Spain Schengen Visa

Hmm I thought you could get any schengen visa and go to any schengen country. I read that it's easy once you're married. Ugh I must read inaccurate stuff. Silly me thinking anything would be easy!!!

It seems it depends on the country and where one lives in the UK. For me, getting to the UK mainland is a trek and an extra cost at the outset. Basically, we have to leave the island to get one for my wife. Except possibly where postal applications are accepted.

Spain don't appear to take postal applications and require the applicant to appear in person. Where you are required to appear depends on where you live. It can be one of Edinburgh, Manchester or London. For us it is prescriptively London, despite being north of Manchester where we are.

Some countries are easier to get Schengen visas for than others.

Another point is this. Despite the rules, some of the Schengen countries insist on proof of accomodation and flights...basically itinerary. We dont want to take any risks. Our holiday isnt a test of the Schengen visa system. Its our vacation and we want to guarantee it before we fly.

Roll on citizenship. So we can leave this crap behind us.

If anyone has a foolproof or proven way around this I would be glad to hear it. But havent seen or heard one so far. Perhaps the way around it is not to choose Spain. Or wait for citizenship

Well the whole thing is a bloody nightmare. Not a single part of it is easy it seems. I hope you find a way round it.

I think I will. It will just be a big faff and cost time and money.

Go Portugal again

The problem was wanting to go on holiday to a warm country in December. Mainland Spain and Portugal is out. Thats why we picked the Canaries.

Maybe we should have gone to Pinas. But my wife didnt want the long flight with the baby.

Ahh I see. How old is your daughter now John? It is a long flight but she may well sleep through the majority if timed correctly. Think the wife would like to take the little-un back home especially if it's on a free ticket I'd like to go to Canaries but I think we will get the FLR out the way first. The Atlantic has great visibility for diving, certainly around Lanzarote.

She is almost 2. But the Mrs wants her to have her own seat for a trip to Pinas and wants her at a stage when she will sit still for spells. Her friend took their toddler to the Philippines a few months back and said it was difficult.

Yes you can but, strictly speaking, you have to apply for a visa for your main destination. If you have no main destination you apply to the Schengen country you enter first.

I think they can ask for that to prevent abuse of the system so that travellers apply to the most convenient embassy, rather than the country of their main destination.

Ahh okay. Yep I recall taking my daughter on a 4.5 hour flight when she was about three. The colouring books and games just about managed to capture her imagination for most of the flight but even then she got bored for short spells.

Appointment booked for mid October. Form filling was a massive pain, as you might expect.

Do you actually need a visa at all for Spain? I realise that you are travelling on Isle of Man passports but a quick look at the visa requirements for Spain seem to suggest that European Union passports as well as British Subject passports require no visa.

I assume that if your passport is not labelled 'European Union' then it will be a British Subject passport? I am perhaps missing something as you live on the Isle of Man and I do not. Maybe you don't have biometric passports?

My wife requires a Schengen visa to enter a country in the Schengen area. So yes.

She is required to do this until she reaches citizenship. This applies to those Filipinas that have married British citizens and who have settled in Britain.

I hold a British passport. So does my daughter who is Manx by birth. My daughter does not require a Schengen visa. Just my wife.

Hi John . I think I was a bit stupid. Fort some reason I though you were talking about your whole family would have to get visas.

No. Just my wife, who holds ILR status right now.

We are off this week to VFS in London for a Schengen visa for Spain. See how she goes...

"Processed applications can also be returned by DX Securemail couriers at an additional cost of 14.80 per passport."

http://es.vfsglobal.co.uk/london/allaboutyourvisas.html

Thats it. The application is in. It should take a week or so.

We were a couple of hours early so they saw us early. Its a short walk, 5 minutes, along quite a nice stretch of canal, from Paddington station. VFS are in the Battleship Building and are agents for a good number of Schengen states. See photo below.

They charged us £16.

And we paid £14.00 for the passport to be posted back to us by secure postage.

Finished off with a yomp across Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.

Flight tickets and hotel booking were indeed asked for.

Well John, happy days!