Swedish Schengen visa - do we HAVE to go to Sweden?

[clairey]

Hi all,

My husband got his Schengen visa issued by the Swedish embassy in London - we want to go to Spain or Portugal in the summer - do we absolutely have to go Sweden at some point as well, or can we risk not going? Hopefully my husband will get British citizenship in December, so it might be the last time we have to go through all this, but I just want to double check.

Thanks

[Rozen]

MULTIPLE POSTS WON'T GET YOU AN ANSWER ANY QUICKER!!!! Try sticking to ONE forum and being patient, giving others enough time to respond.....

[clairey]

MULTIPLE POSTS WON'T GET YOU AN ANSWER ANY QUICKER!!!! Try sticking to ONE forum and being patient, giving others enough time to respond.....

Seeing as I never got a reply to my last 2 questions, I thought I would ask here - sorry if it bothers you

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

What citizenship are you?

[clairey]

^^^I'm British, and my husband is Albanian. He has ILR. I'm just asking as with his previous Schengen visa, which was obtained at the French embassy, was never stamped when we went to France first, and then when we went to Spain, nobody said anything! But clearly we don't want to get into any trouble!

[raina]

The visa can be used to enter Spain without any problems.

The problem can arise if you need another visa for Sweden and you havent used the first one for Sweden.

But as you have said your husband will be getting citizenship then naturally its not an issue.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

If your husband presently has a multiple entry Schengen visa, then you can and should use it for as many trips as you want. If your intent was to use it for Sweden, but that never happened, then that is sad but should not be a major problem. If you apply again for a Swedish issued visa, then they may ask to see your ticket, but they still must issue the visa to the spouse of an EU citizen (assuming your husband will be travelling with you). (Note that the "must issue the visa" is only true for the non-EU family of an EU citizen).

I was recently talking with two Federal Police in Germany (the people who do the border control) about visas required for family members of EU citizens. They were both very clear that if the non-EU is married to an EU citizen and travelling with them (and they have their marriage certificate), then no visa was required. Neither said "but you really should have the Schengen visa". (The challenge may be getting the airline people to let you on the airplane on the basis of your marriage certificate and the two passports).

[Docterror]

They were both very clear that if the non-EU is married to an EU citizen and travelling with them (and they have their marriage certificate), then no visa was required. Neither said "but you really should have the Schengen visa".

This is a very generous interpretation by the german border police that you talked to and I will be quite surprised if the other Schengen countries will have the same outlook as well. Under the Directive, the Member States are well given the authority to ask the visa national non-EEA family members to obtain the visas beforehand and hence atleast a warning should be given as admission on the basis of having just the passports and the Marriage certificate is to be used only as a backup and not as the norm. I will be surprised if any other border police would give similar leniency to the above mentioned situation as well.

[clairey]

Thanks for that guys, very reassuring! That's interesting regarding the possibility of travel using only the marriage certificate, but like you said, the challenge is the check-in staff! I don't think I'd like to risk my 2 weeks in the sun on it though!!

[alan and oscar]

It seems to me that where a non-EC partner is travelling without visa but with the partner and a marriage/civil partnership certificate, the key issue is whether the worst case scenario is that the immigration personnel on the border must issue a schengen visa AT THE BORDER or whether, eventually, the non-EC partner could be refused entry. It may be that some border personnel realise this and choose not to bother objecting at all or they may say 'get a Schengen visa [ie IN ADVANCE] next time', to save them the hassle in the future.

I share Docterror's concerns about this, particuarly where the member state has implemented the Directive in a way which suggests a visa is clearly required. The border control will treat the implementing law as consistent with the Directive even if it is not. (Potential actions for damages etc are not going to help you get in.)

Article 5.4 reads 'where a...family member does not have the necessary...visas...the Member State concerned shall, before turning them back, give such persons every reasonable opportunity to obtain the necessary documents or have them brought to them within a reasonable perod of time or to corroborate or prove by other means that they are covered by the right of free movement and residence'. This also appears in the implementing Spanish law (for those travelling to Spain). Is this a guarantee of eventual entry? I am not so sure.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

There is also an onus on member states to issue the visa of an EU-citizen family member as soon as possible, and on the basis of an accelerated process. This ends up acting as a sort of check that those rules are being followed properly.

On the basis of what the two colleagues said, I personally would have no quams about requesting entry to Germany on the basis of the passports and the marriage certificate. Other people on these forums have also told stories of entering Spain (two different posters) and Italy without problems. Nobody so far reported trying to do it and being turned back. You can't tell much from a sample size of 3, but it is a decent start.