Travel with Residence Card - Success Stories

[bluecole2]

Surely not end of the world. But weldone for standing up and educating them. Nothing will change if we keep quite when things like this happens. The more people that complain the more the likely they'll get the message.

Better still, for future reference politely tell them they may not stamp your passport when you hand it to them.

[chaoclive]

Is the reason for not stamping a passport because they are allowed to stay in the country (UK or Ireland) or the area (Schengen) indefinitely as long as their recognized family member is with them?

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

I believe it is essentially not allowed because a stamp could be construed to mean leave to enter or perhaps imposing conditions.

[matt234]

Hi guys,
Just thought I'd share my latest experience travelling from and back to the UK with EEA2 RC.
I got a Schengen visa as my wife wasn't traveling with me.
Boarded a KLM flight to Berlin and had stopover at Amsterdam.

At Amsterdam:
Dutch Immigration officer: Where is your final destination today?
Me: Berlin
Dutch Immigration officer: What is the purpose of your trip?
Me: To see a friend
He then flips through my passport, while doing that, I told him my wife is an EU national and I live in London. He then noticed and scanned my data page and RC to check if they were genuine.
Dutch Immigration officer: Do you have a return ticket to London (I wonder why he asked, maybe he thought I'd prefer to stay in the Schengen area illegally)
Me: Yes, I do.
He stamped my passport and let me through.

On my way back, at London City Airport:
UK Border officer: Hello
Me: Hi (handed my passport over to the Border officer)
UK Border officer: So you're married to an EEA national? (closely examining my residence card)
Me: Yes, I am.
UK Border officer: What nationality is she?
Me: Spanish
UK Border officer: Thank you and welcome back.
Me: Thank you.

So easy. No stamp on my passport and I didn't fill landing card, although I was armed with my marriage certificate, reference letter from my wife's employer and UK Border force Operations manual prohibiting border officers from endorsing my passport etc.

I think it all depends on how confident you are at the entry port. If you know what you're doing, then all will go well by God's grace. Good luck to those who want to travel with their RCs.

[steve.watson]

Hi, please could I get some advice. My wife and step daughter are Thai nationals, who have recently been granted 'Residence Permits'. I see a lot of mentions of EEA Residence Cards and am wondering if these are the same thing? The cards are valid for 3 years and have printed on the front 'Leave to Remain' and underneath 'Work permitted'. We are planning a trip to Germany to see friends in the summer. When we last went, they had to have schengen visas and I'm wholly confused if we still have to have them. (PS, we also have 2 British children and myself travelling on British passports). Thank you in advance.

[chaoclive]

No - they are not the same.

Residence cards are for people who are EEA family members (not including British citizens). Residence permits are different and are not issued under EEA law (they're related to the UK Immigration Rules).

See here: http://www.london.diplo.de/Vertretung/l ... _Visa.html
- a spouse (married/civil partnership) or child of an EU/EEA/EFTA national must hold one of the following British visas that say explicitly: "Residence Card of a Family Member of an EEA National" OR "Permanent Residence Card" - and must travel with the EU/EEA/EFTA national. Please compare displayed samples (see on the right hand side) carefully,

So your family members will need visas but I think they should be free.

[logical_1]

I was wondering if a holder of Residence card issued by Schengen country can travel visa-free to other Schengen states without being accompanied or joining the EU citizen.
Any replies would be appreciated.

[chaoclive]

There aren't any border checks so, in theory, it's very possible. Of course, working probably wouldn't be possible as you would need to prove that your EEA spouse was in the country with you, but a holiday shouldn't pose any problem.

Not sure about hotel bookings? Do they require a look at your passport/visa?

[Donutz]

]

Hi, please could I get some advice. My wife and step daughter are Thai nationals, who have recently been granted 'Residence Permits'. I see a lot of mentions of EEA Residence Cards and am wondering if these are the same thing? The cards are valid for 3 years and have printed on the front 'Leave to Remain' and underneath 'Work permitted'. We are planning a trip to Germany to see friends in the summer. When we last went, they had to have schengen visas and I'm wholly confused if we still have to have them. (PS, we also have 2 British children and myself travelling on British passports). Thank you in advance.

