Non compliance of Article 3 of Directive for Family Members

[TracyCK]

I have decided to start a new topic as the theme has changed somewhat from my initial posting. Link at the bottom of this post for those who are unaware of and interested in the history.

This morning, I have forwarded the email in my next post to the Gibraltar Ombudsman after deciding that it is not acceptable for National Authorities to continue to violate the rights of EU Citizens as laid out in EU Directive 2004/38. It is my intention to pursue this to the EU level if satisfaction is not achieved at the National level of both Gibraltar and Spain.

In the meantime, my Fiance and I are making arrangements to marry in about 4 weeks time in Morocco so that we can continue with our lives in the event tht this process proves to be lengthy. I hope that once we are covered by the much clearer guidelines of Article 2 that we will not encounter further issues...

I am currently living with my father in Spain as I have now enrolled my son in school, and am commuting each week to spend a day or 2 with my Fiance while we wait for our marriage date. We are all miserable with this arrangement and this is costly and exhausting to do, but we have been given no other option.

Tomorrow, I plan to travel to Morocco again for 2 days and will stop with my Fiance at the Spanish Consulate in Tetouan to drop off a completed Shengen Visa application form, evidence of our relationship, and a letter clearly outlining our understanding of the Directive, it's translation into Spanish Law (Real Decreto 240/2007) and previous violations of this by Spanish Authorities to date. (I may argue that this goes back as far as January of this year when my Fiance was sent back to Morocco despite the fact that we showed a joint rental contract and documents proving our intention to marry....). I will ask when we can expect to collect the Visa stamped passport after it is processed under the 'accelerated process without undue formalities' and suggest that Friday would be good for us...

Any constructive advice or comments on what steps I shoud take will be welcomed - this experience to date has almost beaten me.

Tracy

[TracyCK]

Fw: Refusal of short term Visit Visa to Gibraltar for Rachid **** , request for review
Wed, 11 November, 2009 10:40:26From: Tracy ****<tracyck@****.***>View Contact
To: ombudsman@gibraltar.gi; ombudsman@gibraltar.gi


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Sir, Madam,

Please find below, a copy of an emailed complaint sent to the Registration Office in Gibraltar regarding the refusal of My Fiance's application for a Visit Visa to Gibraltar. I believe the complaint is self explanatory and complete for your review except in regards to my final statement that my Fiance does not currently have rights of entry to EU countries until we are legally married: I have since learned that this is, in fact, not true as we have already been living together as if we were married for over a year and a half and therefore covered by Article 3 of the Directive 2004/38. This would have been very clear to the Registration Office given my previous communication to them to arrange our wedding date, and under this Directive, they should have been obliged to offer my Fiance a FREE visa in his CURRENT capacity as a Non EU/EEA Family Member of an EU/EEA Citizen. In this capacity, neither his conviction in Spain or Expulsion issued in 2006 would preclude him from entry to any EU country as it cannot be said, nor documented that he is a serious and current threat to Public Security or Public Policy of any country.

Please be advised that this complaint to you is the first step that I am taking to ensure that our rights under EU Directive 2004/38 are not violated further. I will also be addressing the Spanish Authorities in this respect this week and although we are making arrangements to marry in Morocco within the next month as a safeguard against being forced to live separately for any further length of time, we are now very aware that the arrangements of this Directive have not been followed and plan to pursue this with the European Commission in the event that National Authorities of both Gibraltar and Spain do not rectify this mistake.

It is still our preference to marry in Europe, in particular Gibraltar and ideally this would be resolved quickly to avoid being forced to marry in Morocco; However, I am aware that sometimes official procedures can take time and given that we are not prepared to live apart, have taken concurrent steps to marry and subsequently enter Europe under Article 2 of the Directive in approximately 4 weeks time.

I look forward to your response.




----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Tracy ****<tracyck@*****.***>
To: Gibraltar Registrar\'s Office <marriages.csro@gibraltar.gov.gi>
Sent: Mon, 19 October, 2009 13:02:49
Subject: Refusal of short term Visit Visa to Gibraltar for Rachid ****, request for review


Following my telephone conversation this morning with your office, I am forwarding a copy of the complaint that I have lodged with UK Visas via the Worldbridge Service this morning.

I would like to request that my Fiance's Visa application is reviewed if possible as we would still like to marry in Gibraltar under British Law as opposed to Morocco under Islam Law. As I explain below, I feel that nothing has been gained from refusing my Fiance's Visa enabling us to marry tomorrow as we had planned other than to cause us much distress and wasted time and cost.

Visa Application: ************
Worldbridge Case Number: ********
Gibrabraltar Registration Office +35020051727 /8

Copy of the complaint lodged with Worldbridge:
I am writing on behalf of my Fiance, Rachid **** who submitted a complete and accurate application for a short stay visitor's Visa to enter Gibraltar on 18/10/09 in order that we could marry on 20/10/09 for which we had a booking at the Registrar's Office at 11:30am.

I would like to primarily state that the Visa Section Staff at the UK Embassy in Rabat were nothing but helpful, professional and sympathetic, particularly in speaking with us when the Visa was ultimately refused from Gibraltar, seemingly without valid reason, and assumedly after they had deemed it to be appropriate for issue.

The application submitted by my Fiance was completed in full and with complete honesty regarding a previous conviction in Spain in 2003 and an Expulsion Order from 2006 for failing to have correct documentation. My Fiance has never been to or applied to be on UK Territory and the 2006 Expulsion Order does not exclude him the UK or its Territories.

My Fiance had a very specific reason for entering Gibraltar, and that was to marry myself, a British Citizen who is Resident in Spain (since 2006). He provided all documentation requested including proof of funds to show he could support himself for the short time there, proof of accomodation booking, and proof of the marriage appointment on October 20th. He planned to enter Gibraltar via the FRS ferry direct from Tangier on Sunday 18th October and if it was necessary, would have left via the FRS ferry back to Tangier on Friday 23rd October. However, this was irrelevent as of course, once we had married and legalised our 1.5 year long cohabitating relationship, by virtue of his relationship to me as a Non-EEA Family Member of an EEA Citizen, we would have solicited entry into Spain as we would have been within our rights to acquire.

When the notice of refusal was received by the Staff in Rabat, they informed my Fiance, and subsequently answered my telephone call to them. They were unaware of any valid reason for the refusal and suggested that I call the Gibraltar Registration Office which I did.

