Italian visa - alternative to schengen?

[aznkix]

Hello ImmigrationBoards,

I was wondering if you could help me with a problem.

My mum is a British citizen and holds a UK passport and my dad holds a Indian passport but has the right to stay in the UK as long as possible and has been living in the UK for 20yrs. They both got married in India in the 80s and have the original marriage certificate in English.

Recently they have decided to plan a trip to ITALY on the 14th August to 23rd August, tho my dad is finding it hard to get a schengen visa in the remaining time as the embassy keeps pointing us to an appointment hotline, and nothing is available till 8th September.

Is there any other way that my dad could travel to Italy without a Schengen visa? Also out of curiosity what would happen if he traveled without a visa?

Thanks for your time

[ca.funke]

Hi aznkix,

sorry to tell you - but your dad is screwed as he will definitely need a visa.

As your mum is British, while also living in Britain, the EU-law that governs visa-free-travel does not apply. As a result he will definitely need a Schengen-Visa.

However, as your dad is married to an EU-citizen, this visa has to be dealt with "at an accelerated speed" without "undue formality".

Edit 11h59: Sorry - just did some research. It does NOT HAVE TO BE dealt with according to the above, but you can hope for it anyway, as they all have no clue as you will find out...

This means that your parents (only) have to produce:

• both their passports AND
• their marriage certificate

You will read different information on different Schengen-countrie's websites, but what I am writing here is the correct law, of which not all of the embassies are aware.

In specific, some of them will ask you for flight-tickets, hotel-reservations and some other stuff, all of this is, in your case, ILLEGAL.

For practical matters I recommend you to ring all Schengen-countrie's embassies in London (or if there are any, closer to where you live), and ask them how they want to proceed in your case.

As soon as you get through to an embassy who deals with this as I described above, stick to them! Tell them you want to visit their respective capital, and you want the visa.

You will not have trouble entering Italy with any Schengen-Visa.

Schengen-countries are:

- All countries of the EU, except the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania
- aditionally (outside the EU) Norway and Iceland.

It will be a task for the afternoon to find their contact-details and ringing all of them.

If you decide to follow this advise, please let us know how it goes...

[bdb303]

Hi, unrelated question, but from what document have you found this "at an accelerated speed" without "undue formality" for EU family members? It would be much appreciated...

[86ti]

Hi, unrelated question, but from what document have you found this "at an accelerated speed" without "undue formality" for EU family members? It would be much appreciated...

It's in the Directive. Also look here.

[ca.funke]

thanks 86ti for answering that

My advise above is a little incorrect - I'll just go into detail about that:

2004/38/EC is the law that governs visa-free entry into all EU-countries for EU-family-members. (This is unrelated to Schengen ) It also details how a visa-application has to be handled, where a family-member cannot travel visa-free.

As this is an EU-law, it is only applicable where the rights of Union-citizens are affected. That is, for all EU-citizens who are "exercising treaty-rights", in more understandable terms where an EU-citizen is living in a country other than his home-country.

As the above distinction seems to be too complicated for many embassy-staff (and for me as well, as I just applied it incorrectly above - sorry about that), you can be lucky and have your visa processed according to 2004/38/EC, although you are not eligible.

Once you hold the visa in your hands all of this doesn't matter anymore.

I hope this was clear enough - and sorry about my above blunder.

[mym]

As this is an EU-law, it is only applicable where the rights of Union-citizens are affected. That is, for all EU-citizens who are "exercising treaty-rights", in more understandable terms where an EU-citizen is living in a country other than his home-country.

Not so. For the first 90 days no economic 'treaty right' needs to be exercised for the Directive to apply.

[ca.funke]

Not so. For the first 90 days no economic 'treaty right' needs to be exercised for the Directive to apply.

Cool! If this is so, then the visa in the case that opened this thread can be obtained under 2004/38/EC?

Can you tell us how this can be proven?

Is it Article 3 / Section 1, "who move to or reside", where "moving to" can be interpreted as simply "going there"?

That'd give a whole new scope It'd be really cool

[mym]

Have a read of http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/ ... _ec_en.pdf

[stmellon]

Is it Article 3 / Section 1, "who move to or reside", where "moving to" can be interpreted as simply "going there"?

That'd give a whole new scope It'd be really cool

If you don't interpret "move to" as "going there" or "crossing the border", surely the only alternative is to equate "move" as "live there for an extended period of time", i.e. reside?

[stmellon]

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