They would need a visa, as you are a Brit living in Britian. If you were say Spanish, then your family would have fallen under the EU freedom of movement rules (2004/38/EC) and seen as EU/EAA family members which should be printed on their residence card. However when you travel to an other EU country with yuor family you will excersize those rights there thus they are eligable to a FREE Schengen visa with should be issued with minimum hassle and paperwork.

See:
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/tr ... dex_en.htm

I was wondering if a holder of Residence card issued by Schengen country can travel visa-free to other Schengen states without being accompanied or joining the EU citizen.
Any replies would be appreciated.

With a ressidence card from a Schengen country plus passport the alien can travel around Schengen alone. It acts like an automatic holiday visa so to say. Ofcourse you would still need sufficient funds, Insurance should already be covered by the health Insurance from the EU country you reside in. So in practise say somebody with a ressidence permit from Belgium could go to Paris for a holiday alone. You would just be an other foreign tourist but on a ressidence card rather then a Schengen visa sticker in the passport.

"If you are a non-EU national wishing to visit or travel within the EU, you will need a passport:
valid for at least 3 months after the date you intend to leave the EU country you are visiting,
which was issued within the previous 10 years,

and possibly a visa. Apply for a visa from the consulate or embassy of the country you are visiting. If your visa is from a "Schengen area" country, it automatically allows you to travel to the other Schengen countries as well. If you have a valid residence permit from one of those Schengen countries, it is equivalent to a visa. You may need a national visa to visit non-Schengen countries. "
See: http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/tr ... dex_en.htm

Not to be confused with traveling with EU/EEA spouse visa if yuo travel outside Schengen. But within Schengen you will be alright, or else unmarried partners like myself should need a visa every time we cross into a neighbouring Schengen state. That's not the case. I as a Dutchy could go to Brussels with my girlfriend, see has a ressidence permit so no need for a visa. As we aren't married the freedom of movement doesn't apply to us. But since we travel around Schengen she can travel without visa with me or by herself. Her ressidence card replaces the visa. Ofcourse she can't stay longer then 90 days within a 180 day period.

[logical_1]

@Donutz : Thanks for your post.
From your post it is clear that a person won't have any problems travelling within the Schengen if they have been issued with a residence card from another Schengen state and it doesn't matter if they are travelling with or without their spouse.
However, would a person be allowed entry into let's say Netherlands if:
1. The person is travelling from outside Schengen i.e Asia.
2. The person is travelling alone and is neither being accompanied nor joining the EU citizen.
3. The person hold a residence card issued by Germany.

I hope you could shed some light onto the query I posted above.Many thanks.

[Donutz]

Concerning Schengen:
A residency can be issued for various purposes: relationship by marriage to a local, relationship to unmarried local (IMHO its silly to set marriage or official registrated partnership as a requirement, what's wrong with bf & gf living together, I'm glad the Dutch don't have such a silly "forced by the state" marriage requirement), labour, high skilled labour, study etc. All these people have a resident card and can can travel around the Schengen area and leave and enter at any external border. Not all of these people have a spouse so that cannot be a requirement at all.


