looking to get a visa, got some questions, please help me?

[slippy]

Hi Guys

My grandmother is from Iran, she lives with me and my family here in the United Kingdom. Her Iran passport has expired so we have sent it to the Iran embassy to get granted a new passport and well we are waiting for that new passport to come in the post. Now once it comes we need to get a VISA for her for Spain as we have just bought a Place in Spain.

Whats the best kind of visa to get? I have read about the Schengen visa, is this any good?

Is there any visa i can get that will grant my grandmother to go to any country within Europe? and for the visa to be valid for 1 or 2 years?

I have also looked at getting a English passport for my grandmother. My grandmother has been living in the UK for around 30 years now with us all. She comes and goes every few years back to Iran for a month or two and then comes back here to the UK again. My grandmother does not speak English and i have heard that the English embassy may not grant her an English passport or may ask her to take an English language test and as she does not speak English they may say something like 'well as your grandmother has lived here for 30 years why did she not learn English'. But the thing is now she is getting really old and all she would like to do is see some of the world. So is there a chance they may still grant her a English passport even though she cannot speak English?

Also if i do apply for a English passport can my grandmother still travel to Spain with a visa while her current passport has been sent to the English embassy to get a English passport?

Do you know how long it takes to be granted a English passport? I heard you could be waiting 2 years or more.

Sorry for all the questions but i do hope you can please help me

much appreciated


Many many thanks

[JAJ]

Hi Guys

My grandmother is from Iran, she lives with me and my family here in the United Kingdom. Her Iran passport has expired so we have sent it to the Iran embassy to get granted a new passport and well we are waiting for that new passport to come in the post. Now once it comes we need to get a VISA for her for Spain as we have just bought a Place in Spain.

Whats the best kind of visa to get? I have read about the Schengen visa, is this any good?

Is there any visa i can get that will grant my grandmother to go to any country within Europe? and for the visa to be valid for 1 or 2 years?

I have also looked at getting a English passport for my grandmother. My grandmother has been living in the UK for around 30 years now with us all. She comes and goes every few years back to Iran for a month or two and then comes back here to the UK again. My grandmother does not speak English and i have heard that the English embassy may not grant her an English passport or may ask her to take an English language test and as she does not speak English they may say something like 'well as your grandmother has lived here for 30 years why did she not learn English'. But the thing is now she is getting really old and all she would like to do is see some of the world. So is there a chance they may still grant her a English passport even though she cannot speak English?

Also if i do apply for a English passport can my grandmother still travel to Spain with a visa while her current passport has been sent to the English embassy to get a English passport?

Do you know how long it takes to be granted a English passport? I heard you could be waiting 2 years or more.

No such thing as an "English" passport, sorry. Are you asking about a British passport?

Does your grandmother have Indefinite Leave to Remain stamped in her passport? If not, what is her visa status?

Information on naturalisation as a British citizen is available at:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/nationality/

She would be extremely foolish to abandon her residence in the United Kingdom before she can become naturalised British.

[sakura]

I'm just surprised that people actually think there's such a thing as an English Passport...slippy, you're British, right?
I ain't gonna diss her for not learning/speaking any English (that is a whole other debate), but if she has had ILR for 12 months or so, and if she is over 60 or 65 (can't remember the age), she can apply for naturalisation as a British Citizen without having to take the (English) test.

Now...this is the reason why you should do things as soon as it's possible! What a delay.

[slippy]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your replies

I am British and sorry i mean a British passport, i always say English and British, bad habit i know.

I am not sure if she has Indefinite Leave to Remain stamped in her passport and i can't check as her Iran passport has expired so i sent it to the Iran embassy to get granted a new one.

Whenever she comes on holiday with me and my family, we have to always get her a visa to travel to that country. It would make life a lot easier if she could get a British passport.

My grandmother is over 80

So whats this about ILR, if it's stamped on the passport what does it mean?

TIA

[John]

If she has lived in the UK for about 30 years, hopefully she has ILR .... indefinite leave to remain.

If she has got ILR, and given that she is over 65 and thus exempt from the Citizenship Test, she should apply for Naturalisation as British. Once that is granted she can easily get a British passport and given that she is over 75, that passport will be free. But before getting to that stage she will need to get the Naturalisation, which currently costs a £655 application fee.

Armed with the British passport she can exercise her Treaty Rights and live in Spain. No visa or residence permit required.

[slippy]

Hi John

Many thanks for your excellent information

Do you know how long it takes to be granted this Naturalization and then after that how long it takes to get the British passport?

Also my grandmother only wants to take holidays in Spain, she does not want to permanently live there, maybe sometimes live there for a year and then come back to the UK.

Also do you know if while this naturalization process is going on if in the interim my grandmother can still go on holidays to Spain using a visa while she is waiting for her new British passport to arrive?

If you could please help me with those questions

Many thanks for all your help

[slippy]

moderator please delete this as i made by mistake a double post

[slippy]

Hi John, also one other thing

My grandmother is a foreign nationals who has permanent residence in the UK but has not taken out British citizenship.

[slippy]

Can anyone please give me a reply?

Thanks