Schengen EU visa advice request

[adnan1991]

Hello all,

A question on behalf of a friend and I hoped someone could assist. My friend, a british citizen from birth had his partner over for the past 2.5/3 years via the standard UK route (he is phiysically disabled and on benefits so the income threshold does not apply). On extending his spouse's visa (she is from Kashmir), he forgot to pay the IHS fee. The Home Office did get in contact informing him of this and when he tried to pay the fee, it was coming up with £0.00 so he just went ahead and it generated an IHS number. Thinking everything was done, he heard from the Home Office that the visa had been refused as the IHS fee had not been paid.

At the same time his spouse's father was severely ill so she needed to go back and be with her family, she left June 2016. As such they went down the voluntary departure route and she has been in Kashmir since. He now wishes to call her over urgently as her father has made a full recovery and they are expecting there first child in January.

He was thinking of applying to go to Ireland but has read it can take upto a year so is deciding to go somewhere in Europe. He is a full time wheelchair user so is looking at either Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Finland as they are supposed to be ok for wheelchair users and believes more speak english than France, Spain or Italy.

He wants to know if he needs to move down first or can his spouse just apply for a Schengen visa for one of the above countries embassy and once granted could he move across first and then say his spouse arrives in a few days. Or does he ideally need to be there?

Also, he has a EHIC and wants to know if his spouse would get free or reduced delivery charges at the hospital or would he have to pay full wack?

Thank you ever so much for your help.

[noajthan]

Is friend planning to work or run a business whilst executing a Surinder Singh sojourn in a memberstate?
Because UK only recognises workers and selfemployed qualified persons under the UK flavour of Surinder Singh.
A self-sufficient qualified person will not be acceptable.

Or is the move to Europe permanent (for as long as UK remains in EU)?

[adnan1991]

Hello Nathan,

He plans to work full time, if he can find a job and stay there for about 6 months and then move to Ireland and live there permanently. Hope that helps

[adnan1991]

Could anyone else provide any assistance? It would be much appreciated.

[ALKB]

He is a full time wheelchair user so is looking at either Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Finland as they are supposed to be ok for wheelchair users and believes more speak english than France, Spain or Italy.

What kind of qualification/job experience does he have?

Does he speak any German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, or Finnish?

[adnan1991]

He is a paralegal in commercial law and has done alot of CSR work around disability. Unfortunately he doesn't speak any other European language which is an area of concern when looking for work.

[noajthan]

Whether or not this turns into a SS gig, get up to speed on free movement here:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/doc ... 013_en.pdf

Country guides here:
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/ ... guide.html

[ALKB]

He is a paralegal in commercial law and has done alot of CSR work around disability. Unfortunately he doesn't speak any other European language which is an area of concern when looking for work.

Well, I don't want to rain on his parade, but has he researched his job chances in those countries at all?

Not only would he have to find an employer who needs a person just dealing with UK commercial law but also one who is okay with that person not being fluently bilingual.

I am not sure I am understanding what he is trying to do here.

The problem doesn't seem to be not meeting the financial requirement but processing times for a UK spouse visa in Pakistan?

Priority processing is now available for Pakistani applicants.

Personally, I think it would be bonkers to leave a well-paying job in the UK only to embark onto a stressful and long journey through several countries (with a baby in tow, no less) without the guarantee of finding a job at all, nevermind one that pays enough to live comfortably in a new country as a new arrival without credit history.

[ALKB]

Also, he has a EHIC and wants to know if his spouse would get free or reduced delivery charges at the hospital or would he have to pay full wack?

I can only speak for the German rules regarding health insurance but in general: an EHIC is for a specific person, not their family members.

In Germany, an EHIC would only be accepted if the person is visiting = not registered as a resident.

As soon as he registers his residence in Germany, he would need German health insurance. This is easy if he works in Germany and his family would be insured with him at no additional cost. This would include maternity.

If he does not find a job, he would have to insure himself and his family 'voluntarily' which would be quite expensive. If for some reason he would have to pay privately for delivery, this would easily go into the 7-10k € region, more if there are complications.

[adnan1991]

Thanks for the response guys.

He is not currently working and is looking for work. He would have just called his spouse here but as she went on a voluntary departure basis. They did state she could not return until a year after which is June 2017 otherwise he would not consider moving.

[Wanderer]

He is a full time wheelchair user so is looking at either Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Finland as they are supposed to be ok for wheelchair users and believes more speak english than France, Spain or Italy.

What kind of qualification/job experience does he have?

Does he speak any German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, or Finnish?

I'm living and working in Denmark now and I safely say without fair of contraception that EVERYONE speaks PERFECT English here so it's no barrier.

But Danish is is very similar to English in it's written form, I've never had any lessons in it and I find it fairly easy to read. However spoken Danish is impossible to follow, none of the words sound like they should!

The bus stop near Kobenhavens Central Railway Station is called 'Hovedbanegården', they say it something like 'Hooveberngowan'. I like in 'Sydhavn' - they say 'Soovn'.....

[Casa]

He is a full time wheelchair user so is looking at either Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Finland as they are supposed to be ok for wheelchair users and believes more speak english than France, Spain or Italy.

What kind of qualification/job experience does he have?

Does he speak any German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, or Finnish?

I'm living and working in Denmark now and I safely say without fair of contraception that EVERYONE speaks PERFECT English here so it's no barrier.

But Danish is is very similar to English in it's written form, I've never had any lessons in it and I find it fairly easy to read. However spoken Danish is impossible to follow, none of the words sound like they should!

The bus stop near Kobenhavens Central Railway Station is called 'Hovedbanegården', they say it something like 'Hooveberngowan'. I like in 'Sydhavn' - they say 'Soovn'.....

Do they say 'fear of contradiction' for 'fair of contraception' ?

[ALKB]

He is a full time wheelchair user so is looking at either Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Finland as they are supposed to be ok for wheelchair users and believes more speak english than France, Spain or Italy.

What kind of qualification/job experience does he have?

Does he speak any German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, or Finnish?

I'm living and working in Denmark now and I safely say without fair of contraception that EVERYONE speaks PERFECT English here so it's no barrier.

But Danish is is very similar to English in it's written form, I've never had any lessons in it and I find it fairly easy to read. However spoken Danish is impossible to follow, none of the words sound like they should!

The bus stop near Kobenhavens Central Railway Station is called 'Hovedbanegården', they say it something like 'Hooveberngowan'. I like in 'Sydhavn' - they say 'Soovn'.....

Scandinavians are generally really good at speaking English but would that translate into a possible job for a paralegal for UK commercial law who doesn't speak Danish at all?

I think he would definitely struggle finding work in Germany.

[adnan1991]

Thanks for all your response guys, he has been doing a lot of research and looks like he may travel to The Nederlands as there are a fair amount of international companies that only speak English. I understand you said that one needs to show they meet the centre of life requirements and this can be shown by working in the host company.

However, after reading the free movement guide suggested by Noajthan, chapter 6, page 15 states the following:

RETENTION OF WORKER OR SELFEMPLOYED STATUS
EU citizens retain the status of workers and self-employed persons in the following circumstances:

if they are unable to work as the result of an illness or accident; or
if they are in duly recorded involuntarily unemployment and have registered as job-seekers with the relevant employment office; or
if they have embarked on vocational training.

So does that mean that if he actively looks for work but fails to find anything, he could use the SS route. He plans on getting his driving licence converted, joining clubs, library etc to show he has moved etc.