How Can my Thai wife Move to France

[ianf]

I am English (My mother is French!) and I am married to a lady from Thailand. We have been married for more than a year and she has been in the UK for exactly one year. To qualify for a UK passport she needs to be here in the UK for three years. But if we wish to move to France before that three year period is up how can we manage this? We own a house in the Mayenne and wish to live there full time as soon as we can. I am financially independent. I am also the parent of a 7 year old (he has no active mother) and I wish to get him into the French education system asap, hence the hurry.

[Clair]

Hi Ian and wlcome to the forum [:)]

Have you contacted the French Consulate to find out what they require visa-wise for a Thai national?

That would be my first port of call...

This is what they say about Thai nationals wanting to visit France:

[quote]Vous avez besoin d’un visa schengen pour vous rendre en France même si vous êtes titulaire d’un visa britannique

Si c’est le cas, le délai d’obtention minimum de votre visa auprès du Consulat sera de :

  le jour même.

  et de 2 semaines pour une demande par correspondance.

Ce délai peut varier selon les particularités du pays ou du demandeur.

Votre présence n’est pas obligatoire lors de votre demande de visa.

Cependant, si vous êtes titulaire d’un ’C-Visit’ visa

ou d’un visa britannique de moins de 6 mois, veuillez noter que,

conformément à la réglementation Schengen, le temps de traitement de

votre demande peut être de plusieurs semaines. Vous devez être présent

lors du dépôt de votre demande et votre dossier ne pourra être pris en

considération, de plus des justificatifs habituels, qu’en présentant

votre billet retour vers votre pays d’origine, d’une preuve de vos

ressources financières ainsi que d’une enveloppe timbrée à votre nom et

adresse en Grande Bretagne pour être informé de la suite donnée à votre

demande. Il vous sera également demandé les photocopies de votre

passeport en plus de celles des documents.[/quote]

[Wendy]

Hi ianf,

I cannot see the problem. I take it your marriage was legal so your wife was able to go to England to live with you and has been there for a year. You have the right to move here so, as your wife, she has the same right as you do. I am non-eu and have the right to reside here with my partner so there should be no problem for you. She doesn't need a UK passport of come here.

Visit www.foreignperspectives.com/category/moving-to-france

 

[Chancer]

A have a friend who married his Thai wife over a year ago, I dont know the specifics but under the visa that she went to England on to get married she was not allowed to travel to France.

I spoke with him recently and the situation is still the same (I want him to come to do some structural calcs and designs) I believe that they have some other residency or right to reside tests to do after 18 months of marriage.

[ianf]

There is a difference between right of residence and the right to have a visa. Ami has a 12 month visa which allows 90 day stays. If you need advice on how to get the visa please contact me here.

[Wendy]

No. If she is your legal wife in the UK she has the same rights to live in europe as do you.  Regardless of where she comes from. Not enough Brits know their european rights in this area it seems. Have sent you a PM ok?.

[ianf]

Sounds very positive Wen and thank you so much.

Ian

[Afy]

[quote user="wen"]No. If she is your legal wife in the UK she has the same rights to live in europe as do you.  Regardless of where she comes from. Not enough Brits know their european rights in this area it seems. Have sent you a PM ok?.[/quote]

Technically you're correct but th implimentation of this is still not in place.

I am a non-eu person, while my wife is French. Technically under EU law I can live and travel whereever I wish in the EU, however I still do need Visa's and Work permits for the UK and Ireland. Just my personal experience.

[johndalton36]

I have some experience of this as my wife is Ukrainian. We spent the last two years queuing up for Shengen visa's to visit our holiday home in France and other EU holidays. Not once did any of the embassies think to mention we did not need a Schengen Visa. Then by chance we heard about EU legislation that came into force in 2004 allowing free movement within the EU (no exeptions) for sposes of EU nationals and their family.

I suggest if anyone is having problems with travel you download a copy of the legislation here - http://www.europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l33152.htm, copies are also available in French, German etc etc. We printed a copy in each language and had them ring bound into a folder at the local stationers.

The first time we arrived in Limoges airport with an expired Schengen Visa we were pulled to one side, out came the folder, French page presented to the Douane who stood scratching their heads and we were duly waived on our way.We have since been all over the EU and never more of a hold up than this.

Incidentally another point you should be aware of is that you/your spouse do not have to queue in the non Eu passport holders channel at immigration in any EU country any more - you can go straight to the EU channel - where immigration all seem to know about European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004, where as immigration in the NON EU channel seem to have never heard of it.

 

[darren]

Hi John, thanks you for the message, but are you sure the information you have given is correct!

 I am British and my wife is Russian, we have just traveled from Russia to France by car, at the French embassy in Moscow we were told we need a shengen visa to enter France. At every boarder control the authorities checked and rechecked her visa.

We travel Europe a lot and have always been informed that my wife needs a schengen visa to enter Europe.

It would be great if we didn’t have to queue up all day at the French embassy to require a schengen visa. Also what happens when my wife/spouse travels a lone?? What documents or paper work will she be required to carry to prove she is a spouse of a British Citizen?

The EU legislation does say that they may be subject to a short-stay visa requirement under Regulation (EC) No 539/2001

Can you please clarify and confirm what you first wrote, many thanks Darren

[Wendy]

Darren: You should have applied for a European Family Permit on behalf of your wife, at the French Embassy, whilst you were in Russia. The EU Family Permit is the equivalent of the Schengen visa BUT it must be issued free of charge, is NON-discretionary, and must be issued within 90 days. That's what you should have done.

My partner (British) and I (non-european) in the past four years of living in France have driven over all the French borders (Germany, Italy, Swiss, Spanish) and have never been stopped once let alone questioned...what on earth are you doing?. I hope your 'wife' is not holding up her Russian passport for all to see, if so, she is inviting trouble for both of you!. As a rule the border controls do not stop anyone these days unless you appear to be sus...are you deliberately stopping for them to check you?. Hide her in the boot next time and see how you go.

Very strange I must say.