Schengen visa appointment at French Embassy

[Plum70]

Hello guys,

I need some advice from any non EEA spouse who has attended a Schengen visa interview at the French Embassy:

I am a non-EEA visa national married to a Swiss National, my hubby and I plan on spending a few days in Paris over the xmas period. My understanding of the schengen visa application process (based on the french embassy site info and that on the schengen application forms) is that the only supporting documents required are:

My and my husband's passport (original and copy)
Our marriage certificate (original and copy)
My passport pics

The embassy also advises applicants not to book trips until the visa is granted. The application forms also exclude non EU/EEA spouses from filling certain fields (like employment details, means of support...)

Has anyone had any experience of a contrary process once at the interview?

Your advice would help me in preparing well for my interview in a few weeks.

Thanks in advance

[flyboy]

Plum70, can't speak for the french emabssy in london, but the french consulate in Geneva , definitely charge the spouses of swiss nationals the visa fee as well as ask for means of subsistence - however they are released from the obligation to have medical/travel insurance, when applying for a short stay schengen visa. As Switzerland is not part of the EU or EEA for that matter , same rules don't necessarily apply to spouses of swiss nationals concerning the issuing of short stay schengen visa.
If you read through the free movement agreement between switzerland and the EU you will see that there is nothing mentioned about visas being issued free of charge or on an accelerated basis for family members of swiss nationals.
However, the netherlands, norway,denmark, sweden,iceland,finland,and most of the eastern EU schengen countries treat family members of swiss nationals the same as those of EU/EEA nationals concerning visas - they do not charge for the visas and the same documents are to be presented , the same as family members of an EU/EEA national.
Best contact the french embassy in london and ask them if spouses of swiss nationals are treated exactly the same as those of EU/EEA nationals.

[Plum70]

Plum70, can't speak for the french emabssy in london, but the french consulate in Geneva , definitely charge the spouses of swiss nationals the visa fee as well as ask for means of subsistence - however they are released from the obligation to have medical/travel insurance, when applying for a short stay schengen visa. As Switzerland is not part of the EU or EEA for that matter , same rules don't necessarily apply to spouses of swiss nationals concerning the issuing of short stay schengen visa.
If you read through the free movement agreement between switzerland and the EU you will see that there is nothing mentioned about visas being issued free of charge or on an accelerated basis for family members of swiss nationals.
However, the netherlands, norway,denmark, sweden,iceland,finland,and most of the eastern EU schengen countries treat family members of swiss nationals the same as those of EU/EEA nationals concerning visas - they do not charge for the visas and the same documents are to be presented , the same as family members of an EU/EEA national.
Best contact the french embassy in london and ask them if spouses of swiss nationals are treated exactly the same as those of EU/EEA nationals.

Thanks for this flyboy. I'll do just that! However, does anyone have another view on this?

Cheers

[bdb303]

According to the IATA visa search tool (which Stupid use to see whether passengers need a visa or not) you do not need to get a Schengen visa to enter France if you hold a UK residence permit.

These are the requirements to enter France as a non-EU national:

Passport required.
- Passports and/or passport replacing documents must be valid
on arrival.

Visa required, except for A max. stay of 3 months:
- for those, irrespective of nationality, holding family

member" residence permit issued by United Kingdom (Great
Britain) to a family member of an E.E.A. national or

national of Switzerland, provided travelling with or

travelling to join the E.E.A. national or national of

Switzerland;

I know the French embassy in London does not mention any of this on their website, but they are useless and I have it from Solvit that border guards adhere to these instructions.

[Plum70]

According to the IATA visa search tool (which Stupid use to see whether passengers need a visa or not) you do not need to get a Schengen visa to enter France if you hold a UK residence permit.

These are the requirements to enter France as a non-EU national:

Passport required.
- Passports and/or passport replacing documents must be valid
on arrival.

Visa required, except for A max. stay of 3 months:
- for those, irrespective of nationality, holding family

member" residence permit issued by United Kingdom (Great
Britain) to a family member of an E.E.A. national or

national of Switzerland, provided travelling with or

travelling to join the E.E.A. national or national of

Switzerland;

I know the French embassy in London does not mention any of this on their website, but they are useless and I have it from Solvit that border guards adhere to these instructions.

Thanks for this! I'm really in a dilemma as the French Embassy site makes no provision for spouses of Swiss nationals. I have gone ahead and booked my appointment as the spouse of a EU national as this is the closest classification.

My main worry is whether or not I should fill in the application form in full and how much supporting documentation I should gather (apart from those I listed above).

I tried contacting the French Embassy today on the 0207 number but all I got was a pre-recorded message asking me to call their premium rate £1/minute number for any visa application enquiries!

Confused and a tad irritated...

Any more advice is very much welcome!