Example: say a Chinese person is living in France (reason for residency: french partner, work, other), he can go back to China for a holiday and return to France all by himself just fine, he can also enter through an other Schengen country such as Spain (found a cheap ticket to Barcelona and heads on to France from there). Now the big question is, a residence card replaces a visa:

8.DOCUMENTS THAT ALLOW ENTRY AND / OR STAY IN THE TERRITORY OF THE MEMBER
STATES AND THAT ARE NOT COVERED BY THE VISA CODE AND THE HANDBOOK
–
National long-stay visas
The procedures and conditions for issuing national long-stay visas (for intended stays of more than 3 months) are covered by national legislation, although holders of a national long-stay visa have the right to circulate within the territory of the Member States in accordance with Regulation (EC) No (EU)265/2010 of 25 March 2010 amending the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement and Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 (the Schengen Borders Code). as regards movement of persons with a long-stay visa
–
Residence permits
The procedures and conditions for issuing residence perm its are covered by national legislation, although according to the principle of equivalence between short stay-visas and residence permits, holders of a residence permit issued by a Member State and holders of a valid travel document may circulate for up to three months within the territories of the Member States.

Source: the Schengen "Handbook for the processing of visa applications" (not actual rules but a guide to the Schengen code on visa 810/2009). http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/wh ... dex_en.htm

Now the question is, do all other requirements for a (multi entry) visa apply? I'm not sure. I can imagen that if this Chinese person would be landing in Barcelona with an almost empty wallet and instead of saying he's be heading home he intends to go on a holiday for a week in Spain, it may raise some questions about his actual intentions.. For short stay Spain requires visa visitors to have atleast about 60-64 euro's per day per person (you can find the exact amount via the Spanish authorities) , now if this Chinese person has no such money and no way of showing his expenses will be covered (claiming a friend will be paying all costs?), what powers does the borderguard have? Can he refuse entry (to which the Chinese could appeal and wait for a lawyer to turn up to settle the issue...) ? I am not sure. In some cases it might make sense if all alarmbells are going but in other cases it would make little sence and you'd wonder what the actual options are for the Spanish authorities... I suppose they would have very few aslong as the Chinese person is able to show the residence card, his passport and stays less then 3 months (90 days) in Spain...

Perhaps the border documentation can shed some light on this but I have not read those (the Visa Code and both Handbooks on the webpage above were long and dull enough ). Perhaps you can find info on entry refusal there?
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/wh ... dex_en.htm

But I'd say, under normal circumstances the non EU partner of a EU citizen can travel around, into and out of Schengen all by him or herself just fine. If you got some cash in your wallet to get back home, are insured there should be no reason (or legal ground?) not to let the residence card holder from a fellow Schengen state pass.

Edit: and from personal experience and knowledge (for what it's worth, trust official regulations and rules above experience from individuals who may have encountered officials such as border guards who acted in error in favour or against the traveller): my girlfriend and various people around me with married or unmarried foreign partners have traveled from Europe (NL) to Asia by themselves, entering and exiting the externnal border via NL, BE, DE and FR. Some have also traveled around Schengen by themselves but non of these ressidence card holders ever got stopped by authorities. Checks within the Schengen area are quite rare though they do have those sometimes such as international train and bus connections, we went on the ICE (Amsterdam - Köln) a few times, you will see (border?) police from Germany on the train near the border but they always walk by... makes you wonder why they are on the train in the first place. I think they can only check a limited amount of people or compartments so may only ask suspicious people for their papers?

[Donutz]

I found the following:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/e- ... dex_en.htm

Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 "Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders "

Article 5
Entry conditions for third-country nationals
1. For stays not exceeding three months per six-month period, the
entry conditions for third-country nationals shall be the following:
(a) they are in possession of a valid travel document or documents
authorising them to cross the border;

(b) they are in possession of a valid visa, if required pursuant to
Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001 listing
the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas
when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are
exempt from that requirement (1), except where they hold a valid
residence permit or a valid long-stay visa;

