French law and no (visa)free movement of unmarried partners?

[Schengener]

As far as I understand EU law, member states can exercise discretion in the free movement right of family members, when it comes to 'other' family members (that are not spouses, dependants, or ascendants).

That means: they can exercise discretion for registered partners (if their national legilsation doesn't accept it), and unmarried partners.

According to the EU Guide "Right of Union citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the Union" http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/fil ... _ec_en.pdf, Member States have no scope for discretion in recognition of their rights of the first group (spouses etc.), however, the guide says

Partners
Your registered partner enjoys the same right as other family
members in the Member States which do not treat registered
partnerships as equivalent to marriage. The same goes also for your
partner with whom you have a durable duly attested
relationship. This concept of partnership covers same and different
sex partnerships and de facto partnerships, such as cohabitation.
Right to reside This group of family members and partners has no "automatic" Community right to accompany or join you but their rights are subject to the Member State's discretion.

They have the right to have entry and residence facilitated and
the host Member State should recognize their status as your de
facto family member and treat them on the same footing as your
other family members.

France
Now in the case of France, which I'd like to pass through from the Dover-Calais ferry to go to Germany (my nationality), this solicitor website http://www.magrath.co.uk/countries-2/europe/france tells me:


Unmarried partner/Same sex partner
The authorities in France do not recognise unmarried partners as dependants. The unmarried partner will therefore need to qualify for a resident visa in their own right or obtain a business or a tourist visa before travelling to France.

Is there anyone who can confirm whether it is indeed the case that France exercises discretion against unmarried partners and that my partner needs a Schengen-visa in order to travel with me by ferry to and transit with me through France?

[mcovet]

if your unmarried partner has a RC then you could be able to travel together as one Member State recognised your relationship and you have a point to argue at the border.

If your partner does NOT have a RC issued and he is in the UK in a different category, I doubt the border police on the French side would accept your story. The info on the German website is not 100% as the French do recognise unmarried partnerships but of opposite sex couples (to which they outrageously equate civil partnerships registered in the UK, they simply don't recognise civil partners as direct family members but rather as OFM (other family members)). If you have a RC, then you should be fine at the border.

[Schengener]

thanks for your reply. that website made me very unsure, its nt german though. i felt a bit discouraged, but your reply is lifting my spirits again. yes he's got the brit RC as eea family member, we fought for it in an appeal. partnership nearly6 years, and we are now expecting a baby.

as evidence, we could just take our extensive appeal bundle and the judges determination attesting our durable relationship. topped up with whats new, council tax etc.

its quite confusing, i read a few times that unmarried partnerships are at discretion of national legislation, but then also the validity of art. 10 type res. cards.

but recital 8 in eu directive 2004 seems to imply that the rc as eea family member supersedes national legislation.... i hope

[mcovet]

thanks for your reply. that website made me very unsure, its nt german though. i felt a bit discouraged, but your reply is lifting my spirits again. yes he's got the brit RC as eea family member, we fought for it in an appeal. partnership nearly6 years, and we are now expecting a baby.

as evidence, we could just take our extensive appeal bundle and the judges determination attesting our durable relationship. topped up with whats new, council tax etc.

its quite confusing, i read a few times that unmarried partnerships are at discretion of national legislation, but then also the validity of art. 10 type res. cards.

but recital 8 in eu directive 2004 seems to imply that the rc as eea family member supersedes national legislation.... i hope

just print out the version of Directive 2004/38 in French and point to Article 3(2)(b) of the Directive. They won't deny you entry, I am almost 100% as any senior border guard will be clued up when they see your partner's RC and take your baby's birth certificate showing your names on it (whether you are taking the baby with you or not) which is the ultimate proof of the durable relationship. I wouldn't worry about the appeal bundle but the judgement letter should suffice, if needed at all. The French are better accustomed to the RC now and I heard many of them even let people through without their partners/spouses simply on the basis of the RC card.

Good luck and you are in a much stronger position with the RC than without it.

P.S. the recital and in general the issue with RC is that Schengen countries regard each other's RC as sufficient while with the UK and the Continent it's different as the UK isn't part of the Schengen zone and has no agreement for borderless travel (I stand to be corrected)