Thanks

[Plum70]

Just an update and some advice welcome:

I contacted the French embassy via email to enquire whether a non-EEA spouse of a Swiss national can apply for a schengen visa under the umbrella of a spouse of a EU citizen, hence not paying the visa fee nor needing to provide a trunk load of supporting docs (left this bit out!).

The response I got was to check the website as all the info is on there. No, it is not! There is no mention of the eligibility of family members of Swiss nationals applying for a schengen visa to France. Though I know that Switzerland has 7 treaty agreements with the EU/schengen states (one of them being the free movement of persons), I am still uncertain if the French embassy categorizes such nationals as EU citizens for the purpose of the schengen visa for their family members. I sent them another email asking this to which they have not replied.

My visa interview is next week Monday, I will attend with my hubby - having applied as the spouse of a EU citizen - and see what happens.

If anyone has been in a similar scenario please share some knowledge. Thanks!

[bdb303]

The opinion of the French embassy is not really important, as they're not the ones that will let you in the country - that will be done by the French border guards.

According to my information you actually will not even need a visa (even as spouse of a Swiss national) when you are in possession of the EEA2 permit (and with your marriage certificate to prove the relationship). But the French website is notorious at misinforming, despite complaints that I have made directly to them and through the European Commission. By all means, get the Schengen visa for peace of mind, but just take anything the French embassy tells you with a grain of salt as they are really full of SH***!

[bdb303]

Duplicate post

[bdb303]

duplicate post

[Plum70]

The opinion of the French embassy is not really important, as they're not the ones that will let you in the country - that will be done by the French border guards.

According to my information you actually will not even need a visa (even as spouse of a Swiss national) when you are in possession of the EEA2 permit (and with your marriage certificate to prove the relationship). But the French website is notorious at misinforming, despite complaints that I have made directly to them and through the European Commission. By all means, get the Schengen visa for peace of mind, but just take anything the French embassy tells you with a grain of salt as they are really full of SH***!

Thanks for your response! I do have the UK Residence Document as the family member of a Swiss national, however the French embassy's site makes no mention of this. Is it possible to travel to France with my hubby (UK Res. Doc., marriage certificate, hubby's registration cert.) without a schengen visa?
Secondly, the french embassy's site requests only a marriage certificate, non-EEA&EEA spouse's passports as supporting documentation. As I am not certain in what category I would be classed, I am taking all the supporting documentation needed for a normal schengen application as a visa national. The last thing I want is for us to be turned back because of some ignorant visa officer who refuses to be educated on the EU law by mere mortals...

I'll post my interview experience when it's over. Let's hope it's a happy one!

[Plum70]

All done. The interview was over in 4 minutes (not before a 3 hour wait though!). They routinely considered my application as the spouse of an EU citizen (though my husband is from Switzerland which isn't an EU member State).

Thanks for the contribution!

[86ti]

All done. The interview was over in 4 minutes (not before a 3 hour wait though!). They routinely considered my application as the spouse of an EU citizen (though my husband is from Switzerland which isn't an EU member State).

Thanks for the contribution!

Maybe you can ask the French boarder guards if they would let you pass with your RC alone?

[Plum70]

Maybe you can ask the French boarder guards if they would let you pass with your RC alone?

It is worth a try yeap!

[Plum70]

Got my passport back today from the French Embassy. I had asked for a 'single entry' schengen visa for 4.00 days but got a 'multiple entry' visa for 6 months. I'm not complaining one bit! But would like to know if this is the norm to be expected for family members of EU nationals OR if it is simply down to the discretion of the issuing officer? (This is my first schengen visa from the French, others have been from the Netherlands...)

Also, in my application form I put down already booked trip dates for the end of December this year. However, as the schengen visa is valid from 17th October '08 -

Can my husband and I (or me alone) travel to France between now and December OR
Must our first entry into France be the exact date put down on the application?

[Christophe]

Also, in my application form I put down already booked trip dates for the end of December this year. However, as the schengen visa is valid from 17th October '08 -

Can my husband and I (or me alone) travel to France between now and December OR
Must our first entry into France be the exact date put down on the application?

You can use the visa with its validity dates, whatever you might have put on the form about your travel plans. So you could, for example, take a weekend break or a day trip to France. Only thing is: it's advisable that your first trip on the visa should be to the country that issued it (assuming you are likely to want another visa from that country: they seem to take a dim view of it otherwise).

[Plum70]

You can use the visa with its validity dates, whatever you might have put on the form about your travel plans. So you could, for example, take a weekend break or a day trip to France. Only thing is: it's advisable that your first trip on the visa should be to the country that issued it (assuming you are likely to want another visa from that country: they seem to take a dim view of it otherwise).

Thanks for your response Christophe. We definitely intend for France to be our first point of entry as the rules are explicitly clear about this. I just wanted to be certain that we could enter France (say tomorrow) w/out any problems.

Thanks once again