(c) they justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay, and
they have sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of
the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin or
transit to a third country into which they are certain to be admitted,
or are in a position to acquire such means lawfully;
(d) they are not persons for whom an alert has been issued in the SIS
for the purposes of refusing entry;
(e) they are not considered to be a threat to public policy, internal
security, public health or the international relations of any of the
Member States, in particular where no alert has been issued in
Member States' national data bases for the purposes of refusing
entry on the same grounds.
2. A non-exhaustive list of supporting documents which the border guard
may request from the third-country national in order to verify the fulfilment
of the conditions set out in paragraph 1, point c, is included in Annex I.
3. Means of subsistence shall be assessed in accordance with the
duration and the purpose of the stay and by reference to average
prices in the Member State(s) concerned for board and lodging in
budget accommodation, multiplied by the number of days stayed.
Reference amounts set by the Member States shall be notified to the
Commission in accordance with Article 34.
The assessment of sufficient means of subsistence may be based on the
cash, travellers' cheques and credit cards in the third-country national's
possession. Declarations of sponsorship, where such declarations are
provided for by national law and letters of guarantee from hosts, as
defined by national law, where the third-country national is staying
with a host, may also constitute evidence of sufficient means of
subsistence.
4. By way of derogation from paragraph 1:

(a) third-country nationals who do not fulfil all the conditions laid
down in paragraph 1 but who hold a residence permit, a longstay
visa or a re-entry visa issued by one of the Member States
or, where required, a residence permit or a long-stay visa and a reentry
visa, shall be authorised to enter the territories of the other
Member States for transit purposes so that they may reach the
territory of the Member State which issued the residence permit,
long-stay visa or re-entry visa, unless their names are on the
national list of alerts of the Member State whose external borders
they are seeking to cross and the alert is accompanied by
instructions to refuse entry or transit;

(b) third-country nationals who fulfil the conditions laid down in
paragraph 1, except for that laid down in point (b), and who
present themselves at the border may be authorised to enter the
territories of the Member States, if a visa is issued at the border
in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 415/2003 of 27
February 2003 on the issue of visas at the border, including the
issue of such visas to seamen in transit (1).

(...)

It has had some amending Regulations, the latest No 610/2013 but nothing major (?) or unexpeted such as the updated 90-in-180-days rule .

So any foreign (un)married partner with a Schengen residence permit can travel within Schengen if they have sufficient means and can justify the purpose of their stay. They may also head onwards to the country they reside in.

[kiran2044]

I've been to Malta with my RC without visa now going to Poland staying there for 3 days then back to London next day traveling to Greece.

Hello,
I am an Unmarried Partner and I am planning to go to Poland this christmas with my partner. I emailed Polish Embassy in London and they said they don't recognise unmarried partners and they are insisting me to get the visa if I want to enter Poland. If you don't mind, mick5, can you please share your experience entering Poland.

I have already been to Italy and Czech Republic using my Residence Card. They didn't even ask me a single question on the way in or on the way out.

Thank you,

Kiran

[alia84]

Hello All,

Hopefully someone can advice me as I am having no luck with VFS (Spain).

My wife an Iranian national was granted a spouse visa back in 2012. She has recently been granted an ILR in June 2014 and is valid until 2024.

I am a British national, born in Scotland and currently working in London.

We are both planning to travel to Spain for a weeks holiday at the end of August:

1. Does my wife require a Schengen visa or as we are travelling together is she exempt from this?
2. If Schengen visa is required, has anyone had any recent experience with Spanish VFS in terms of the processing times? On their website it states minimum 4 weeks but wondering if anyone had got their visa quicker?

Many thanks
Ali

[Prawo]

If you travel together in theory your wife could do so joining you without a visa (Brax-ruling). However she will have difficulties in boarding the plane.
So it's best she applies for a visa from any Schengen embassy, as this will entitle her to enter the Schengen area of the EU with you.
The visa should be issued free of charge. know she can make an appointment directly with the chooses embassy that should give her an appointment within 15 days. The Spanish one will be ok, but know they could ask you for proof your marriage is registered in the UK.

