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Bringing my wife to Spain

Discussion in 'Europe Wide Visa Discussions' started by Justin Mitchell, Nov 2, 2013.

  1. shengsei1990
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    shengsei1990 Member

    Hi there, i have a related topics here ☺️. We just got married with a beautiful and wonderfull day, luckily no rain (with the unpredictable weather here in UK). And were planning to have a vacation in Europe. Do i need a visitors visa? Im sorting my documents and filling up the form now for my FLR. So soon i will have a BRP. My husband want to have a vacation and show me europe. But were worried now about the visa i got and philippine passport i have at the momment. Am i allowed to have a holiday in Europe as a spouse of a British National??...

    My husband also have an offer of a 6months contract work in Belgium. With the visa i had, am i okay to stay with him in Belgium??
  2. Timmers
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    Timmers Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    You will need a visa shengsei1990 @JohnAsh was the last one I know that applied for a Spanish visa.

    I think you will need a visa for each country you visit, you would have to check the Embassy website of every country you intend visiting for clarification.
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2015
  3. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    A schengan will cover all of the schengan area but you should apply to your principle destination country or if its a tour the first point of entry
    • Agree Agree x 1
  4. Timmers
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    Timmers Well-Known Member Trusted Member

  5. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    At least its free
  6. Timmers
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    Timmers Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    There are small consolations for us Keith :)
    • Like Like x 1
  7. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    We proper Europeans dont have these little bureaucratic problems:rolleyes:
  8. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    For Spain it meant a trip to London. But it does depend on where you live. For some it is a trip to Manchester, for example.

    Not sure about Belgium.

    It many cases, it means a trip to London.
  9. shengsei1990
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    shengsei1990 Member

    O
    ohhh gosh,,, if we will have a vacation for 3 days in Barcelona i need a spanish visa, and if we will visit a friend in germany for 2 days i will also need a german visa? Ohhh God, means every country we will have a vacation i need a visa??? Ohhhhh its so shame now ... Were planning to visit a friend in Germany for a week, and then in Spain, ohhh dear, i feel down now. Im already excited with our plan to europe, and now i need another documents and file a visa to travel. Goshhh ....
  10. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Not sure that is so. Just one visa but multiple entry.
  11. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    you clearly didnt read or understand post 23
  12. Joe joe
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    Joe joe New Member

    Hi guys I'm new to this but this site seems the most useful :) I'm in UK I'm British, and have a filipina wife in manila. We married nov 3 2015,
    I'm thinking to go to Spain and bring her over that way with both our kids who have British passports being processed now. I want to ask what kind of process is proving to be the most successful as far as bringing them over to Europe?? Thanks in advance guys :)
  13. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    If you dont meet the spouse visa requirements then you are free to enter any of the European countries as a right under free movement Spain also has an accelerated naturalisation process for Filipinas as an ex colony

    If you work there for some one or are self ermployed its possible to return to the UK after a few months under the Surinder Singh route

    here is a great guide for Ireland with the route laid out its the same thing more or less for every where read it and you will understand more

    P,S we did it in Portugal

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/231192464/Surinder-Singh-for-Newbies
  14. duncan1960
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    duncan1960 Member

    Not been on this site for ages .
    What with the changes to said site and one thing and another.
    Much has happened.
    This is a condensed version.
    Ok we got married in July in the Philippines.
    Started to apply for the schengen visa for Spain.
    They started to be somewhat difficult to deal with over our Philippine marriage certificate being registered in the UK
    This is not possible in the Philippines.
    So we applied to Malta for the schengen visa.
    Got that and came to Spain in October last year.
    We are currently in the process of the residence card application for my wife.
    If you belong to Facebook there are a number of help groups for couples doing the ss route.
  15. CampelloChris
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    CampelloChris Well-Known Member

    Hi Duncan - this is Chris - Melody's husband. Congratulations on managing to circumvent the ridiculous process regarding Spain and their refusals.

    KeithAngel. As Duncan has said, the Spanish require a Recognition of Foreign Marriage Certificate before they will accept your marriage certificate, and your marriage as being genuine. This is only available once you are both in Spain.

    This refusal enables them to breach 2004/38/EC and the Spanish equivalent RD240/2007, but to be honest, they don't care if it's in breach or not. Taking them to court will cost (and I got a quotation on this) around 7500 euros, plus it will take two years or so.

    Melody and I are now on our third visa application as of the 22nd (this Friday).

    Our first application was rejected on a number of grounds after we were given terrible advice (including being told to buy a plane ticket - 1017 euros - instead of making a reservation - 20 euros)

    Our second application was rejected because the Spanish refused to accept the marriage as being genuine without the British recognition certificate. This blew me out of the water, together with any arguments regarding the transference of right to Non-EU family members etc etc.

