UK Citizen , Working In Czech , Non EU WIFE ,THAILAND

[stevenelliott]

Hello

Im British Citizen wife is from Thailand and is still there.

I need help iv started a job in the czech republic , and i would like to bring my non eu wife to czech with me from thailand , thing is , i cant speak or read czech all forms have to be done in czech.

My Married Cert is also not in Czech only in Thai

Plus i dont know if i have to get temp residence permit for me , before i can even go ahead with trying to get the wife over.

I need some major advise as i dont know this country at all , and im hitting my head against the wall.!

I really hope someone can help me on this one.

Thanks

Steven Elliott

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

First step, get your wife a shengen entry visa. This is done by applying at the embassy in Thailand (as your wife is there).

Start here http://www.mzv.cz/bangkok/en/index.html

In order to get the visa, she will be required to demonstrate that she is married to you a British citizen and in your case that you work in the Czech republic. They may want you to have your marriage certificate translated and legalised. Even if this is not required for the visa, it will come in useful at the residence card stage.

Post entry, she would apply for a residence card. She would need to demonstrate that she is married to you a British citizen and in your case that you work in the Czech republic. Perhaps, get a friend who can help you with the Czech language.

[stevenelliott]

First step, get your wife a shengen entry visa. This is done by applying at the embassy in Thailand (as your wife is there).

Start here http://www.mzv.cz/bangkok/en/index.html

In order to get the visa, she will be required to demonstrate that she is married to you a British citizen and in your case that you work in the Czech republic. They may want you to have your marriage certificate translated and legalised. Even if this is not required for the visa, it will come in useful at the residence card stage.

Post entry, she would apply for a residence card. She would need to demonstrate that she is married to you a British citizen and in your case that you work in the Czech republic. Perhaps, get a friend who can help you with the Czech language.

I Think she might have problems getting it translated and legalised in to Czech because i know before to get the stamps from the Thai goverment we had to wait around to get it stamped but iv not seen Czech offered for translate ,

Iv also emailed the embassy today and still no reply from them ,

Do you know if i have to get residence for her to come over ?

Thanks

Steven

[stevenelliott]

Also are you saying i got to sort out a residence thing for she before she comes here , how would i ever do that ?

cant i get a visa based on the basis of Directive 2004/38/EC ??

What type of visa would that be a short stay visa not the other one you said ?

Thanks

Steven

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Your wife only needs a simple entry visa, assuming you will be travelling together. You will need to provide the two passports and a marriage certificate. See http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2007/04 ... u-citizen/

[stevenelliott]

Your wife only needs a simple entry visa, assuming you will be travelling together. You will need to provide the two passports and a marriage certificate. See http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2007/04 ... u-citizen/

Hello

Thanks for your reply will wont be traveling together im already here in the czech republic ,

This is why its confusing for me how to do it ,

Thanks

Steven

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

How long have you been there? (Travelling together OR she is joining you. So either way is fine)

[moroni]

Maybe you should read this (in English from the Ministry of Intеrior of the Czech Republic)

http://www.mvcr.cz/mvcren/article/tempo ... 09Mg%3d%3d

And also the forms are available here in Czech and English

http://www.mvcr.cz/mvcren/article/appli ... forms.aspx

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Also are you saying i got to sort out a residence thing for she before she comes here , how would i ever do that ?

No didn't mean to say that. Step 1, get a visa, step 2 move, step 3 get RC.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

I Think she might have problems getting it translated and legalised in to Czech because i know before to get the stamps from the Thai goverment we had to wait around to get it stamped but iv not seen Czech offered for translate ,

I'd presumed your marriage certificate is in Thai. If so read on.

Step 1, find a translator.
Step 2, ask translator to translate marriage certificate to Czech.
Step 3, go to legalisation dept
Step 4, , get legalised translation of certificate (invoves waiting around quite a lot)
Step5, present marriage certificate to Czech embassy for visa; they may or may not require the legalisation process to be completed.

Some countries, eg the UK do not require this laborious procedure and accept a translation from a competent translator. You will need to find out what the Czechs require.

Internet search legalisation of marriage certificate procedure should give you an idea of what might be expected.

[tebee]

Will not an English translation of the marriage documents be acceptable? certainly the French embassy accepts them in English or French . Also I thought there were two steps in getting the translation of the marriage docs certified and legalized.