[askmeplz82]

deleted

[swapy]

Hello,

I would like to share my experience on October 30, 2014 from Mumbai International Airport, India. The Lufthansa Staff members were clearly unaware of residence card and its rules whilst I was traveling from Mumbai International airport. The check-in staff was totally clueless and asked where is the visa to go to Italy? To which I answered there is a residence card in the middle of the passport. He told me it's a British residence card so I cannot board this flight. I told him since it's a residence card mentioning "Residence card for the family members of EEA national" I can travel to all EEA countries with my spouse without any additional visas. He called his supervisor who was as clueless as the first one so I took out the letter from Italian consulate where this exception of visa is clearly mentioned. However, for some reasons I felt that they are thinking it's a 'fake' letter.... My patience was already broken. I asked them to go online to Italian or German consulates in London and check for this but guess what they didn't. The supervisor called his head who was from Germany working like a border control officer for Lufthansa I guessed. I had to wait for at least 30 minutes until he came. He came towards me and asked for my passport, looked at it... and told me you do not have a visa. I said I do, please check in the middle of passport for residence card. He uttered, It's a British residence card so you can only go to Britain. He asked me "where in Italy am I going"? And "why am I going there?" To my knowledge he is not even allowed to ask me such questions. Nevertheless, I gave him answers with respect. He then took my & my wife's passport and letters from consulate and scrutinise everything for about half an hour as everything is fake. I was determined take his name and take him to the court if he didn't allow me to travel. Finally, he came to me and asked if I had marriage certificate and I did. He apologised and said I can travel. He started explaining that if I was traveling without my spouse then I'd need schengen visa. I told him that I already know it, it's you who need to be updated with new rules which is not even so new anymore. All is well, just carry all the docs and know that you have rights no matter how hard those people scrutinise you and your passports. FYI I never had problems at border control both ways. Looks like they are updated about residence card.

Thanks for creating such blog.
Ciao.

[oniopapa]

sorry to hear this polish embassy not comply with rules . you don't have to get visa

example. i am from africa nigeria my partner is eea Slovakia. i have 5years family member recidence card issued in uk
i have being to slovakia with her. without visa and with no problem going.

but my passport was stamp as entry to slovakia republik when we arrive there.

i believe you need to make your inquiry very well .

[MarcosF25]

I am currently in Portugal on holidays and my Vietnamese wife currently residing with me in the UK, we applied for our Residence Card on the 22nd of May and we just received today her Resident Card but we still haven't received the passport.
I really want her to join me here as I am only staying for a couple of days more and I wanted to know if she can travel using her Residence Card alone or if we have to wait for her passport to arrive as well?
Many thanks

[jelyfishe]

I'd like to ask a question from the opposite side, not from the UK to schengen area but from Spain to the UK with a residence card of a family member of a union citizen.

I'm a non EEA national and I have a residence card of a family member of a union citizen from Spain because I'm married with a spanish citizen. We'd like to travel to the UK together for a short holiday and I'm a bit confused if I need to get a visa or not and british consulate doesn't respond to any e-mail like any ordinary consulate

I've found some information here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... dence-card

But it's a bit confusing because all the information given about living in a different country other than eea national's own country. An example, the non-EEA spouse of a French national who is living and working in Italy may be issued with an Article 10 residence card by the Italian authorities. In this case spouse can travel but another example, a non-EEA spouse of a German national living in Germany will usually hold a residence permit issued under German domestic law. Therefore, a United Kingdom EEA family permit is required for travel and entry to the UK.

Seems in Germany non EEA spouses hold a different thing but in Spain I hold a card written residence card of a family member of a union citizen with the identity number of my partner on the back side of the card.

So do I need a visa or no? Any ideas or experiences?

[noajthan]

I'd like to ask a question from the opposite side, not from the UK to schengen area but from Spain to the UK with a residence card of a family member of a union citizen.

I'm a non EEA national and I have a residence card of a family member of a union citizen from Spain because I'm married with a spanish citizen. We'd like to travel to the UK together for a short holiday and I'm a bit confused if I need to get a visa or not and british consulate doesn't respond to any e-mail like any ordinary consulate

I've found some information here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... dence-card

But it's a bit confusing because all the information given about living in a different country other than eea national's own country. An example, the non-EEA spouse of a French national who is living and working in Italy may be issued with an Article 10 residence card by the Italian authorities. In this case spouse can travel but another example, a non-EEA spouse of a German national living in Germany will usually hold a residence permit issued under German domestic law. Therefore, a United Kingdom EEA family permit is required for travel and entry to the UK.