    Therefore the only option left was to attempt a standalone tourist visa. This is what we are applying for tomorrow (Friday)

    I could coach you through, but remember that you would need a tarjeta de residencia in Spain before you could really attempt to bring your wife to Spain under the SS route. For this, you will need a job, either in Spain or in the UK, (for which, for some reason you could do while living in Spain), or be a man of independent means. Otherwise, you won't be allowed to be resident in Spain, freedom of movement or not. If they (the Spanish) think you could be a burden on their welfare system, then they will reject your application.

    My personal advice based on personal experience is to try another route. The Spanish are quite resolute in their ignorance, and pretty brazen in their flaunting of laws and regulations.

    In their defence, were the British Government to issue the recognition certificate in Manila, we would all have none of these problems. Perhaps in that, you have the answer as to why they don't.

    UPDATE***
    Yet again, the visa application was refused. Throughout the lead-up to this application, I was in contact with the consulate, making sure that all the t's were crossed and the i's dotted.

    I made a flight reservation, Melody bought travel and health insurance, we provided reason for travel - a confirmed appointment with the British consulate in Alicante to obtain a Recognition of Foreign Marriage Certificate, I sent Melody more than the 65 euros a day minimum amount, and provided a carta de invitacion from the Policia Nacional. Melody filled out (up) the form correctly, provided her passport, a photo and a big brown envelope.

    And they turned us down again

    They say:
    There is no reason given for the visit
    She has not shown that she has enough money with which to make the trip
    The information provided was not reliable
    There is reason to doubt that she would return at the end of the trip

    We have been completely transparent with this application, and followed their instructions to the letter, and yet have been turned down for the third time. It isn't possible to appeal to Madrid as they demand a solicitor (1000's) SOLVIT came up empty-handed, the Contentious Administrative appeal demand a solicitor, the Citizen's Advice can't help.

    My wife is completely flattened by this third refusal. I'm genuinely worried for her.
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2016
  16. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

  17. Joe joe
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    Joe joe New Member

    Than
    thank you so much for the link!!! I think this is really going to help! After reading this there seems to be everything needed in order to apply for my wife to join me in any eu country. I would just like to ask though, if we make the application along with cover letters and all marriage documents is there any idea on how long the response would be for the visa? Reason being is I'm slowly running low on funds as I'm paying rent and bills in UK, and rent and bills in the Philippines, so essentially I would love to know if I have her get all documents physically and walk into A consulate or whether application would be done online? I will go to any eu country that will accept them and is easiest route.
  18. duncan1960
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    duncan1960 Member

    If you don't have a specific reason or need to come to Spain my advice would be to go to Malta.
    Far easier to deal with for the Schengen visa application.
    English widely spoken
    Residence cards would appear to be issued quickly.
    100% I would not have come to Spain if not for owning my house here .
    For those wanting to ultimately end up in the UK Spain certainly don't make it straight forward when they think they are above the European laws which overrides national law.
    But as a previous poster mentioned you try to take them on ....
    Forget it.
    Who advised you to purchase flights ?
    Not even for the regular tourist schengen visa do you buy flights this is stated on the Schengen visa application information pages.
    It makes me cross that so called experts give out false information.
    I was in an immigration lawyer office with a friend of mine and the so called lawyer tried to tell me I had submitted the wrong form for my wife residence card application.
    It had been accepted for Christ's sake.
    There is more chance for a refusal on the regular tourist schengen visa application than on the spouse visa application.
    Stamping a refusal on the passport is also wrong under some ruling or other.
    Apply to another European country for the Schengen visa once you have it you are at liberty to travel to any other schengen zone country.
    It is your right as a European citizen.
  19. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member


    As you will have read you can all enter any European Country other than your own for 90 days without any restriction after which you , the EU must be either Working (vital for the UK to accept yoou all back) Swelf Sufficient or a student both with hwealth insurance for the family So a plan for work and enough reserves to set up are the critical stratergy,s It might be that a tourist visa 60 euros will be the easiest route with an ignorant and entitled Embassy The Germans are probably the most correct for free movement it is slowly become harder to get government departments to obey the law

    It is possible for her to travel without a visa to Morroco say as Filipinas are visa exempt and then aproach Spain via Ceuta or Mellila armed with the directive but there are no gaurantees in this world if I were you I would join face book groups like this one EEA Free Movement

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/650...=1081913838525799&notif_t=group_comment_reply

    And write this post here but with out a work plan and "enough" resources unless you have in country support it may not be easy
  20. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    Whilst what you say is correct some enterprising folk have managed to do there route in Spain without any interface with the Spanish Authorities and return to the UK sucsessfully

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