasn't possible as he doesn't require one in the first place.

Hope it's helpful for anyone in thr same situation, I will update it once we travel with our experience.

Hello

That's crazy!

I am EEA and my wife non-EEA.

All EU embassies we deal with, they say the same: you don't need a visa, but still you can apply for one as it gives you more flexibility.

Please keep us updated. The problem will be with the airlines and also with some immigration officials when you arrive.

To be honest when she said he didn't need a visa I freaked out a bit cause the airline said that he needs one. I explained to her that and how I was worried and she tried to reassure me saying that he can take with him some documents like my flight tickets and a letter for me just in case but that it should be enough with the marriage certificate and the card. I will contact the airline again and see what they say as I'm still worried. I will keep you posted

I think the only option for you is to tell the embassy you would like to travel independently from your EEA partner. It means different days, different destinations... etc. So they would have to consider your application for a visa.

With some airlines, travelling with my non EEA wife, the same day, we have issues. Alone, I am not sure they will let you in.

Ameliem wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 15, 2019 8:56 pm

To be honest when she said he didn't need a visa I freaked out a bit cause the airline said that he needs one. I explained to her that and how I was worried and she tried to reassure me saying that he can take with him some documents like my flight tickets and a letter for me just in case but that it should be enough with the marriage certificate and the card. I will contact the airline again and see what they say as I'm still worried. I will keep you posted

Well, it is really not an issue if he has a form of residence that allows him to enter in Spain. You have already stated that he already has an EU residence card. I presume it is from Spain, then if he is heading there, no problem. However if the residence card is not from Schengen States it should be designated with words that are similar or the same as "Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen".
My wife is an EU/EEA citizens but not from a Schengen member state and my residence card does not have those words, hence I need a visa to visit Spain.
You might be worried but it is perfectly a non-issue. However some airlines tend to give issues since they are not well versed in freedom of movements by EU family members.

I usually consult this website to check if I need a visa or not. Right below nationality, there is "Alien resident of" - You should select the EU/EAA member state that your spouse has a resident card. Then check the results especially when it says "visa required except for...."

ibwe wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 17, 2019 7:42 am

Ameliem wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 15, 2019 8:56 pm

To be honest when she said he didn't need a visa I freaked out a bit cause the airline said that he needs one. I explained to her that and how I was worried and she tried to reassure me saying that he can take with him some documents like my flight tickets and a letter for me just in case but that it should be enough with the marriage certificate and the card. I will contact the airline again and see what they say as I'm still worried. I will keep you posted

Well, it is really not an issue if he has a form of residence that allows him to enter in Spain. You have already stated that he already has an EU residence card. I presume it is from Spain, then if he is heading there, no problem. However if the residence card is not from Schengen States it should be designated with words that are similar or the same as "Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen".
My wife is an EU/EEA citizens but not from a Schengen member state and my residence card does not have those words, hence I need a visa to visit Spain.
You might be worried but it is perfectly a non-issue. However some airlines tend to give issues since they are not well versed in freedom of movements by EU family members.

I usually consult this website to check if I need a visa or not. Right below nationality, there is "Alien resident of" - You should select the EU/EAA member state that your spouse has a resident card. Then check the results especially when it says "visa required except for...."

Thanks a lot, I checked there and it says no visa as well. My husbands residence card is from United Kingdom and its says in it Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen. I will print all sort of documents but I'm worried that he might have problems. I called vueling and they keep telling me he needs a visa and when I tell them that I did ask for a visa but that I was told by the Spanish consulate that he doesn't need it, that I should then bring something that states that. I'm very annoyed to be honest. I will print the page on the Spanish consulate website where it says as well that he doesn't need it and I will try to find some other official website or document as well. I will keep you all posted, fingers crossed there are no problems...

I contacted the European Commission and I got a reply within a week. I post it here cause I think it will be useful for any other person in a similar situation to mine. For me at least it is a relief as now my husband can show this as well if he faces any kind of problem at the airport.

"Dear Madam:

Thank you for getting in touch with Your Europe Advice.

You have a question relating to border control and to visa policy, relating to your spouse's situation. You are a Spanish citizen and you would like him to accompany you or join you or be joined by you in Spain. Your spouse is a third country citizens (non EU citizen from Morocco). Your spouse has been issued with a UK residence card, on the grounds he is the family member of an EU citizen.

You are looking into ways of joining each other in Spain (you will be travelling to Spain a week early).

Note that your spouse may be exempt from having to process and obtain a Schengen visa, subject to him holding an article 10 residence permit.

