EU Residence card, which line/queue at airport when visiting

[Californiaguy]

Hi,

I have a EU residence card from the UK. When I've been traveling to the continent, I usually stand in the non EU/EEA passport queue (as a US Citizen I do not need to obtain a visa beforehand) but when I come back to the UK I use the EU/EEA queue. I'm traveling this week to Norway and it occurred to me for the first time; wouldn't the same rules apply in other EU/EEA Countries; that I use the EU/EEA queue and the guards are not allowed to stamp my passport, just like the UK border guards?

Does anyone have any practical experience with this?

[Casa]

Hi,

I have a EU residence card from the UK. When I've been traveling to the continent, I usually stand in the non EU/EEA passport queue (as a US Citizen I do not need to obtain a visa beforehand) but when I come back to the UK I use the EU/EEA queue. I'm traveling this week to Norway and it occurred to me for the first time; wouldn't the same rules apply in other EU/EEA Countries; that I use the EU/EEA queue and the guards are not allowed to stamp my passport, just like the UK border guards?

Does anyone have any practical experience with this?

You're not exempt from an entry stamp in your American passport when you are travelling to other EU/EEA countries, despite your EU residence card for the UK.

[Californiaguy]

Hi,

I have a EU residence card from the UK. When I've been traveling to the continent, I usually stand in the non EU/EEA passport queue (as a US Citizen I do not need to obtain a visa beforehand) but when I come back to the UK I use the EU/EEA queue. I'm traveling this week to Norway and it occurred to me for the first time; wouldn't the same rules apply in other EU/EEA Countries; that I use the EU/EEA queue and the guards are not allowed to stamp my passport, just like the UK border guards?

Does anyone have any practical experience with this?

You're not exempt from an entry stamp in your American passport when you are travelling to other EU/EEA countries, despite your EU residence card for the UK.

Thanks for your reply. Can you explain to me why this is the case and/or give links to documentation that back this up? When I enter the UK, I go through the EU/EEA queue, am not supposed to fill out a landing card and the guards are not allowed to stamp my passport Why is the procedure different when travelling to another EU/EEA country?

[Casa]

Busy with my 'day job' which pays the bills...but no doubt someone will have the time to spare to search for the link you're looking for.

[noajthan]

Seek out the Schengen border guard operations manual. Google.
Its a good read.

[Californiaguy]

Seek out the Schengen border guard operations manual. Google.
Its a good read.

It is an excellent read. Is there an update anywhere? The one I found was from 2006.

It says:

The travel document of family members of EU,EEA and CH citizens who arethird
country nationals must also be stamped,unless they present a residence permit or card with
the indication “family member of an EU citizen” or “family member of an EEA or CH
citizen”.

Therefore, my hunch is correct, my passport is not to be stamped, though it doesn't say anything about what queue I should use. My gut tells me that as someone who has the same rights that are derived from my spouse, I should use the EU queue, but who knows if the border guards are trained in this area.

[Californiaguy]

As I suspected, the Norwegian border guards stamped my passport and didn't care about my UK residence card. When I pointed out to them that under the Schengen rules they are not supposed to stamp my passport, they were adamant that they are supposed to. So much confusion out there!

[secret.simon]

Point them to

Article 5(3)
The host Member State shall not place an entry or exit stamp in the passport of family members who are not nationals of a Member State provided that they present the residence card provided for in Article 10.

As a member of the EEA, Norway is also obliged to incorporate EU directives into national law and it acknowledges its obligations under the Directive 2004/38/EC in this document on the UDI.No (the Norwegian immigration directorate) website. Page 36 paraphrases the same requirement mentioned in the Directive above. So, it is not that the Norwegians are unaware of this requirement (not to stamp your passport if you have an Article 10 Residence Card).