# Sticky  Schengen visa and spouse visa/BRP



## Joppa

Questions are often asked if you hold a spouse/partner visa or biometric residence permit, can you travel through other EU countries without visa? Since most other EU countries are covered by Schengen visa, the reply only deals with it.
If you are a visa national for the Schengen countries, the fact that having a UK spouse visa doesn't exempt you from obtaining Schengen visa. Some non-Schengen countries like Ireland may have special rule for UK spouse visa holder, which you need to find out from the country in question. Often their embassy website in London carries details. So for example if you are an Indian national, hold UK spouse visa and want to visit France, you will require Schengen visa in advance - it can't be obtained at the French border, and without it you will be refused to board the flight or Eurostar to France. The fact you hold spouse visa does mean your application will be fast-tracked (at least in theory), you don't have to give details about booked accommodation etc (i.e. you don't need to answer questions on visa application form marked with *) and no fees are charged. Also you are more likely to be issued with a visa valid a year or more (but each stay is limited to 90 in 180 days) so you don't have to get a new visa for each trip. 

If you are here under the EU regulations as a family member of non-UK EEA citizen, and you have residence card valid 5 years, then you don't need Schengen visa, provided you travel with your EEA partner or you are joining your partner at the destination. So if you are married to a German citizen and you hold residence card issued by Home Office, you can travel to Spain without Schengen visa with your partner. Such residence card is called Article 10 residence card. Also if you are in UK after utilising Surinder Singh provision and hold residence card, you can visit without Schengen visa. Remember, you must hold residence card and not just EEA family permit or certificate of application (COA), and you must travel with your partner or are reuniting with them. Otherwise you require Schengen visa.


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## zakmuh

A long waited excellent answer!

Cheers


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## Joppa

For organised school trip, she doesn't require a Schengen visa, provided the trip is accompanied by a teacher and she travels with them. 
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...-school-pupils-resident-in-member-state-eun07


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## wijibintheuk

Hi Joppa, thanks for all your work and information as usual. 

I am a UK citizen, and my spouse is a South African citizen here in the UK on a spousal visa. He has held two previous two year Schengen visas (before we were married). The last visa has just expired, and so we need to apply for the next one. This will be through the Italian Embassy. My question is, that in the past he has applied for a business visa, and some of the trips are for business. 

However, would you suggest applying for just a tourist visa as the spouse of a UK citizen or should he just apply for a business visa in his own right as a South African citizen? I notice that you said that he should not have to pay any fee if applying as a spouse of a UK citizen - is this a general rule for all Schengen visa applications? And lastly, would it mean that we would always have to travel together, or could he travel independently on the Schengen visa if it is acquired on the basis of being the spouse of a UK citizen? 

Thanks for any help you may be able to offer. 

Warwick


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## Joppa

There is only one kind of Schengen visa, called Type C, for both tourist and business visit. She can get it free on the basis of marriage to you, and she can travel on her own.


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## wijibintheuk

Thank you Joppa


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## supreet130880

Hi Joppa! Thank you for all your help with my Biometric Resident Permit.
I'm now in the UK and looking to go to Greece for my honeymoon with my husband who is a British Citizen and I'm an Indian national. I spoke to VFS regarding visa application from the UK and they said that apart from the standard tourist visa, I may be eligible for EU/EEA spouse visa that requires less documents, has no visa fees and can be obtained without prior appointment from London. Although this sounds way better, they left the decision of my eligibility & choice of visa to me. Considering I'm on a temporary resident permit valid till 2018 am I ok applying under the short stay EU/EEA spouse category? It would make life much simpler if that's allowed. 

Thanks in advance!


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## Joppa

Yes. You are entitled to a priority application and no visa fees.


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## supreet130880

Thanks Joppa you are a star!  Truly appareciate the clarity this forum brings.


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## bhum

Hi everyone. 

I wanted to ask what documents are actually needed for a Schengen visa for portugal? 
I am a british citizen and husband indian citizen. We want to travel to portugal for a short holiday... just wondering how i can obtain the visa?


