Travel docs needed for France Schengen Visa for Filipina wife?

[Donutz]

Paid hotel reservations and paid transport? The French are getting it wrong... Even regular applicants only need to show confirmed transport and accommodation reservation, not actual tickets - except for rare cases.

For UK spouses: If the applicant is travelling to another Schengen Member State, then the one that your EU family member is a national of, and you are travelling together or the non EU/EEA national family member is travelling to join the EU/EEA national family member, then you are entitled to a FREE visa which should be granted swiftly (accelerated procedure, 15 calendar days max) and with minimum hassle.

Your application falls under Directive 2004/38/EC regarding the Freedom of Movement. It's important to know who qualifies as a family member of an EU/EEA citizen though.

A minimum of documentation and requirements apply: Travel Insurance is not required, hotel bookings are not required, transport bookings (flight) is not required etc. For a spouse the Marriage Certificate + possibly legalisation by the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm it's a genuine document + official translation to a language that the Embassy can read should be sufficient.

Sadly, not all Embassies apply the Visa Code properly.

There should be no need for hotel reservations, insurance or other such things.

- Show that the applicant (non EU) is first line family of an EU national: Provide the Marriage Certificate (translated if need be, there should be no need to register a Thai marriage in the EU spouse's (his/her) country).

- Provide the passports of both of you so they can ID you.

- Confirmation that the two of you will be traveling together or joining each other in the Member State: Declaration by the EU spouse indicating such should be sufficient, optionally as extra evidence a reservation for transport to the EU.

Some Embassies strictly advise not to make any financial commitments such as bookings until the visa has been issued.

See:

- http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens...y/index_en.htm

- http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs...10_1620_en.pdf

- http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conte...LEX:32004L0038

Also note that TLS and VFS are entirely optional! You can verify this in the Schengen Visa Code Regulation 810/2009/EC and one of the handbooks. You can also share your experience with bad execution of EU rules to the EU Home Affairs Department:

- http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs...y/index_en.htm

[EdwardB]

: Travel Insurance is not required, hotel bookings are not required, transport bookings (flight) is not required etc.

Sadly, not all Embassies apply the Visa Code properly.

There should be no need for hotel reservations, insurance or other such things.

Some Embassies strictly advise not to make any financial commitments such as bookings until the visa has been issued.

See:

- http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens...y/index_en.htm

- http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs...10_1620_en.pdf

- http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conte...LEX:32004L0038

Also note that TLS and VFS are entirely optional! You can verify this in the Schengen Visa Code Regulation 810/2009/EC and one of the handbooks. You can also share your experience with bad execution of EU rules to the EU Home Affairs Department:

- http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs...y/index_en.htm

Having got a UK visa - Macau residents, me Brit National her Pinay, very quickly went on for Schengen. Required application in Hong Kong ( call it £50) and then return with day off work to receive refusal - in her case at least £250 based on lost earnings as a Physio. They still called her back all the way to HK for a refusal. TOTALLY NUTZ

She was even required to pay visa fee despite filing 34 and 35 as family - should be no fee for family of EU National

To my astonishment she got turned down today on

1. Justification for the purpose of the intended stay. Insane... they had a support affidavit from a family member stating accompanying said family member to the worlds biggest media exposition - MIPCOM.... Perhaps they didn't read it or lost it! Just sent it back translated in French. LOL
2. No adequate travel insurance

The first one is incompetent/lost paperwork.... the second one is just wrong. Have you got a clear link that says only on Visa approval.

This is what the affidavit says;

"I vouch that Ms. xxxx" will travel covered by a comprehensive travel insurance package that fully complies with the Visa application terms. The insurance package will be purchased simultaneously with airline bookings once the outcome of this visa application is known.

I have gone through all the EU documentation for at least 4 hours - and am even more angry than when I started LOL

Thanks for all the help over the years. If anyone needs templates for complaint letters PM. I owe some back.