which schengen country is best for NON EU tourist visa ?

My NON EU wife and I will be arriving in Ireland next month, and we would like to do some trips around Europe after we arrive.

As I am an Irish Citizen she will be on Stamp 4 and not stamp 4EUFAM, so we will have to apply for a schengen visa for each of our trips .

I know that for a schengen tourist visa that normally you should apply to the country you will visit first or spend the most time in, but from what i have read it doesnt seem to matter if you have a schengen visa from the Spanish embassy and then you visit France ,or Germany, as the visa applies to any and all schengen countries.

Is there any EU embassy in Dublin which has a reputation for being 'friendly' and good to deal with when applying for a schengen tourist visa for their NON EU spouse.

Are there any EU embassies in Dublin that are known to be difficult or problematic to deal with.

Also is it possible to get a multi entry schengen tourist visa thats valid for a year, or do we need to apply for a visa every time we travel in the EU.

I think its so ridiculous that Irish citizens and their spouses cannot enjoy the same rights as other EU citizens, why cant they just be given the Stamp 4EUFAM , instead we are forced to go through this visa application process each and every time. Its so unfair and its wrong.

I wonder has anybody taken the Irish Government to court over this ? Is it because we are not a part of schengen ourselves, hence our spouses have to suffer as a result.

Hi bazzare,

I throw the order of your post around a bit...

bazzare wrote:...As I am an Irish Citizen she will be on Stamp 4 and not stamp 4EUFAM, so we will have to apply for a schengen visa for each of our trips...

bazzare wrote:I think its so ridiculous that Irish citizens and their spouses cannot enjoy the same rights as other EU citizens, why cant they just be given the Stamp 4EUFAM , instead we are forced to go through this visa application process each and every time. Its so unfair and its wrong.

Not necessarily: You can travel according to >>EEA family member without Residence Card (Part 2)<<

bazzare wrote:I wonder has anybody taken the Irish Government to court over this ? Is it because we are not a part of schengen ourselves, hence our spouses have to suffer as a result.

It´s a result of "reverse discrimination". Just google this term, you´ll find what you´re looking for. Short version: Since you´re Irish and living in your home country (Ireland), EU-directives don´t always apply to you, but rather national law does. This is only indirectly a result of Schengen, but that´s another story.

bazzare wrote:I know that for a schengen tourist visa that normally you should apply to the country you will visit first or spend the most time in, but from what i have read it doesnt seem to matter if you have a schengen visa from the Spanish embassy and then you visit France ,or Germany, as the visa applies to any and all schengen countries.

That´s not 100% correct. You are obliged to apply with the >>"correct"<< embassy. However, strangely enough, plans can change You have to make sure to be consistent. In Germany, providing incorrect data in your visa application is a criminal offence!

bazzare wrote:Is there any EU embassy in Dublin which has a reputation for being 'friendly' and good to deal with when applying for a schengen tourist visa for their NON EU spouse.

According to my experience, this changes with staff and embassadors. My experience with the Austrian Embassy (Dublin, 2008) was great.

bazzare wrote:Are there any EU embassies in Dublin that are known to be difficult or problematic to deal with.

Both the German and Belgian embassies (Dublin, 2007 and 2008) were somewhat problematic for my wife and me.

bazzare wrote:Also is it possible to get a multi entry schengen tourist visa thats valid for a year, or do we need to apply for a visa every time we travel in the EU.

This has been discussed in this forum. It´s possible. From my experience, France is most likely to give a one-year-visa from the start.

Hope this helps,
rgds,
Christian

I recently heard that some people got in trouble due to the incorrent Schengen visas. I won't be able to tell the what country caused the problem (don't know), but their schengen visa was issued for a different schengen country than they travelled to...

i would advise you to plan your trip, see where you are going and according to that apply for a schengen visa.

there is always a possibility that the very first schengen visa will be issued for a shorter duration and maybe single entry, but the next ones will usually issue for a year or even longer and are multitrip.
A friend of mine got a short visa first (something like 3-6 months) but his last schengen visa was for 5 years. happy days.

agniukas wrote:I recently heard that some people got in trouble due to the incorrent Schengen visas. I won't be able to tell the what country caused the problem (don't know), but their schengen visa was issued for a different schengen country than they travelled to...

i would advise you to plan your trip, see where you are going and according to that apply for a schengen visa.

there is always a possibility that the very first schengen visa will be issued for a shorter duration and maybe single entry, but the next ones will usually issue for a year or even longer and are multitrip.
A friend of mine got a short visa first (something like 3-6 months) but his last schengen visa was for 5 years. happy days.

5 Year Schengen visa?? Are you sure about that? Schengen tourist visas are valid for a maximum of 1 year and you are only allowed to stay in Schengen countries for a maximum of 90 days in that period. For the past 6 years, I have been taking Schengen visas on a yearly basis. I had to do it for business trips (I work for a Swedish company). Schengen countries don't have the concept of a business visa. The only other option I had was to apply for work permit in Sweden (or the Green card scheme for Denmark). I heard from some other source that under special circumstances, some embassies may issue Schengen visa that will have a validity of 2 years (you are only allowed to spend 180 days in Schengen area though).

Ok, I checked the facts and asked my friend, and it turns out I was mistaken... His last schengen visas for valid for a year, but he became naturalised soon after and didnt need any more schengen visas for travelling. so yes, it looks like the longest visa is for 12 months. sorry about the confusion.

I find the Dutch embassy the easiest to deal with, though they now have to send everything off to London and don't process locally any more.

Have only applied at one embassy (well my husband applied, i'm Irish), which was the Spanish embassy and found it great to be honest. Visa appointment within a week. Just bring in a few documents and visa ready the following week. Was issued for 6 months. Great thing was, we applied for it in early August but are not travelling til October and they made the 6 months count from October I don't think we could have asked for more seeing as he was only given a 1 year stamp 4 visa.

The visa requirements for the family member of an EU citizen are very simple. In your case, the documents required are only two passports and one marriage certificate. See http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2007/04 ... u-citizen/

Note that you can travel to the UK, and especially NI, without a visa.

It is always worth travelling with your marriage certificate initially. That allows you to avail yourself of the MRAX decision: http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2007/04 ... u-citizen/ if there is ever any confusion on the part of a border guard.

ehaque wrote:5 Year Schengen visa?? Are you sure about that?

Yes, Schengen C Visa can be valid for up to five years (Article 24(1) in the Visa Code). It may be (very) difficult in practice to get one of those.