When I got through to the Gibraltar Registration Office, I was extremely upset and did not get the name of the lady that I spoke to. I asked several times why the Visa had been refused and her response to me each time was that the Visa had been refused, they had informed Rabat, and that my Fiance and I would not be marrying in Gibraltar this coming Tuesday. I insisted to her that Rabat did not know the reason for the refusal and asked her to please tell me. Finally, seemingly exasperated with me, the lady said very scathingly: "Your fiance is a Moroccan National; he has been expulsed from Spain..." I did not clearly hear the rest of what she said as I was very emotional and had realised that I was not getting anywhere. I ended the call and waited several hours for my Fiance to return from Rabat.

I believe that the comments made to me regarding my Fiance's Nationality by the Gibraltar Registration Office, and the manner in which they were imparted were extremely inappropriate. I also believe that these reasons are not valid in refusal of a Visit Visa to Gibraltar, particularly when that visit was to facilitate the marriage to a British National of which we had documented evidence. I would like to request an inquiry into the procedures used in refusing my Fiance's Visit Visa and in regards to the comments made to me regarding his Nationality.

I would like to point out that these events have gained nothing for Gibraltar but have only served to cause myself and my Fiance much distress at great cost both personally and financially. It is important to note that it was my preference as a British Citizen to marry my Fiance under British Law as opposed to Islam Law in Morocco, hence the choice of Gibraltar which could facilitate this. My Fiance and I will now marry in Morocco just as soon as we are able, but this will now of course entail renewed preparation, additional time, financial cost and the complete waste of all costs incurred to date.

I do realise that until we are legally married, my Fiance does not yet have the rights afforded him by his relationship to me and must request permission in his own right to enter any country where he is considered a Third Country Visa National. However, since it was clear and documented that we were to marry 4 days after the Visa was refused, I fail to see what has been achieved, or what good reason there is for refusing the Visa.

Regards,

[Wanderer]

EEA law states unmarrieds must show a 'durable relationship' - in the absence of any time period specified most States use their local law, mostly proof of two years cohab. Certainly the UK does that so I think ur over a barrel here with ur 18 months....

Also Family Members do get free Schengen visas but extended family members (ie unmarried partners) don't - gotta pay!

[TracyCK]

EEA law states unmarrieds must show a 'durable relationship' - in the absence of any time period specified most States use their local law, mostly proof of two years cohab. Certainly the UK does that so I think ur over a barrel here with ur 18 months....

Also Family Members do get free Schengen visas but extended family members (ie unmarried partners) don't - gotta pay!

Thanks for your comments

Although the UK requests 2 years, this isn't written into the Directive and guidelines seem to imply that cohabitation in itself is proof of the durable relationship. I figure if you couple that with a clear, documented intention to marry, it has to carry some weight. I do agree though that we are over a barrel here as it is very grey area.

Spain, it appears, have only recently accepted this type of relationship into its National Laws, seemingly as a result of the Directive and as such has no documented guidelines on what is required to prove the relationship leaving it wide open to misinterpretation. My issue with Spain is that in all of our interaction with them, they have each time accepted that we are a bonafide couple but have refused to apply EU Law in considering entry for my Fiance. If they had applied the law and issued us with a refusal stating perhaps that we did not provide sufficient evidence of the relationship to satisfy, then they would have been within the legal framework of the Directive and the onus would then have been on us to prove otherwise. What they have done each time though, is ignore the Directive's existence, even when I provided them with printouts of both the Directive and their own Real Decreto and refused to even entertain the idea that we may actually have some rights here.

I am happy to pay for the Visa if required, and we did pay for the Gibraltar Visa that was refused, but I have to say that I have not read this anywhere within the Directive and my understanding was that ALL Family Members should be provided with free Visas processed with priority. I will check into this further before dropping off the application at the Spanish Consulate tomorrow as I may have misunderstood this.

[Wanderer]

EEA law states unmarrieds must show a 'durable relationship' - in the absence of any time period specified most States use their local law, mostly proof of two years cohab. Certainly the UK does that so I think ur over a barrel here with ur 18 months....

Also Family Members do get free Schengen visas but extended family members (ie unmarried partners) don't - gotta pay!

Thanks for your comments :)

Although the UK requests 2 years, this isn't written into the Directive and guidelines seem to imply that cohabitation in itself is proof of the durable relationship. I figure if you couple that with a clear, documented intention to marry, it has to carry some weight. I do agree though that we are over a barrel here as it is very grey area.

Thing is tho by the time u'd gone to court to fight it etc, u'd have been together well over two years by then! They know that too!

[Obie]

Tracy i agree with you 101%. Most countries like Spain , Germany etc, are blatantly ignoring the provisions of Article 3. They are forgeting that other family member have rights similar to or on par with that of Article 2 family members and that the only difference is, they have to provide evidence beyond the familial relationship, to qualify, and an examination would have to be done to establish whether the set provision are met.

Go for it. I support you fully. I have also got my EEA family member to write to the commission complaining about the inconsistency/failure in applying Article 3(2) by some member states.

[TracyCK]

I have decided that I am utterly incapable of keeping anything short... lol

I am almost finished with the 'letter' that I will include with the Schengen Visa application tomorrow and this will form the foundation of what I take to the EU Commission in the event that it is not resolved.

It is very long and very detailed and I will post a warning at the beginning but I would like to post it for those of you who are a: willing to plough through it; and b: able to advise me of anything that I should change, add, or omit.

This board has been a tremendous source of support and information for me and your comments and input are truly appreciated (even if I don't always like the content... lol)

My mother calls me a walking encyclopedia on EU Law, but I am certain I have only touched the tip of the Iceberg!

[Wanderer]

Tracy i agree with you 101%. Most countries like Spain , Germany etc, are blatantly ignoring the provisions of Article 3. They are forgeting that other family member have rights similar to or on par with that of Article 2 family members and that the only difference is, they have to provide evidence beyond the familial relationship, to qualify, and an examination would have to be done to establish whether the set provision are met.

Go for it. I support you fully. I have also got my EEA family member to write to the commission complaining about the inconsistency/failure in applying Article 3(2) by some member states.

I disagree. I agree the directive is fine and goodly but it's purpose is not to override local law.

If Germany doesn't want/have a law pertaining to immigration of unmarried partners, fine, we are not a United States of Europe yet. The local laws have to be respected and the directive provides for that thankfully.