In the light of your indications, it appears that your spouse is eligible for the visa exemption referred to above. This is because you are an EU citizen exercising your rights of residence in the UK under article 7 Directive 2004/38 and he is married to you.

Accordingly, your spouse is eligible to claim he is exempt from having to process and obtain a Schengen visa. This is what your spouse was advised about when seeking to apply for a Schengen visa (and why it appears that he was turned away by the Spanish authorities).

Nevertheless, your spouse is required to prove that he is joining you in Spain, by producing the following evidence:
His passport,
Your passport or Id card as proof that you are a Spanish citizen,
Your marriage certificate (note the Spanish authorities may require your spouse to produce a marriage certificate which is legalized and translated by an official translator if the certificate is not in Spanish).
Travel bookings to prove that your spouse is travelling to join you in Spain;
Proof that you live under the same roof in the Uk.
Proof that you are exercising your rights of residence in the UK, as a worker, self-employed worker, or self sufficient person.

The potential obstacle may be surrounding how to prove that your spouse is joining you in Spain. In the event, you may be able to prove this with your and your husband's travel bookings.

In any event, note that under Article 5 Directive 2004/38, member states shall grant third country citizens family members of EU citizens every facility to obtain the required visa (Article 5 Directive 2004/38, in the light of articles 2 and 7, along with Regulation 810/2009).

You may also wish to instruct an Immigration lawyer:

In the UK:
https://www.gov.uk/find-an-immigration- ... an-adviser

Legal texts:
Directive 2004/38
Regulation 810/2009
Cases C 370/90 456/12.


Yours sincerely,
Your Europe Advice."

Hi,

Thanks for the written confirmation, you should show this at the last resort should the airline really try to make things harder.

As per my experience ( I am a non EEA/EU married to EU citizen) I do not think your spouse will have issues at the port of entry in Spain. The airlines sometimes do present issues but they can be resolved once they see the residence card falls under article 10 residence permit.

I think the most important piece of evidence is the marriage certificate and honestly, to date, I have only shown this when applying for a visa (at the consulate) and never at the airport or any port of entry.

So gear up for the trip and everything will be alright.

ibwe wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 29, 2019 7:37 am

Hi,

Thanks for the written confirmation, you should show this at the last resort should the airline really try to make things harder.

As per my experience ( I am a non EEA/EU married to EU citizen) I do not think your spouse will have issues at the port of entry in Spain. The airlines sometimes do present issues but they can be resolved once they see the residence card falls under article 10 residence permit.

I think the most important piece of evidence is the marriage certificate and honestly, to date, I have only shown this when applying for a visa (at the consulate) and never at the airport or any port of entry.

So gear up for the trip and everything will be alright.

Thanks a lot! I will post what happens but I feel more confident now

Sorry for the late update. Everything went alright.
My husband travelled on his own to meet me in Spain, he travelled from London Gatwick airport, they didn't ask him to show anything apart from his Residence card. On the arrival, they tried to communicate with him in Spanish but he doesn't speak it so they just stamp his passport and let him get out. The only small problem we had was when we were going back to London. We travelled from France using the Toulouse airport. When we needed to pass the control we went separate ways as I didn't think there would be any problem at all, but the man from the passport check wasn't very nice and probably dearly beloved too.
I had to go to help my husband as he was asking for a visa and saying that the Residence card had no value in France... which is not true, so we showed him our marriage certificate which it wasn't enough for him as he asked for the Spanish one (we married in the UK so we just have the one from the UK). I told him that we married in the UK and that that was it, he didn't like my response but he kept checking it and verifying with my ID. After a while he let us pass but he wasn't happy about it and he said to us in a rude way that we should travel together next time. Which again, it's not true as he is allowed to travel alone and especially as we were heading back to the UK.
Anyway, apart from this unpleasant experience in France, everything went well and he had no problem travelling. I guess it depends on the airport and the security person. Also, in Gatwick, the woman from the flight company told my husband that even though she knows perfectly fine what to do in this type of situations, that she wasn't surprised that I was told by the company that he needed a visa as it seems like the computer and the software they use doesn't automatically recognise the situation. So that is that. Hope it is helpful for anyone in the same situation and happy to answer any questions too.

Good to know that everything went well!

The fact that the Toulouse airport officer let him pass - shows that you were right. He, the officer, probably wanted to save face in the situation, having realized that he was clearly mistaken. I haven't encountered any issues when traveling alone. However it is faster when both of you are present and hand the passports/IDs together.