Visa for wife to come to Portugal

[JFT96]

Hi there,

I am a UK citizen and my wife is Thai. We have a 1 year old son who holds both UK and Thai passports.

She is currently in the UK with me on a tourist visa which expires soon. I want to remain in Europe rather than return to Thailand.

I have an apartment I am interested in located in Portugal, I am wondering if it will be possible for my wife to come with me?

Can she apply in the UK for a schegen visa and if so I take it this will only be available for 3 months? I wish to stay longer however, would it be difficult for her to obtain a longer visa or residence card?

My profession is an online poker player so therefore its not classed as full time employment. If you say it would be possible what things would I need to do in order to make it possible? We are officially married and have been for nearly 2 years.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Lucapooka]

You don't have to be exercising treaty rights for the first 3 months. After that, you do, and it sounds like you will be self-sufficient and so will need to take out comprehensive sickness insurance before your wife applies for a residence card.

However, do bear in mind that as a self-sufficient person you will not be allowed to bring your wife back to the UK under EU rules. That would require you to be exercising economic treaty rights.

[JFT96]

I wouldnt be too interested in returning to the UK currently anyway lol.

So how would one go about applying for a residence card?

[Lucapooka]

From inside Portugal. The govt. websites will have all the relevant information.

[vinny]

See also In the UK with Visitors visa - Can I Apply for Schengen Visa.

[JFT96]

I have just emailed the consulate in Manchester to ask if I can apply for a visa within the UK.

I seen the thread you posted about getting one for Belgium, so would it be possible to get one for Belgium then go straight to Portugal or would you have to go to Belgium first and would this effect any chances of getting a residence card once in Portugal?

Thanks for the replies!

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Getting a visa and getting a residence card are two separate things. As Portugal is a Schengen state, you can use any other Schengen state's visa for entry. Bear in mind that the one where you got the visa from will expect you to have at least travelled to their country.

Getting a residence card is also relatively simple. Start by reading through directive 2004/38/ec

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 123:en:PDF

[JFT96]

Thanks