[TracyCK]

**WARNING** Extremely long and detailed post to follow.

Please find a completed application for a Schengen Visa for my Fiance, Rachid ****. We would like you to process this application according to EU Directive 2004/38 under Article 3 for Non EU/EEA Family Members of an EU/EEA Citizen so that he may enter Spain with me where I am exercising my EU Treaty rights. We have provided supporting documentation and photographs to aid the processing of this application where applicable. I understand that the provisions of EU Directive 2004/38 have been transposed into Spanish National Law by Real Decreto 240/2007 including Article 3 which makes provisions for Other Family Members including unmarried or unregistered partners with whom the EU Citizen has a durable relationship, duly attested. This statement and supporting documentation is my testimony to our relationship.

We believe that our rights afforded to us under this Directive have been violated on several occasions by both Spanish and Gibraltarian Authorities as outlined below and we would like this to be rectified in order to avoid pursuing this issue with the EU Commission.

I am a British Citizen with Spanish Residency since 2006 and at the time of meeting my Fiance, owned and worked a Café Bar in San Luis de Sabinillas, Málaga. I have included a copy of my Passport, Lease of Bar Locale, and Spanish Residency Certificate.

My Fiance and I met and began our relationship in Spain (San Luis de Sabinillas, Málaga) in early 2008 and began living together in April 2008 at an apartment I held a rental contract on in Casares Costa. I have included a copy of the Rental Contract in my name.

My Fiance was in Spain without current papers, has an Orden de Expulsion from 2006, and a prior criminal conviction from 2003, in addition to a wrongful second conviction that was revoked in 2007 when he was released freely into Spain irrespective of the outstanding Expulsion Order. Separately, we will be investigating the validity and actual details of these convictions but for this purpose would like to point out that the EU Directive 2004/38 does not allow refusal of entry or residency for Non EU/EEA Family Members of an EU/EEA Citizen unless it can be clearly documented that they are a serious and current threat to Public Policy or Security.

In November 2008, my Fiance and I moved with my 4 year old son to an apartment closer to my work. This apartment was contracted in both our names. I have included a copy of this Rental Contract and Rental Guarantee which was in my name.

In January 2009, my Fiance was approached and later collected by the Local Police and then taken to the Comisaria in Estepona after he provided his identity details and it was discovered that there was an outstanding Expulsion Order. At this time, we stated and provided evidence of our relationship and intention to marry, but this was ignored. Unfortunately, we were not aware of EU Directive 2004/38 until very recently, but the National Authorities should have been able to advise us and have a duty to do so.

For several months, my Fiance, myself and my son lived in Morocco and I travelled back to Spain several times a month to avoid taking on Moroccan Residency and take care of my administrative business as well as I could. Our lives have been seriously disrupted, and I have been unable to freely exercise my Treaty rights of free movement given my partner could not be with me. I have included a copy of the Rental Contract of my home there which, due to Moroccan Law, is only in the name of my Fiance.

In April or May of this year (I forget the exact date now), my Fiance received his renewed passport and we entered Ceuta from Morocco to go shopping. On our return a couple of hours later, my Fiance was taken into an office by the Border Control Police and told that he was not allowed to enter Spain and 2 stamps indicating this were placed in his passport. They did not speak to me and I was not allowed to accompany him to the office. My Fiance was not given the opportunity to explain anything. This passport was subsequently lost and my Fiance applied for a new one which was issued in September which is why I don't recall the exact date of this.

In early September 2009, I realised that my son must be enrolled in school as he turns 5 this year. I do not feel that Morocco can provide him with quality education and so my Fiance and I began to investigate how we could all return to Spain and continue with our lives. As already stated, we were not aware of our rights under EU Directive 2004/38 and incorrectly believed that we would have to marry before requesting entry to Spain for my Fiance. Subsequently, after being incorrectly advised by the EU Citizens' Signpost Service that my Fiance, even if we married would not be allowed entry to Spain until the Expulsion Order expired, we considered moving back to the UK after we married.

In September 2009, I travelled to the UK and enrolled my son into school there. I began to educate myself on National and European Law and discovered EU Directive 2004/38 and subsequent Case Law Judgements. Over the past 2 months, I have gathered a good understanding of EU Law as it applies to myself and my Fiance and now realise that we have had our rights violated on several occasions within the past few months, beginning in January when my cohabitating partner whom I planned to marry was deported from Spain despite us making this very clear. With the knowledge that we had been misinformed by the Citizen's Signpost Service, my Fiance and I decided to return to our plan of returning to Spain to live.

On October 11th, my son and I returned to our home in Morocco and 2 weeks later, after we found that my Fiance and I were unable to marry as planned in Gibraltar, my son and I went ahead to Málaga where my Father, a Spanish National, lives. My son and I Empadroned in Málaga and my son began school there on November 4th. I have been commuting weekly to my home and Fiance in Morocco and will continue to do so until he is either given entry to Spain in his current capacity as my Article 3 Family Member, or until we marry at the beginning of December in Morocco and thus becomes my Article 2 Family Member.

Our preference was to marry under European Civil Law, as opposed to Moroccan Islam Law and we arranged to marry in Gibraltar as the Expulsion Order against my Fiance did not cover the UK or its Territories. We arranged a marriage date of October 20th and prepared all documentation necessary and subsequently applied for my Fiance's Visa to enter Gibraltar through the British Embassy in Rabat. This Visa was inappropriately refused without written explanation by Gibraltar on October 16th thus we were unable to marry which would have clearly and undisputedly placed my Fiance under Article 2 of EU Directive 2004/38 giving him automatic right to accompany me to Spain. Separately, I have made a complaint to the Ombudsman in Gibraltar giving them the opportunity to recitify their mistake at the National level before I pursue it with the EU Commission.

On 20th October, my Fiance and I went to the Spanish Consulate in Tetuoan. I spoke with an officer at the general inquiry desk and stated that we were partners living together since April 2008, should have married that day in Gibraltar but had been unable to travel there. I told him that my Fiance had a Spanish Expulsion from 2006 and that we wanted to return to Spain to live. We asked for their help. We were told that the Consulate could do nothing to help us. The officer stated that we would need to go to the district where the Expulsion was issued (Alicante) and ask that it was revoked. I am unclear how my Fiance was expected to do this, and it seems unlikely that I would be able to without legal help even if I was willing to travel to Alicante. I asked again if we could do anything at the Consulate to facilitate our being able to return to Spain and was told no.

