Dear chaolive.
i remember seeing it on the TLS contact webpage, but i guess it has been taken off, i cant seem to find it again.. another query is this," is there a difference between a family member of a Union national and a family member of an EEA citizen?? the reason am asking this question is that, i wanted to visit ireland visa free as a family member of an EU national taking advantage of Article 10 of the Directive of 2004. i contacted the irish embassy to get information regarding travel to the country....this is the response i got from the embassy which is so confusing. My visa says "Residence card of a family member of an EEA National",
please help me out i need a clear direction.
Dear Sir,
EU Regulations specify that certain family members should be issued with a document called "Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen"
Please see Article 10 of the Directive 38/2004
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 123:EN:PDF
. . . . .
Irish Immigration Regulations classify "non-nationals who are family members of a Union citizen and holders of a document called “Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen”, as referred to in Article 10 of the Directive of 2004" as not requiring a visa to enter Ireland.
Please see link to SI 345 of 2011
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Ir ... nformation
. . . . .
Your residence card is called "Residence card of a family member of an EEA National", (not the same as a Union citizen and that is a matter for the UK Authorities); however an Immigration Officer may accept that the residence card issued to you has been issued pursuant to Article 10 of the EU Directive of 2004.
You are also free to apply for a visa which will be processed free of charge once the original marriage certificate and spouse’s original EU passport are submitted in support of the application.
Please see our website for how to apply, processing times, etc:
http://www.embassyofireland.co.uk/home/ ... x?id=33732
Kind regards,
Visa Office,
Embassy of Ireland,
London.[/color]