Extending visa for EU Family member

[Noz03]

Me and my wife are planning to move to Germany in a few weeks, I know the process for her residence permit takes 3-6 weeks but she only has about 4 weeks left on her current Schengen which is still valid for another year. What should we do about this? I asked the German consulate if we can apply for a new Schengen at their consulate and they told us no and basically hung up the phone on me... Iast time we took it from the Italian consulate who were much nicer but they did want to see proof we would be visiting Italy (and this time we won't be).

So does anyone have any suggestions what the easiest thing to do would be?

Thanks!

[ALKB]

Me and my wife are planning to move to Germany in a few weeks, I know the process for her residence permit takes 3-6 weeks but she only has about 4 weeks left on her current Schengen which is still valid for another year. What should we do about this? I asked the German consulate if we can apply for a new Schengen at their consulate and they told us no and basically hung up the phone on me... Iast time we took it from the Italian consulate who were much nicer but they did want to see proof we would be visiting Italy (and this time we won't be).

So does anyone have any suggestions what the easiest thing to do would be?

Thanks!

What's "in a few weeks"? How much time will be left on her visa when arriving in Germany?

The only thing you can do is to register your residence immediately and make an appointment for her residence card application right after that. Even if you get an appointment outside of her visa validity, as long as you made the appointment while her visa was still valid, it should be fine.

The problem is then that she is without documented right of stay. I would go to the local Ausländerbehörde without an appointment (very early in the morning), take a number and wait as long as it takes. Explain the situation and request an extension to her visa. I know somebody who has done just that and they did indeed receive an extension until their appointment.

[Noz03]

When you say she "should" be ok if she has started the application before her visa runs out, do you have any solid information or links about this? I've never heard it anywhere before so need to double check.

Also does anyone know if a "90 day visa valid for 2 years" mean she can stay for 90 days over those 2 years, or is it a maximum 90 days in a 180 period valid for 2 years, as I have also read but not been able to confirm.

To be honest I don't get why she needs any visa at all, from what I have read on the official EU book about family member rules they have no right to refuse her entry or kick her out whether she has any visa or not, getting the visa in advance is just to avoid any confusion at the airport...

[ALKB]

When you say she "should" be ok if she has started the application before her visa runs out, do you have any solid information or links about this? I've never heard it anywhere before so need to double check.

Also does anyone know if a "90 day visa valid for 2 years" mean she can stay for 90 days over those 2 years, or is it a maximum 90 days in a 180 period valid for 2 years, as I have also read but not been able to confirm.

To be honest I don't get why she needs any visa at all, from what I have read on the official EU book about family member rules they have no right to refuse her entry or kick her out whether she has any visa or not, getting the visa in advance is just to avoid any confusion at the airport...

"Should" as in yes, she doesn't technically need a visa as long as you are travelling/living with her but especially in Germany you need everything on paper or life will be unpleasant. Germans don't believe anything if you don't have a paper about it. Very few people are familiar with EU immigration law. Just saying "No, really, she doesn't actually need a visa." will most probably not be very successful and will lead to all sorts of delays and issues while somebody somewhere else reads up on the laws.

I had never before been in a random ID control in the street. But the one day my husband wasn't carrying his passport and registration, we were stopped in a train station and asked for ID. It took nearly an hour for them to be satisfied that he was okay to go. He had a valid residence permit and they could verify that. Now imagine they would just see that your wife has an expired Schengen visa and no outstanding application.

Really, just get that residence card application done and dusted as soon as possible and you have no worries for the next five years.

How many entries does she have on her Schengen visa?

If it's one entry, then it is one stay for up to 90 days within the 2 years the visa is valid.

If it's two entries, it is two stays within these two years. That could be (for example) 1 x 2 weeks and 1 x three weeks within a short period of time or two times up to 90 days as long as she does not stay more than 90 out of 180 days.

If it's multiple, then as many stays as she wants within the two years but never more than 90 days in 180.

[mgb]

[quote="Noz03"]Me and my wife are planning to move to Germany in a few weeks, I know the process for her residence permit takes 3-6 weeks but she only has about 4 weeks left on her current Schengen which is still valid for another year. What should we do about this?,
[/quote]

What is the problem? If she apply for a resident card she will get a receipt and that receipt is good enough to prove she has the right to stay in germany. It doesn't matter how long it takes to get the residence card.