On 21st October, my Fiance and I travelled to the Ceuta border where I stated to the Border Guards that we were cohabitating partners, that my partner had an existing Expulsion from Spain and under EU Directive 2004/38, they were obligated to facilitate his entry to Spain to accompany me. I was asked to go to the office with the Border Guard with my son but my Fiance was told to remain at the passport control booth. I provided them with Spanish printouts of the Directive and of Real Decreto 240/2007. I also had evidence of our relationship and intention to marry including our prior rental contract in Spain, photographs from the past year or more, and Moroccan Bank account documents showing me as a signatory on my Fiance's account, but this was dismissed as they only wanted to see a legal certificate as proof of our relationship. I repeated that we were not married and therefore did not have a certificate as such. I spent approximately an hour and a half asking for our rights to be respected with an end result of having to leave without achieving entry for my Fiance. I was not treated respectfully, and my Fiance was completely ignored. I was ordered out of the office and was 'dismissed' several times. I stated that if they believed that we had a real and true relationship then they must apply the laws of EU Directive and facilitate entry for my Fiance to accompany me to Spain. I was told that they had no doubt as to the validity of our relationship but that without a certificate, they were not going to let him enter. I was told to go and get a Lawyer. I was also told that if we married in Morocco and returned to them with our marriage certificate that they would give him immediate entry without issue. This was an extremely distressing experience for us. I have included the photographs and bank documents I mention here.

Feeling utterly beaten by European National Authorities, my Fiance and I have begun the process enabling us to marry in Morocco which we will do so at the beginning of December after gathering the required documentation, getting it translated, and signing a contract in a language that I do not understand at further financial and emotional cost to ourselves.

It is important to note that in the event that my Fiance is issued a Visa to enter Spain as is his right currently, we will not continue with the plan to marry in Morocco, but instead marry in Europe as is our preference. The critical point here is that we are already a family and should not be forced into a legal process simply to be together to continue our lives when we already are protected by the Freedom of Movement Rights outlined in EU Directive 2004/38. Yes, we will marry, as soon as we are able to, but we would obviously do this within our own terms if the spirit and legality of EU Directive 2004/38 were being followed.

[TracyCK]

Tracy i agree with you 101%. Most countries like Spain , Germany etc, are blatantly ignoring the provisions of Article 3. They are forgeting that other family member have rights similar to or on par with that of Article 2 family members and that the only difference is, they have to provide evidence beyond the familial relationship, to qualify, and an examination would have to be done to establish whether the set provision are met.

Go for it. I support you fully. I have also got my EEA family member to write to the commission complaining about the inconsistency/failure in applying Article 3(2) by some member states.

I disagree. I agree the directive is fine and goodly but it's purpose is not to override local law.

If Germany doesn't want/have a law pertaining to immigration of unmarried partners, fine, we are not a United States of Europe yet. The local laws have to be respected and the directive provides for that thankfully.

I disagree with this. EU Law is quite clear on providing provisions for other family members including unmarried partners and is in place to ensure freedom of movement to all EU Citizens exercising their Treaty Rights. It provides for this group on an EU level in the event that a Member State does not provide for it at a National level and all Member States MUST transpose the Directive into their National Laws when applying such to EU Citizens and their Families.

If EU Citizens can enter some Member States with their unmarried partners or extended Family Members, and not others, because of differing National Immigration Laws this would restrict their Treaty Rights and therefore go against the spirit of the Directive which is a uniform Law for the entire EU/EEA Community. If Member States can pick and choose which parts they transpose or not, it would be counterproductive, no?

[Wanderer]

Tracy i agree with you 101%. Most countries like Spain , Germany etc, are blatantly ignoring the provisions of Article 3. They are forgeting that other family member have rights similar to or on par with that of Article 2 family members and that the only difference is, they have to provide evidence beyond the familial relationship, to qualify, and an examination would have to be done to establish whether the set provision are met.

Go for it. I support you fully. I have also got my EEA family member to write to the commission complaining about the inconsistency/failure in applying Article 3(2) by some member states.

I disagree. I agree the directive is fine and goodly but it's purpose is not to override local law.

If Germany doesn't want/have a law pertaining to immigration of unmarried partners, fine, we are not a United States of Europe yet. The local laws have to be respected and the directive provides for that thankfully.

I disagree with this. EU Law is quite clear on providing provisions for other family members including unmarried partners and is in place to ensure freedom of movement to all EU Citizens exercising their Treaty Rights. It provides for this group on an EU level in the event that a Member State does not provide for it at a National level and all Member States MUST transpose the Directive into their National Laws when applying such to EU Citizens and their Families.

If EU Citizens can enter some Member States with their unmarried partners or extended Family Members, and not others, because of differing National Immigration Laws this would restrict their Treaty Rights and therefore go against the spirit of the Directive which is a uniform Law for the entire EU/EEA Community. If Member States can pick and choose which parts they transpose or not, it would be counterproductive, no?

It's not tho - the EEA understands the respective States have their local laws and the directives exist on top where they fit, the EEA is not a government!

The directive says like u say, it must be incorporated in to local law but with an important distinction 'WHERE APPROPRIATE' which I (and many others) take to mean 'if it can go in, it goes in, if not, it doesn't'

Another important tenet of EEA law is that EEA directive must not place the EEA states own citizens in a worse state under local law than than under EEA rules, so, in the case of Germany, a Germany guy in Munich cannot import his Russian unmarried partner under Germany law, since German law does not have this provision, so neither can an EEA citizen living in Munich, as the German guy cannot use EEA laws, get it?

That't totally fair and it's in the directive, I can't understand why people have issues with it, God know I wish it was better, since it affects me directly!

Simples!

[Obie]

Wanderer, you are getting this confused. Member states are oblige to facilitate the entry and residency of family member in this category, using a set rules set under national law.

For example, the UK is rights to say that unmarried couple should show evidence of cohibition for a period of 2 years in order to qualify.

In Italy same sex marriage is unrecognised and considered to be against public order, nevertheless Italy recognises the fact that under EU law, they have to facilitate the entry and residence of these individuals.

The same situation is in Ireland. They don't recognise same sex marriage or civil partnership, but they have to facilitate entry and residency of these people. Italians are still not allowed to have residence processed for their same sex partners, the last time i checked.

Therefore saying that national law doesn't make provision for something, means the directive cannot be implemented is wrong.