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## Joppa

Just go to the Portuguese embassy in London site and look up Schengen visa for family member of EEA citizen.


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## bhum

Joppa said:


> Just go to the Portuguese embassy in London site and look up Schengen visa for family member of EEA citizen.


Okay thanks joppa. I did go on the website but could not find anything regarding family member of EEA citizen...i havent a clue if im actually looking at the right thing. But when i do click on visa its not letting me go to the page.


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## RavenOaxley

*Hi Joppa*

I am a Philippine passport holder with 5 year ILE BRP and married to a British national. We are planning to go Paris, Greece, Italy and Spain. Those are part of Schengen area right? Do i need to apply for a schengen visa? Thank you so much.


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## Joppa

Yes, until you get naturalised as British citizen.


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## Joppa

bhum said:


> Okay thanks joppa. I did go on the website but could not find anything regarding family member of EEA citizen...i havent a clue if im actually looking at the right thing. But when i do click on visa its not letting me go to the page.


You haven't looked closely enough!
Go to Online Visa Application - Portal das Comunidades Portuguesas / Vistos, click Visa Form and only complete details without * as family member of EEA citizen.


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## bhum

Joppa said:


> You haven't looked closely enough!
> Go to Online Visa Application - Portal das Comunidades Portuguesas / Vistos, click Visa Form and only complete details without * as family member of EEA citizen.


Thanks joppa. Sorry i just didnt realise it was another website. Thank you so much for the link.


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## bhum

Also i read somewhere that i need to provide a whole load of supporting documents is that true for EEA family members? And is there a fee?


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## Joppa

No. Just your marriage certificate, EU citizen's passport, applicant's passport. Marriage certificate may have to be apostilled (legalised) - check Embassy site or contact them.


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## bhum

Joppa said:


> No. Just your marriage certificate, EU citizen's passport, applicant's passport. Marriage certificate may have to be apostilled (legalised) - check Embassy site or contact them.


Thanks joppa. Your help is much appreciated


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## Rosalindmct

Hello there, Thanks so much for this. I just wanted to clarify a couple of points.

I am a UK citizen, my husband is a US citizen here on a UK spousal visa, he now has his UK residents permit card. If we want to travel within Europe does he need to apply for a schengen visa? My understanding is that he doesn't need one because he will be travelling on a US passport? He will obviously travel with his UK BRP and will be with me the whole time anyway. Would we be eligible for an EEA permit? Would that make life easier? Any help much appreciated.

Many Thanks


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## AuroraSkye

Rosalindmct said:


> Hello there, Thanks so much for this. I just wanted to clarify a couple of points.
> 
> I am a UK citizen, my husband is a US citizen here on a UK spousal visa, he now has his UK residents permit card. If we want to travel within Europe does he need to apply for a schengen visa?  My understanding is that he doesn't need one because he will be travelling on a US passport? He will obviously travel with his UK BRP and will be with me the whole time anyway. Would we be eligible for an EEA permit? Would that make life easier? Any help much appreciated.
> 
> Many Thanks


He doesn't need a schengen visas as a US citizen. He is perfectly fine traveling on just his US passport and BRP. You don't need an EEA permit either as he has a spouse visa and already in the UK. ^-^


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## LouiseBrown

Hey Joppa. Just wondering if this is still the case if you haven't held your UK spouse visa for over 5 years? I've only been living in the UK permanently since 2014 with hubs (who is from Leeds, UK). We're looking to travel to one of the Greek islands for a holiday and I'm wondering whether there might be complications. I've found quite a bit of info online but I think it's always better to get personal experiences wherever possible. Thank you!


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## miss lara

Hello Joppa,
I just want to ask a quick question.My mom has the Residence Card of a Family Member of a Union Citizen(Art.le 10) and she wants to come visit my dad who reside in the UK.I would like to know with the RC of family Union, does she have to present other documents(what are they??) or does she have to apply for the EEA family permit? Can she travel on her own or her spouse must travel with her?

