Post
by Ticktack » Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:44 am
Family members include:
a spouse, including a spouse of the same sex as clarified by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in its Coman judgment C-673/16;
a registered partner, if the applicable legislation treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage;
direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependants, and those of the spouse or registered partner;
dependent direct relatives in the ascending line, as well as those of the spouse or registered partner.
Applicants with family-member status do not have to pay the EUR 7 application fee. Their application will also not be checked against screening rules on illegal immigration.
These exemptions apply to you if you meet the following conditions:
1. You are a family member of a European Union citizen and Directive 2004/38/EC applies to you, or a family member of a national of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland who enjoys the right of free movement equivalent to that of EU citizens.
Important: This only concerns family members of citizens of the forementioned countries travelling to or residing in a country other than that of their nationality;
2. you are not required to hold a visa;
3. you do not hold a residence card pursuant to Directive 2004/38/EC or a residence permit pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002.
You must meet all these conditions to be eligible for an ETIAS travel authorisation with the family member status.
Example 1
You are a Mexican citizen. You are the spouse of a French national, and you want to visit her in France, where she lives.
In the ETIAS application form do not declare yourself as a family member, as Directive 2004/38/EC does not apply to you. You need to apply for an ETIAS travel authorisation without family-member status and pay the fee of EUR 7.
Please note if you declare yourself as a family member in the ETIAS application form, your statement will not be considered truthful. In this case, your ETIAS travel authorisation may be revoked and you may be denied entry at the border of France.
Example 2
You are an American citizen. You are 17 years old and the son of a French national, and you want to visit your father in Spain, where he lives.
When filling in the ETIAS application form, you may declare yourself as a family member, as Directive 2004/38/EC does apply to you when travelling to Spain. You will not need to pay the fee of EUR 7. You will be required to prove your family status at the border of Spain, otherwise you may be denied entry and your ETIAS travel authorisation may be revoked.
Please note, in this example, your ETIAS travel authorisation is not valid for travelling to France.
If you wish to travel to France, you will need to apply for a new ETIAS travel authorisation without declaring family-member status and pay the fee of EUR 7. This ETIAS travel authorisation will be valid in all the European countries requiring ETIAS, regardless of your status as a family member.
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