Please remember that EU rules always supersedes national rule

2.1. Family members and other beneficiaries
2.1.1. Spouses and partners

Partners with whom an EU citizen has a de facto durable relationship, duly attested, are covered by Article 3(2)(b). Persons who derive their rights under the Directive from being durable partners may be required to present documentary evidence that they are partners of an EU citizen and that the partnership is durable. Evidence may be adduced by any appropriate means.
The requirement of durability of the relationship must be assessed in the light of the objective of the Directive to maintain the unity of the family in a broad sense . National rules on durability of partnership can refer to a minimum amount of time as a criterion for whether a partnership can be considered as durable. However, in this case national rules would need to foresee that other relevant aspects (such as for example a joint mortgage to buy a home) are also taken into account. Any denial of entry or residence must be fully justified in writing and open to appeal.

This is a very serious matter Wanderer. The fact that the directive makes provision for appeal, means it is a serious matter. If member state were allowed to decide whether or not apply it, the directive will not make provision for appeal, would they?

These member states are infringing your rights, perhaps you should consider joining the campaing.

[TracyCK]

A quick update....

On Thursday, after 4 different people at the Spanish Consulate in Tetouan tried to turn us away for various nonsensical reasons (like we must travel to Alicante to revoke the Expulsion Order before they can do anything, or Visas are only processed at 7:30am, come back tomorrow, etc), I stood my ground and told them that we have had many problems, our rights have been violated several times over the past 9 months, and that if they would not accept the application and my statement that I would be denouncing Spain with the EU Commission. (The Spanish understand denouncing and essentially that is what we would be doing).

Finally, a very nice young guy at the window, spoke to the person in charge (who was a young, intelligent looking woman) and then proceeded to take copies of all of the documentation that I had along with the Visa Application and my statement which I had managed to translate into spanish on the internet. My Fiance's phone number was noted and we were given a receipt of the application.

I returned to Spain (my son turned 5 yesterday!) and unfortunately discovered that I still had my Rachid's passport in my bag so if he does get a call to return for a Visa, I will have to go back to Tetouan also... lol A small price to pay IF something comes of this!

I also received a response from the Gibraltar Ombudsman asking if I had ever received a reply to my complaint from the Registration Office. They have asked that I make a follow up call or email and give them a further week to respond. In the event that I receive no response, or any response received does not address the complaint to my satisfaction, the Ombudsman will then take on the complaint about the Registration Office.

So, now we wait...... Will post any updates as they happen.

[TracyCK]

Update:

Early this morning, I emailed the Gibraltar Ombudsman to inform them that I still had had no response from the Registration Office.

About mid morning, I called the Spanish Consulate in Tetouan and asked about the status of the Visa Application for my partner. I was told that we must go to the consulate as they don't give that information over the telephone. He then asked to speak to my Fiance and informed my Fiance that he should apply for a Visa to get married. (???)

We went to the Consulate and were allowed to enter, but told to wait for the young man that was familiar with our case. When he arrived, he asked us to wait at a vacant window while he dealt with some other clients. When he came, he told us that the Consul was on a trip and would not be back until the following Monday. I asked him what the Consul had to do with an application for an EU Family Member Visa and that we needed to collect the Visa. He informed us that we hadn't made a Visa application, we had requested an appointment with the Consul. I told him that we had indeed applied for a Visa, that we had the right to receive it, and quickly. I told him that we didn't need to see the Consul, that we needed to enter Spain so that I could continue with the life I have there. I asked him why, if the Consul had gone on a trip now, we hadn't heard from him in the past week and a half. He told us that the Consul was very busy but our papers were on his desk for his return. I told him that we were not obligated to wait for the Consul to apply for a Visa, and I tried to offer him some printed documentation, very specifically the EU Commission's Guidance for Member States on implementation of EU Directive 2004/38 ( http://www.ipex.eu/ipex/cms/home/Docume ... 0090313FIN ) in order to help them correctly process the Visa application. He did not look at this documentation but asked us to wait while he spoke with his superior.

When he returned, he informed us that he had spoken with the Lady in charge of Visas and that she had stated that the Visa could not be issued due to the outstanding Expulsion that my Fiance has. I tried to tell him that this could not be a factor and they still needed to issue the Visa. He told us that we must get a lawyer to ask for the Expulsion Order to be revoked first. I told him that we did not have the money for a lawyer, and that this simply wasn't true. It was their responsibility to revoke the Expulsion Order, not ours. He said, once again, that they could do nothing until we had done this. I tried again to show him the Guidance from the EU Commission where I had highlighted the relevent areas but he just glanced it over and said they had all those papers and that we must go get a lawyer. I told him that I would be denouncing the Consulate for not following correct procedures.

So, once again, we left the Consulate empty handed, with no documented refusal and feeling extremely frustrated (to put it mildly) at having once again been given the run around.

When I got home, I had an 2 line email from the Gibraltar Registrary Office stating only that they apologised for the delay in response but that EU Directive 2004/38 did not apply. I would guess that they had been contacted by the Ombudsman today. It did not answer my complaint at all. I sent back a reply and explained clearly why the Directive applied and what they needed to do to, and have also forwarded this to the Ombudsman again stating that my complaint and request for review was not answered. I will post this email below.

In the meantime, of course,our lives are on hold. I am exhausted from travelling back and forth and not having a home anywhere. I have to weigh the importance of my son going to school against my ability to care for him effecively given my family is separated and the non-likliehood of me finding paid work all the time things are in limbo and I am travelling so much. For the next week or 2, we will remain in Morocco, by which time we should have all the paperwork for us to marry. At least here, we are together, have our home which we can spend some time doing a little school work and are not spending money we don't have on boats, buses, trains, etc.

I think my next step is to contact SOLVIT and ask if they can get involved. I would like to denounce the Consulate, but I don't know how. I feel we need some kind of official support because although I think I have outlined very clearly what I understand the procedures to be, they are quite simply not being followed meaning we are empty handed, with no clear line of defense.

[TracyCK]

Email from Gibraltar Registration Office

From: (CSRO)
Sent: Monday, November 23, 2009 11:34 AM
To: 'tracyck@*****'
Subject: RE: Refusal of short term Visit Visa to Gibraltar for Rachid ****, request for review


Dear Ms ****
Apologies for the delay in replying.
Please note that EU Directive 2004/38 does not apply to visa requiring Non EA Nationals seeking to enter an EEA member state in order to marry a non-resident EEA national.
Regards
*********
Marriage Clerk

My Response

Many thanks for your response.

However, my complaint regarding the comments made to me, and my request for review regarding the process used to deny the Visa for my Fiance have not been answered.

