Directive/2004/38/EC wrote:What exactly was submitted with the first application? A simple Schengen application form with the (*)ed questions not answered? Was there a cover letter, and what did it say?
Yes, I wrote a cover letter and husband filled out the visa application form, leaving out the parts with the (*). This is what the cover letter said:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing this letter, in support of my husband’s Schengan visa application, which he is applying for under the EU Directive 2004/38/EC. My husband,
(name removed) attempted to apply for a visa last year, however the French Embassy in Islamabad treated my husband’s application for the visa outside the context of a this EU Directive. I am a British Citizen and I will be traveling to France this summer and my husband,
(name removed), will be meeting me there from Pakistan. I will be traveling to Paris from London. Due to the fact that the French Embassy in Islamabad had been in breach of the EU Directive when my husband,
(name removed), attempted to apply for a visa last year, I had to contact the EU Commission’s Solvit team here in the UK. By the time the issue was resolved, it was too late and we could not travel to France.
My husband and I have also had problems obtaining an appointment from the French Embassy in Islamabad, due to the actions of your third party agent namely, Gerry’s. They refused to lodge my husband’s application under the Directive 2004/38/EC, since they are unaware of this directive. Until recently, I hadn’t had an adequate response, when requesting an appointment from the French Embassy in Islamabad for my husband. Instead, I had to contact the French Embassy in London, in order to get an appointment date. Your third party representative in Lahore, ‘Gerry’s’ were in breach of EU Law for not giving my husband,
(name removed), the opportunity to lodge an application for an entry visa to France under this said Directive. This action impedes my husband’s legal rights, under EU Law for freedom of movement within France and the European Union. As a consequence, I have submitted a formal complaint to the European Ombudsman for Maladministration.
My husband,
(name removed), during his appointment will present to you documents that are adequate, under this Directive, for the issue of his Schengan visa. The documents that he has submitted with his application include:
1. Original marriage certificate in Urdu and French translated by Alliance Francaise
2. Evidence that I, myself will be traveling to France from London (travel booking)
3. A photocopy of my passport
4. A letter from a legal caseworker, outlining the EU Directive
5. Address of the hotel, where we plan to stay
Under the Directive 2004/38/EC, these are the only documents that are required, in order to have an entry visa supplied to a spouse of an EU Citizen. Under this Directive, we are not required to have booked flight tickets or hotel accommodation, however for your convenience; my husband will supply you with the address of the hotel where we will be staying. We will not take the risk of loosing money by booking flight tickets and hotel accommodation, without a visa in hand. I hope that my husband’s visa can be issued as soon as possible, within the context of this Directive and I appreciate your cooperation.
I look forward to hearing a positive result to my husband application, for his right of freedom of movement within France and the EU.
Regards,
(name removed)
The letter from the legal caseworker also outlined French domestic law, under which non-EU Spouses of EU Citizens have rights of freedom of movement within France, as this Directive has been incorporated into French law. The French Embassy know what they are doing, they are putting us through the runaround by purpose, unfortunately, this is the kind of treatment that citizens from countries such as Pakistan have to go through, its quite normal here. This would never have happened or been tolerated in the UK.