Many thanks!
Lara


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## thehazards

Just a few tips on getting a Schengen Visa that I've gained as a spouse of a United Kingdom citizen. 

Although the UK is currently in the European Union, and the Schengen Agreement should allow you to travel freely with your spouse / family member in the EU, most EU countries will not let you in without a visa unless your UK Residence Card says something very like "Residence Card of a Family Member of an EEA National / Union Citizen" and it will only say that if you're in the UK as the family member of someone who is from another EU country and not the UK. If your family member is British, your residence card will merely say "Spouse / Partner leave to remain" and that is insufficient to travel without a visa, even if you take your marriage certificate with you. There are some posts on another immigration board which suggest it can be done but we tried to enter the Netherlands for 7 hours sightseeing (whilst in transit to China at Schipol) and spent about 3 hours trying to convince successively senior border guards to let me in. In the end, we gave up as time was running out. Luckily I had an onwards ticket to China, otherwise they said they would have held me in custody, deported me and fined the airline for flying me there without a visa. I'm not going to bother trying again.

However, the Schengen Agreement expressly provides that “Member States shall grant family members every facility to obtain the necessary visas. Such visas must be issued free of charge as soon as possible and on the basis of an accelerated procedure.” 

Thus you are entitled to a free Schengen visa and you don't need to fill out the fields in the form marked with a * or provide financial and employment details. You do need travel tickets but I've often used tickets which I can cancel/change to get a long multiple entry visa that I can use on other dates or when travelling by other means (not necessarily to the EU country where I applied). You also don't need to provide insurance documents but I always have them in case. You also don't need an itinerary or proof of accommodation / inviting letters etc.

Annoyingly, you will have to book an appointment at the Embassy, Consulate or visa application centre (e.g. VFS, TLS) even if you've had your biometric details collected previously: your previous Schengen visa is then marked with [VIS]. You will also have to pay any handling fee and courier fees to the visa application centre. This is really not the supposed "accelerated procedure" for those who don't live anywhere near London or perhaps Manchester or Edinburgh (VFS seem to have closed their Cardiff office ). If anyone knows how to get a Schengen visa to any country without an appointment, then please reply below. I am aware you can get a French visa from TLS using a 3rd party agent if you previously had a biometric [VIS] visa and you can a Belgium visa by post on 2nd and subsequent applications.

Hope this info helps.


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## Brom143

Hi Joppa can I ask what if an applicant who is in the UK on a spouse visa plans to travel to Spain but not with the husband, travelling with friends instead, is he/she still entitled to get a free Schengen visa? Does that make any difference? Thank you. 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


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## chr125

If youre getting a schengen dont get one from Spain. They are the worst they refered me to their agency which is run by Indians. They kept us waiting for 2 hrs, no seats nothing. They charged me £2 for the texing service which I didnt ask for they just added it to the bill and charged me £15 for sending my passport back. The rate should have been £6.


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## chr125

Brom143 said:


> Hi Joppa can I ask what if an applicant who is in the UK on a spouse visa plans to travel to Spain but not with the husband, travelling with friends instead, is he/she still entitled to get a free Schengen visa? Does that make any difference? Thank you.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


When you get your schengen you can do what you want. But when you apply for it you must show some sort of prelim travel plans for spouse and applicant, doent have to be booked. Some embassys will only give a single entry limited days job. Others give multiple ent 6 month 90 day job


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## PloyDee

*Fiance Visa and Schengen*

Hi Joppa,

How does this process differ for a Fiance Visa? I have just been granted a UK fiance visa and I plan to travel to the UK on Dec 20th 2017. My fiance and I plan to get married in May 2018. I understand that the Fiance visa is multi entry up until you get Married. We would like to celebrate Christmas in Germany with my fiances family (Fiance is Half German- no German passport though).

I previously got a Schengen Visa Last December for Germany and at that time I was visiting the UK on a Visitor Visa.