As a secondary point, and perhaps more pertinent at this time, EU Directive 2004/38 regarding the Free Movement of EU/EEA Nationals and their Family Members clearly applies to both myself and my Family Members as I am an EU Citizen exercising Treaty rights in another Member State. Entry to any Member State by both myself and my Family Members should be facilitated, irrespective of the motivation for that entry as we have the right to enter and move freely for up to 90 days. At the time that my Fiance applied for a Visitor's Visa to enter Gibraltar, we were not aware of the extent of our rights derived from this Directive and therefore submitted a normal Visa Application and paid the fee for such.

Since it was very clear that we were entering Gibraltar to marry and therefore legalise our existing, cohabitating relationship, it cannot possibly be argued that my Fiance does not currently qualify as my Non EU/EEA Family Member under Article 3 of the Directive. Member States have the right to to examine the relationship of unmarried partners for durability, according to guidelines laid out in their National Law, but also must take into account existing and individual circumstances: in our case, this would be the appointment to marry which would place my Fiance undisputedly under Article 2 of the Directive giving him the automatic right to enter and reside with me in any Member State.

Any Refusal of Entry processed for a Non EU/EEA Family Member of an EU/EEA Citizen must be documented according to strict guidelines under the Directive and is open to appeal. This Refusal must be issued in writing, and in language easy to understand, to the Applicant. For the most recent guidelines from the EU Commission regarding Free Movement of EU Citizens and their Family Members, I would like to point you to a document issued earlier this year which can be found at: http://www.ipex.eu/ipex/cms/home/Docume ... 0090313FIN

Under EU Directive 2004/38, Member States have a duty to inform Citizens of their rights derived from this Directive and guide them to the correct application for entry which should be processed via an accellerated procedure and should carry no charge. This was not done previously, but I am requesting that it is now.

Regards
Tracy ****

[Prawo]

... in the case of Germany, a Germany guy in Munich cannot import his Russian unmarried partner under Germany law, since German law does not have this provision, so neither can an EEA citizen living in Munich ...!

I think this is the essence of the matter.

The directive does not oblige member states to facilitate the residence of unmarried partners.

However, if they allow in unmarried partners of their own nationals, they should do so for unmarried partners of EU nationals. Under the same conditions.

In Belgium and the UK this apparently means a previous relationship of two yeas.
And it makes the recent Dutch requirement of six months illegal as there is no such requirement for the Dutch themselves.

[Prawo]

@TracyCK

The visa problem of your partner should be solved after the wedding, when travelling to any other member state but your own.

Unfortunately practice learns that even this is not always true.
I speak out of professional as well as personal experience.

When you are British for a trip to Gibraltar still the directive will not apply, unless you reside already in another member state.

[TracyCK]

I think this is the essence of the matter.

The directive does not oblige member states to facilitate the residence of unmarried partners.

But it does...
European Law Supercedes National Law if it puts the EU Citizen at a disadvantage. The Directive dictates that Member States MUST facilitate the entry and residence of these Family Members, but allows them to draw up the guidelines for examining the durability and/or the legitimacy of the relationship. Even so, this must follow strict rules in the spirit of the Directive and personal circumstances taken into account. Member States are obliged to transpose the Directive, in its interity into their National Law. They simply cannot pick and choose which sections they want, and those they don't.

Member States cannot place the EU Citizen in a worse position than their own Nationals as that would fall under Discrimination - that would cover the 6 month rule from Holland being questionable, however they do as they like with their own Nationals if they are not covered by EU Law.

My issue is that in all our interactions to date, due process has not been followed at all and we are being treated in an offhand manner as if we have no rights whatsoever.

When you are British for a trip to Gibraltar still the directive will not apply, unless you reside already in another member state.

I have residency in Spain since 2006. The statement about EU Law not applying for non-residents actually shows the lack of knowledge that they apparently have. EU law would actually not apply to Resident Nationals and yet does to all visiting EU/EEA Citizens and their Family Members. I think the Gibraltar issue will be resolved via the Ombudsman. They have a weird setup there in regards to processing visas. I am not sure that this will help us much, but will still see it through for my own satisfaction.

I do hope it is all resolved or at least easier when we marry - this could be as soon as the end of next week. I just really resent being backed into a corner where I don't have the choice about where I marry, how, or when (if I want to get on with my life).

In the meantime, I am at a loss as to what I can do next other than wait and have submitted our case to SOLVIT. Hopefully, they are able to take it on and get something done....[/i]

[TracyCK]

So I stewed for a couple of days and got back to work today. This morning I found a Case Law Judgement against Spain that is very relevent to our case (from 3 years ago, I might add) and decided to call the Consulate again.

I spoke to a very pleasant guy on the phone (they all seem to know exactly who we are without real explanation!) who I asked if there was an email address to send information to as my Fiance's Visa really wasn't being handled correctly. He advised me to write everything down and send a fax, and gave me the number.

I spent all afternoon and evening typing this up and translated it to, I think, pretty decent Spanish. Rachid returned about an hour ago after faxing it to the Consulate so that they have it first thing in the morning.



Re: Schengen Area Entry Visa application
Number of pages: 3

To the Entry Clearance Officer:

Please note that this and previous correspondence has been firstly written in English and translated to Spanish using a free Internet translator. I hope that it can be clearly understood and in particular, the references to relevant EU legal documents found on the internet can still be located as they have not changed. I have provided links to these documents in the Spanish language although I have personally read and understood them in English. Since they are official documents from the European Commission, Parliament, Courts and Council they are, of course, available in all European languages as you should be able to verify.

I would like to point out firstly, that one of the main principles of EU Directive 2004/38 is that each Member State has a legal duty to inform its Citizens of their rights and guide them to the correct application. This has not been done for us, and I am requesting that it is done now in rapid time. It is a travesty that I have had to spend many hours searching for and reading European Treaties, Guidelines on Border Entry, and European Case Law in order to educate Government Departments and therefore secure what is ours by Fundamental Right. I have now requested help on this matter from the EU group SOLVIT but believe that if and when they contact you, they will simply point you to the same information that I have done previously, and am doing again now.

My partner and I have made 3 visits to the Consulate and 1 visit to the Spanish Border at Ceuta in an effort to acquire your assistance and gain entry to Spain for my partner, Rachid ****. On each occasion, we have been unsuccessful. This is very clearly a violation of EU Law and our Rights derived from such.