I'm sure we had to go to the Thai ministry of foreign affairs to get the (English) translation certified as true and accurate, then we had to go to the UK embassy to get it legalized I.E. saying that the British government accepted our marriage as being recognized as legal under UK law.

I believe depositing one of your Thai marriage certificates and a translation at the British registrar and then requesting a copy from them is another way of doing it.

As far as I'm aware there is no way to get a translation in language other than English legalized.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Will not an English translation of the marriage documents be acceptable?

Don't know, you need to ask the Czechs.

Worst case, do it all again and have the marriage certificate legalised for the country you intent to use it in.

Frustrating, yes.

[tebee]

You are missing my point. The right to reside depends on the legality of the marriage to a British citizen. The only people that can recognize that citizen as being legally married is the British government.

Therefore the only the British embassy( as representative of the government) can legalize a marriage certificate and it's translation. I don't think they will legalize a translation other than one in English. So you will certainly need an English translation.

The point is whether the marriage is recognized in the EU citizen's home country, not the country they are going to.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

The right to reside depends on the legality of the marriage to a British citizen. The only people that can recognize that citizen as being legally married is the British government.

In general that is not how marriage works. There is a whole very rich and complicated international case law and treaty law convention about this.

[tebee]

It's how it works at a practical level here. If your government says it accepts you are legally married, they must accept that for visa purposes.

They are not going to refer every visa application to the supreme/high court for an adjudication as to the validity of the marriage.

Going back to the original posters question it may very well be that the Czech embassy will accept a czech translation without it being legalized. I only know I applied to the French embassy's visa agent with both a French and English translation of my marriage certificate and they preferred the English one as it had a legalization stamp on it, otherwise they said they would have to refer to my embassy to confirm the legality of my marriage.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

You are missing my point. The right to reside depends on the legality of the marriage to a British citizen. The only people that can recognize that citizen as being legally married is the British government.

Therefore the only the British embassy( as representative of the government) can legalize a marriage certificate and it's translation. I don't think they will legalize a translation other than one in English. So you will certainly need an English translation.

The point is whether the marriage is recognized in the EU citizen's home country, not the country they are going to.

I suggest you do an internet search on "legalisation and apostilisation" of marriage certificates and in particular those requirements pertaining to the Czech republic. If you can't demonstrate to the Czechs that you are not married, you won't qualify.

The UK accepts translations of foreign documents as long as they are translated by a competent translator. Other countries require more evidence than this. You are not proposing to move to the UK, so what the UK does is not relevant.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

It's how it works at a practical level here. If your government says it accepts you are legally married, they must accept that for visa purposes.

They are not going to refer every visa application to the supreme/high court for an adjudication as to the validity of the marriage.

Going back to the original posters question it may very well be that the Czech embassy will accept a czech translation without it being legalized. I only know I applied to the French embassy's visa agent with both a French and English translation of my marriage certificate and they preferred the English one as it had a legalization stamp on it, otherwise they said they would have to refer to my embassy to confirm the legality of my marriage.

I had you confused with the original poster. Your experiences of France pertain to France.

To clarify, member states may request that a document be translated, legalised or appostilised prior to accepting them.

[tebee]

Sorry to confuse you, yes the OP needs to find what documents the Czech embassy require, but if they want it legalized, it's going to have to be in English. If it is just a certified czech translation it's worth checking with them embassy if they have a list of approved translators who can produce abd certify documents that are accepted.

Again, in my case there is the Alliance Francaise, who are on the French embassy site. All their work is stamped as approved certifed translations and does not need further certification. They were also cheaper than the translators we had used before !

I'm a firm believer that the way to a bureaucrat's heart is to give them pieces of paper with as many stamps of approval on as possible. This makes it easier for them to find one that matches what their script says, so they can put a tick in the box next to it without having to think too much or worry they are doing the right thing.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Sorry to confuse you

This was completely of my own doing - can get a bit goggle-eyed at times!

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

The following pertains to the Netherlands, but I use it as as an example because it is reasonably clear.

http://southafrica.nlembassy.org/servic ... icate.html

Marry in country A (have marriage certificate in language A)
Translate to language of country B
Have translation and marriage certificate legalised in country A
Have that document legalised by country B (usually in the embassy of B in country A)
Use marriage certificate in country B.

The point of the above is that country A verifies that the certificate is genuine; embassy of B verifies that this has been done in accordance with the rules of country A; country B should now accept the foreign document.