Schengen Visa for Filipina GF?

[chino]

Hi all,

I have been through the visa process for my ex to get her to the UK and she was granted a tourist visa after a lot of issues... I have a new GF and I was wondering if anyone has tried to get a Schengen Visa for a girl friend and not a wife?? (Not seen threads for visas for a girl friend)

I wanted to treat her to a trip to Europe (burning some of my frequent flyer miles) rather than a trip to Dubai, as it only costs about £60 more and 20,000 miles more...

A bit of background info, she is a Doctor (single, no kids, 35) has a good income (so this should not be an issue) and I was thinking of a 10-day break to Italy or Spain - with a side trip to Malta.....

Thanks in advance, and sorry if I have missed a thread which covers this..

Mark

[Donutz]

It means a bit more paperwork (spouses can use the Freedom of Movement Directive which entitles them to a free visa, handled ASAP and with minimum documentation) but it's still doable. You may find my post here helpful, it's a short FAQ/guide:
http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php/734-Schengen-Visa-for-the-Filipina-wife?p=515870&viewfull=1#post515870


In essensence it's comparable to a UK visa: the gf is the person applying, she needs to convince the embassy that the trip is affordable, the reasons of travel genuine and that she will return home before the visa expires. Ofcourse the exact procedure is different but you should get pretty far with the same papers you used for the UK visa. So go to the website of the embassy which country you intend to visit, read their instructions on visa, gather all the documents, fill in the Schengen application form, make an appointment (either via the embassy which all applicants are entitled to and should be granted their appointment within 2 weeks) or if you prefer via the optional outsourced party (often VFS Global).

Obviously evidence of previous travels of visas to (western) countries do help in showing that she is likely to return home in time. Add a letter explaining that she will travel around with her partner/bf (you) and include your details too. The application is about her though so you could consider yourself as just some "evidence" to establish a genuine travel purpose and likelyhood of returning (as you will ofcourse vouch for her abiding all the regulations).

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Edit: if you are curious which embassy might be more difficult (I believe the Spanish embassies around the globe are often more difficult then others but I wouldn't know how the Spanish embassy in Manila compares to other Schengen embassies there), this might be of interest:
Italy 2013 refused: 8,5%
Spain 2013 refused: 6,0%
France 2013 refused : 7,2%
Germany 2013 refused: 6,2%

More statistics at the bottom of this page: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/visa-policy/index_en.htm

[Terpe]

Your gf will need to make her own independent application for Schengen visa at the Embassy in Manila of the country you decide upon.

Sometimes it can be a pain. The Italian Embassy can be difficult.

Good luck

[chino]

Thanks for your advice. I will now do some more reading into this... she has lived in the States and travelled to Oz etc., so it should hopefully not be too bad..