My partner has the right to enter Spain with me, and the appropriate Spanish Authorities have a duty to facilitate this. My Rights of Free Movement as an EU Citizen have been severely disrupted and the impact to our lives has been devastating. I should not have to be explaining these laws and rights to Offices that should understand them better than I. I wrote a very clear statement regarding my complete and full understanding of our rights and the occasions on which I believe those Rights have been violated. This statement was delivered to the Consulate 2 weeks ago on November 13th, 2009 along with an application for a Schengen Entry Visa for my partner to be processed as a Non EU/EEA Family Member of an EU/EEA Citizen under EU Directive 2004/38/EC. Also included was supporting evidence of our durable relationship including family photographs. This application has apparently been ignored, as have the procedures that yourselves must follow in processing such a Visa application, despite asking that it was processed under EU Directive 2004/38/EC.

Please read carefully, the Official EU Documentation that I refer to below. This documentation is the most relevant in helping you clarify the Laws that apply to processing this Visa Application but is not limited. To me, a regular person, it is very clear that my partner and I should not be facing the bureaucratic obstacles that we have encountered to date and should already have received the Visa for my partner to enter Spain with myself and my young son to enable us to try and continue with our lives.

For your information only, I inform you that separately, I have made a formal complaint against Gibraltar with the Gibraltar Ombudsman regarding the previous refusal of my partner's application for an Entry Visa to Gibraltar which would have enabled us to marry on October 20th 2009. I fully expect a reversal of this refusal within the next week and for that Entry Visa to Gibraltar to be issued to my partner. When this Visa is issued, we will continue with our plans to marry in Gibraltar as soon as possible. However, the only difference that being married will make is that it will place my partner under Article 2 of EU Directive 2004/38/EC instead of Article 3 where he currently is placed. His Rights of Entry and Residence are the same under both Articles, but I think we can agree that Article 2 is much clearer and easier to understand.

Our visit to the Tetouán Consulate this past Monday, 22nd November, 2009 resulted in us being informed that we need to contract a Lawyer, in Spain to request that the Expulsion Order for my partner is revoked before a Visa may be issued. Please be advised that I am very aware that this information is incorrect and I am extremely disappointed in the continuous delays and misinformation we have encountered considering the Rights that we have from the Directive. Not once has anything been issued to us in writing and our Rights continue to be violated. Below, I have simplified my request and my understanding of the relevant law and provided links to EU Documents to help achieve the correct outcome.

My name is Tracy **** and I am an EU Citizen holding a UK passport, (Passport number *********) wishing to exercise my EU Treaty Rights in Spain.

I have requested that my partner is provided with entry to Spain according to the rights given to us under EU Directive 2004/38/EC.

Rachid **** is a Moroccan Citizen holding a Moroccan passport, (Passport number *******) and is my Family Member as defined under Article 3 of EU Directive 2004/38.

Under EU Directive 2004/38/EC, it is the duty of National Authorities to inform Citizens of their rights and guide them to exercise those rights effectively.

We have not been informed of our rights under the Directive and my rights and those of my partner have been violated on several occasions by Spanish Authorities over the previous 10 to 11 months even after making it very clear that we now understand our rights very well by our own efforts of finding information made available by the EU Commission.

Member State National Authorities have a duty to facilitate the entry and residence of Family Members of EU Citizens.

My Family Members as defined under EU Directive 2004/38/EC , when accompanying me or joining me to any Member State, can only be refused entry to that Member State if it can be documented that they present a current and serious threat to Public Policy or Public Security under the strict guidelines set out under the Directive.

My partner does not present such a threat and therefore should be allowed to enter Spain with me, and in fact, should not have been ejected from Spain in January 2009 which was the first violation of our rights under EU Law.

Any refusal of Entry for my Family Members must be delivered, in writing and in clear language that is easy to understand, to the applicant and must be open to appeal.

Prior convictions of the applicant are not by themselves reason to justify refusal.

Outstanding Expulsion Orders (particularly those more than 3 years old) or alerts in SIS are not sufficient to refuse entry and Authorities must investigate (rapidly) whether the circumstances that caused the Order or Alert provide documentable evidence that the applicant is a current and serious threat to Public Security or Public Policy as defined under the Directive.

It is not for us, the Citizens to revoke an Expulsion Order that was issued by Spanish Authorities prior to my partner being my Family Member. This should be done by yourselves upon receipt of our application for an Entry Visa for a Family Member of an EU Citizen.


RELEVANT DOCUMENTATION ON EUROPEAN LAW


EU Directive 2004/38/CE
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 01):EN:NOT


COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on guidance for better transposition and application of Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States:
http://www.ipex.eu/ipex/cms/home/Docume ... 0090313FIN


Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 31 January 2006. Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain. Freedom of movement for persons - Directive 64/221/EEC - National of a third country who is the spouse of a national of a Member State - Right of entry and residence - Restriction imposed on grounds of public policy - Schengen Information System - Alert issued for the purposes of refusing entry.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 503:EN:NOT


Please be advised that in the event that we are not contacted within the next 24 hours, I will be examining the procedure to denounce the Consulate for not following correct procedure when concerning a Family Member of an EU Citizen. I have suffered great financial and emotional distress due to the violation of my rights and subsequent inability to enjoy freedom of movement with my family. I will most likely be seeking compensation for this through the Spanish Courts in the future.

I wish to return with my 5 year old son to Màlaga on this coming Monday morning as my son must return to his school and I would like my entire family to travel together, inclusive of my partner, Rachid ****. We would therefore be happy to stop by the Consulate on Monday morning in order to receive my partner's Schengen Area Entry Visa in his passport.

Regards,
Tracy ****

[freshprince]

Hello Tracy.

You are quite a scrapper,very admirable tenacity you got going there.Two points.

1)Inasmuch as your grounds of having a durable,long standing partnership as required is a pretty strong one,having a marriage certificate brings you completely under the ambit of the law,the border guards you met were edging their bets by saying that if you had this paper they would have been obliged to grant you entry.Its the difference between a free throw and a slam dunk.A durable partnership etc is open to all sorts of interpretations,a marriage certificate is Q.E.D,TALK-TO-THE-HAND and kiss my ..........!YOU-CANT-TOUCH-THIS-time..whew,you get the drift.
2)Those free internet translators are not very accurate and the points you raised are too weighty for you to risk having them lost in translation,if I were you,I'd get it properly translated and then fax it again.

Stay up Tracy.Peace.

[TracyCK]

Hello Tracy.

