Visas, bank statements and letters of invitation

[Latintraveller]

Today my wife and I handed our our documents to the Consulate after applying for her and her son's visas. Since I am British we are applying under EU treaty rights.

Just a couple of things of concern though. We were charged about 200 euro in Consulate fees. Also we have been asked to return in a few days with bank statements, a letter of invitation, a flight reservation and a statement of why she wishes to live in Ireland.

This document provided by the EU though states

What documents are required?
The right of entry of your third country family members is derived from their family ties with
you, an EU citizen. All the consular officials can ask for is their passport and a document
establishing their family ties with you, such as a marriage or birth certificate and proof
of dependence, where applicable. Your family members cannot be asked to present
documents such as travel tickets, employment certificate, pay slips, bank statements, proof
of accommodation and means of subsistence or a medical certificate

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies/ci ... nt_low.pdf

Also this document does not mention bank statements, letter of invitation etc. under the relevant section.

http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Jo ... sh_Citizen

I think they are basically trying there luck with us though. If though we were to refuse to provide such documents could it prove counterproductive as they are the ones holding the trump cards at the end of the day?

[jeupsy]

EUTR visa applications should be reviewed free of charge and they should not be asking for banks statements or plane tickets (not sure about the letter, but I think a letter stating that both of you are in a genuine marriage and intend to live toghether in Irleand is easy to do and wouldn't hurt).

However ...

When my girlfriend (non EEA) applied for an EUTR visa in order to join me in Ireland, they also requested a fee and asked for documents that were not suposed to be required (no plane ticket though, but they did ask for 6 months history of my bank statements and a letter from her swearing that she will not become a burden to the Irish State (!!!), amongst other irrelevant things). They were actually annoying as they kept calling and asking for new documents evey week for a month which stalled the application.

The solicitor I was talking to told me that they were not supposed to ask for these things, but as I had them and they made the application look even stronger it was probably better to give it to them and not start a conflict; which I thought made sense so that's what we did and she eventually got the visa.

I think the issue is that some staff at the embassies are used to asking for a lot of documents and in some case are not aware of the specificities of EUTR applications (even though we had attached a letter clearly stating our rights and the EUTR rules with the application ... but I guess they didn't bother checking). You have to balance if the easiest thing for you is to just give them what they want or to force them to obbey the rules. If it is easy for you to provide the docuements/fee, it probably is the easiest route. If it is causing you issues you can try to push back, but even though you are right and should eventually get what you want, it might take more time and energy.

And FYI the decision on the visa application is not made at the embassy. Once the embassy guy is satisfied that you have provided all the docuements, he will send your application to the EUTR team in Dublin. These guys know the rules and will only examine what is relevant to make a decision, and forward that decision to the embassy which will issue the visa on he passports if the decision is positive.