Schengen Visas

overworked_underpaid

I was wondering if anyone has ever applied for a Schengen visa and know what is the easiest way of obtaining this. I understand that if you get a multiple entry Schengen visa you are entitled to travel to any of the 15 member countries. Having looked at the various consulate websites for these countries, I have noticed that they charge different fees and the time they take to process the application seems to vary. Furthermore, some of them require you to make a telephone appointment on a premium rate number in advance (French Embassy, 09065 xxx xxx). To make matters worse, you need to make the booking 2 months in advance and there is no guarantee that you will get the visa as they run a quota system.

I require this visa for my wife as she has a resident visa on her non-British passport.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

alanrowell

Are you sure your wife needs a Schengen visa as members of Schengen may not require a visa for citizens of particular countries.

http://www.expedia.co.uk/daily/service/passport.asp?rfrr=-1474#Europe

overworked_underpaid

Yes, she does because she is not a British National.

landmark

You can legally apply up to a maximum of 8 weeks for your partner's Shengen Visa. The Embassy are obliged to accept your application from that time.

It costs nothing to process it if your wife is married to an UK resident citizen (normal price £60 for multiple entry)

The varying prices you mention are for agents (consulur Officers with offices outside London).

Apply online and download and print the pdf acrobat Shengen Visa application form. Fill it out and post it to the French Embassy yourself with all suporting documentation given by the Website for the French Embassy. Do this right on the 8 week mark to ensure the visa will come through in time. Optimal processing time is 6 to 8 weeks and applications for more than 8 weeks will be refused. You can buy your air ticket now, but if as in my case the visa fails to arrive in time (because I applied 6 weeks prior to travel and the visa came 6 and half weeks after applying), you can apply for cancellation insurance or complain as I did. However, complaints for damages take years to resolve involving the Ombudsman and the small claims court.

alanrowell

overworked_underpaid wrote:

Yes, she does because she is not a British National.

Even though they may be a member of Schengen, it doesn't mean that each country treats non-EU, non-Schengen citizens the same way.

Most countries have a list of nationalities who don't need a visa in order to visit but this list varies depending upon the country.

For example citizens of American Samoa don't need a visa to enter Austria for up to 3 months, but they do in order to visit Spain.

However in Denmark OP's wife doesn't need a visa because she has a right of abode in the UK, even though she isn't a UK citizen.

overworked_underpaid

According to the Danish Embassy website, she still requires a visa but there is no fees for this and you still need to ring a premium rate number (£1.00) a minute to book an appointment.

alanrowell

Sorry for Denmark I misread the note 3a which is about different categories of British Citizen and not, as I thought, about different categories of British Resident.

overworked_underpaid

landmark wrote:

you can apply for cancellation insurance or complain as I did. However, complaints for damages take years to resolve involving the Ombudsman and the small claims court.

How do you apply for cancellation insurance. I have had a look a few travel insurance policies and I cannot see anything that relates to this type of scenerio, i.e. cancellation due to late arrival or refusal of visa.

landmark

overworked_underpaid wrote:

How do you apply for cancellation insurance. I have had a look a few travel insurance policies and I cannot see anything that relates to this type of scenerio, i.e. cancellation due to late arrival or refusal of visa.

The insurance idea has not been tried by me, and was thus a speculative idea; sorry it came to nothing. However, I should suggest you take a chance [with the latter way that I have done] since it is the only dignified thing a reasonable person can do; bearing in mind that if there are any delays/refusals, you have every right to appeal and claim damages on the premise that you have the right to access economy fares as opposed to the more expensive flexible tickets; this being a point of law. Good luck with your arrangements and happy holidays.

Murtle

I don't think many would allow cancellation fees to be reimbursed by insurance as " you should be advised to ensure you have a valid visa before purchasing tickets" fat lot of good that is, when you often need the return part to show you don't plan on staying.

However, as for getting the visa -my ex, got there tickets and went to the French embassy they were easier to deal with at the time and completed it in a couple of hours. A travel agent may be able to advise better now. The Spanish embassy was a nightmare so didn't bother with them. HOwever, as far as I remember you are meant to obtain the visa from the country of your first port of call. I don't know how stictly this is checked though....or how - as if you needed it for work, and then they cancelled etc.....

cruyff73

If your visiting a number of different countries in the same trip, you need to apply to the country where you are spending the most time. Whilst you have to pay a service charge I would recommend you use one of the consular agencies. They can guarantee you'll get the visa quickly and will also check your application before it is submitted. All you have to do in the majority of cases is fill in the forms and send them off to them.