You are quite a scrapper,very admirable tenacity you got going there.Two points.

1)Inasmuch as your grounds of having a durable,long standing partnership as required is a pretty strong one,having a marriage certificate brings you completely under the ambit of the law,the border guards you met were edging their bets by saying that if you had this paper they would have been obliged to grant you entry.Its the difference between a free throw and a slam dunk.A durable partnership etc is open to all sorts of interpretations,a marriage certificate is Q.E.D,TALK-TO-THE-HAND and kiss my ..........!YOU-CANT-TOUCH-THIS-time..whew,you get the drift.
2)Those free internet translators are not very accurate and the points you raised are too weighty for you to risk having them lost in translation,if I were you,I'd get it properly translated and then fax it again.

Stay up Tracy.Peace.

Thanks for that!

In terms of point 1. You are right of course, and it was somewhat of a win to have them tell me that with the Marriage Ceritficate, we wont have a problem. The consulate however, is saying something completely different and trying to tell us that WE need to revoke THEIR Expulsion Order, irrespective of whether we are married. In all cases though, nobody has followed procedure so it would be difficult for them to suddenly decide to reject it on a technicality now. We will see... lol.

Point 2, My Spanish is pretty good and although I couldn't write these type of statements in Spanish off the bat, I think I have managed to proof read and correct it sufficiently to get the salient points across.

I now have the Spanish Ombudsman involved and I am waiting. I hate waiting, but I do believe that we will win in the end so I am gathering all the patience I can muster!

On the other hand, we should have all documents that we need to marry in Morocco by next Monday, so theoretically can proceed directly to the border again by mid-week if all official channels fail in the interim.

Will post update when I have it

[freshprince]

Buenos!

Way to go Tracy.Sock it to 'em!

Im inclined to start waging my bets on your chances come next Monday though 'cos some of these guys specialise in exploiting those technicalities you talked about,we both know it sucks and legally wouldnt stand up in court but its designed to grind you down with endless bereaucratic crapola.(these guys invented the inquisition afterall Anyways,it stacks the chips more in your favour after you have the nupitals nice and tight.

Big up Rashid and the young'n and remember... you are almost there!Rooting for you kiddo!!

[TracyCK]

A quick update.... I had a response from SOLVIT yesterday which I have posted below, along with my reply to them which I have sent this morning. They are self explanatory, so I wont add any more.... lol

RESPONSE FROM SOLVIT

Good morning Ms ****

I am responding to the complaint you have logged with SOLVIT about the deportation of your partner.

Article 27 of Directive 2004/38/EC provides that the free movement of EU citizens and family members may be restricted on grounds of public policy, public security or public health, which may include any criminal convictions held, it is therefore possible to refuse your partner a visa under the Directive.

However, the expulsion order was not made under the Directive but predates your application, it will be valid unless specifically rescinded, unless appealed against, and the UK SOLVIT Centre as an informal dispute resolution service cannot intervene where legal proceedings are involved, we cannot act to remove the existing expulsion order and overturn the existing criminal convictions that your partner has in Spain.

Regards

Christine ****
UK SOLVIT Centre



MY REPLY TO SOLVIT

Good morning,

Thank you for your reply, however I am very disappointed with this response as I am desperately seeking help and this offers none! At a minimum, I would expect that you would request further information from me to clarify the case. I am not complaining about the deportation of my partner, I am complaining that the Spanish Consulate in Tetouan, Morocco is not applying the Directive, and is not processing the application for a Schengen Visa for my partner to enter Spain. I will ask you once again to please help me.

My partner is currently still in Morocco and I have had to return to Spain with my son so that he can attend school and we can prepare for Christmas. This is very difficult for me without my partner. I intend to marry my partner this coming week in Morocco and thus place him under Article 2 of the Directive which the Spanish Authorities understand more clearly, however we have had to sell the last of our personal belongings to gather the money required to do this and I resent that I am being forced to marry under Islam Law at a time that does suit me either financially, or emotionally.

The most important thing to note is that in all of our dealings with any National Authority over the past year, my partner has never been refused entry under the Directive as not one Authority has even applied it. I currently have complaints being investigated with the Ombudsmans of both Gibraltar and Spain and I hope that something will be resolved through them that will enable me to claim compensation at a later date, but the immediate issue is that my partner is allowed entry to Spain to join me here.

To me, the Directive is very clear in that a Family Member may NOT be refused entry, irrespective of any alert in SIS, or prior convictions unless it can be shown and documented that he represents a current and serious threat to Public Policy or Public Security. National Authorities have a duty to facilitate his entry and this is not being done. I have asked for your help in doing this and the information that you have given me does not help at all.

I have attached the latest correspondence that I have had with the Spanish Consulate (the English version of what I sent to them in Spanish) and ask that you read this through to understand our case better. In particular, the documents that I refer to are very helpful as the Case Law Judgement against Spain in 2006 is specific to my partner's situation and clarifies how the Directive should be applied in cases where the party has an outstanding Expulsion Order and PRIOR Criminal Conviction.

In the event that you are unable to help with what to me seems to be a very clear case of simply enforcing our rights , please let me know who I should contact next. The negative effect that all of this has had on our lives has been devastating and after my partner enters Spain next week as my husband, I will STILL continue to pursue this case in order to pave the way for others in the future.

Perhaps at a minimum, you would be able to inform me what I need to do to denounce the Consulate for not following correct procedure although now that I am back in Malaga, I can probably find this out faster myself.

Regards,
Tracy ****

[ciaramc]

Tracey,

I have had similar problems in the past....but SOLVIT will not get involved if legal proceedings are ongoing....what you need to do is file a complaint with the EU commission. That is what worked for me! Ok it took a while but they are the ones that can help you!

Here is the link below -

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/your_ ... rms_en.htm

[TracyCK]

Tracey,

I have had similar problems in the past....but SOLVIT will not get involved if legal proceedings are ongoing....what you need to do is file a complaint with the EU commission. That is what worked for me! Ok it took a while but they are the ones that can help you!

Here is the link below -

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/your_ ... rms_en.htm

Thank you so much for that link - I will look at it this afternoon.

We don't have ANY legal proceedings going on at the moment though. My partner has a prior conviction for which he spent his sentence ending in 2006 and the Expulsion Order is simply one (also from 2006 so more than 3 years old) stating that he did not have correct documentation to be in Spain. I do not plan to press forward with any claim for compensation until we are at least together, not the least being that we just don't have the resources currently to engage a lawyer... lol