Seems in Germany non EEA spouses hold a different thing but in Spain I hold a card written residence card of a family member of a union citizen with the identity number of my partner on the back side of the card.

So do I need a visa or no? Any ideas or experiences?

Depends if its a domestic card or Article 10 card.
if living in Spain with Spanish sponsor how did you get such a card?

See https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/eu-rights-clin ... pril-2015/

[jelyfishe]

I'd like to ask a question from the opposite side, not from the UK to schengen area but from Spain to the UK with a residence card of a family member of a union citizen.

I'm a non EEA national and I have a residence card of a family member of a union citizen from Spain because I'm married with a spanish citizen. We'd like to travel to the UK together for a short holiday and I'm a bit confused if I need to get a visa or not and british consulate doesn't respond to any e-mail like any ordinary consulate

I've found some information here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... dence-card

But it's a bit confusing because all the information given about living in a different country other than eea national's own country. An example, the non-EEA spouse of a French national who is living and working in Italy may be issued with an Article 10 residence card by the Italian authorities. In this case spouse can travel but another example, a non-EEA spouse of a German national living in Germany will usually hold a residence permit issued under German domestic law. Therefore, a United Kingdom EEA family permit is required for travel and entry to the UK.

Seems in Germany non EEA spouses hold a different thing but in Spain I hold a card written residence card of a family member of a union citizen with the identity number of my partner on the back side of the card.

So do I need a visa or no? Any ideas or experiences?

Depends if its a domestic card or Article 10 card.
if living in Spain with Spanish sponsor how did you get such a card?

See https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/eu-rights-clin ... pril-2015/

I'm not sure if the card was issued under article 10 but you can see the image of the card on this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residence ... on_citizen

So I'm not sure if this could work or not.

[coronita]

Hi all,

I find this post really helpful and I would like to get some advice on my situation.

I am a visa national married to a French citizen. We live in the UK and I am on EU spouse visa here. We would like to travel back to my husband's hometown in south-eastern France, which borders Switzerland, in a few months.

I understand from reading the information here that I will not be needing a visa to travel within Schengen area with my French husband, only my EU spouse residence permit, but this does not apply to Switzerland. However, Geneva is the nearest airport to my husband's hometown. So if we plan to travel to Geneva and leave from the French exit, will I need a visa because I will be in Swiss territory, or will the UK issued EU spouse RP suffice because I will be entering France from Geneva with my French husband?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

[Lucia1234]

Hi all,
I would like to share my recent story and get some advice, please.

Me( Slovakian citizen) living and working in the UK traveling with my husband( Egyptian) holding a valid Residence Card of a family member of an EEA national ( issued by UK). We traveled together for a holiday from Slovakia to Bulgaria. They have refused my husband at the Bulgarian border and holding his passport for 1 hour. Reason: not having a visa as Bulgaria is not in Schengen area. Bulgarian border officer refused him to enter the country and he must return back. This was midnight and we have been left in the street in the middle of the night, our travel agency bus left us too. Nightmare experience. Is this even allowed to be treated like this?
I would like some advice please on this situation so I can avoid this in the future.
Also, can he travel accompanied by my self in all EU countries or only Schengen areas? Does he need a visa for entering the non-Schengen country ( such as Bulgaria)?
Thank you all,
Lucia

[minttie]

Non-EU travelled with EU spouse and Article 10 residence card from UK to France in November 2017

EasyJet counter: stopped but quickly released after a phone call

CDG airport entering & leaving French border: no issue but passport stamped

I know they are not supposed to stamp my passport but what's the consequence though?