I now plan to apply for a Schengen Visa before I depart Thailand. We intend to travel to Germany on December 22nd 2017. Previously, I provided details of my employment, wages and intention to return to Thailand. My fiance will be sponsoring me for this trip. However how should I approach the application now as I have a UK fiance visa and I do not intend to return to Thailand.

Your help would be greatly appreciated as I cannot find this answer anywhere.

Thank you so much!

Ploypassorn


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## Brom143

I was told I can apply for a France Schengen Visa in Manchester. Is this true? As far as I know it can only be done in London. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## nyclon

Brom143 said:


> I was told I can apply for a France Schengen Visa in Manchester. Is this true? As far as I know it can only be done in London.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


You have to apply at a Consulate or Embassy. As far as I know France does not have a Consulate or Embassy in Manchester.


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## ingrindwecrust

I read online that you have to have been residing in the UK for 3 months before applying for the visa. Is this true?


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## Bugs_bunny16

Hello, 

Ive planned a holiday in Spain in Jan2018, but my UK Spouse Visa expires in Feb 2018. Ive read on the Spanish Visa website that "Your residence permit must be valid for at least another 90 days beyond your return date from Schengen area". Can you please advise if this is true? unfortunately, I booked my tickets and hotels already!


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## reah

I have just received my Fiance visa which is valid from 13 Dec 17 to 13 June 18. I wish to travel with my fiance in the month of March 2018 to Hungary & other Schengen countries. I have few questions:

Do I need to apply for Schengen Visa?
If yes, from India or can I apply from the UK as well?
If I have to apply from India then it is a rule to apply within 90 days from travel which is not currently. So what should I do? any advice?
Also within how many days do I need to enter the UK from the fiance visa received? 
Please respond. Thank you.


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## urv.arora

Hi, I do not have BRP as my Visa application has been filed with UK embassy. So I have UK Visa application reference number. Can I apply for schengen Visa while waiting for BRP to come (which will take around 6 weeks from now)


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## Billybaldeh

Hi Everyone,
Last year I had to travel to London to obtain a Spanish tourist visa for my non EU wife, although it was painless the visa was only issued for a short period after the holiday.
My question is, why are we not given a longer visa as we may wish to travel again this year.

It seems EU citizens with non EU partners get preferential treatment as if they have a residence permit they do not even need a UK visa?
Also they can no doubt apply for a 6 month or longer visa allowing entry at any time.

WHERE IS THE EQUALITY???


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## aono87

*UK spouse BRP, US citizen, Spanish visa needed*

Hi there, 

I am a US citizen that has been living in the UK on a spouse visa for four years with my british citizen husband. In one year (June 2019) I will be able to apply for permanent residency. I have just begun a Phd between two universities, one in the UK and one in Spain. I will continue to live in the UK however, I will be enrolled at and paid by the university in Spain for two years come this September 2018. I will also have to take some trips to Spain for 1-3 weeks at a time. I am having a difficult time figuring out how to go about this. I understand I will need a visa to be a student in Spain. Is this a visa I can apply for from the UK with my current spouse visa? Is applying for a visa for another country going to impact my application for permanent leave to remain in one years time? Thanks for any advice!


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## Travelling Surfer83

Good evening, 

Another Schengen question..I'm hoping to travel to Iceland in March with my Filipino wife who has a spouse visa and BRP to reflect this. Obviously she needs a Schengen visa which we have to obtain through the Danish embassy (via VFS), but will she be applying as the family member of an EU/EEA national.? I've seen it stated that UK nationals don't become EU nationals until they leave the UK. The wording and guidance seems confusing. It's important because the required documents change slightly and it could mean we can just turn up without making a booking. Any thoughts are most welcome. I have contacted VFS direct but have had no reply as of yet.


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## HamzahB28

Does the schengen visa cover all the places you can go with a british passport without visa basically??


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## Billybaldeh

In the EU, yes, you get the Schengen visa for the country you will go first then my understanding is you can use it whilst it lasts to travel to other Schengen countries. Be aware that my last Schengen visa for Spain was only lasting for three weeks.


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## Rup985

So useful information.


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