Dear People,

Would be grateful if I can get specific information regarding settling in the EU with my spouse who is British,getting a Settlement visa for England is notoriously difficult so we elected to relocate within Europe,I am Nigerian,I have recently learnt that its better to simply state one wants a tourist visa.

My wife called one of the EU embassies here asking what the requirements are and the gentleman said she should travel down to Nigeria,bring legalized wedding certificate and visa fees of 5500,she asked specifically if there would be anything else and was told no,also emailed and the staff said the same thing,she came down and we went and it was a comedy of sorts,we paid and got the money returned after a very confusing interview,the lady questioning asked why I wouldnt let my sick and pregnant wife go unaccompanied to a totally new territory, settle down and then join her,and I said doctors said due to her severe health complications of late, I should be with her and I even had letters to that effect,my wife was never interviewed,the letters were not asked for,I was not asked to produce any other documents,my marriage was not in doubt,I was told eventually the purpose of my stay was UNCLEAR.


My question is what exactly is a Non EU spouse of a EU citizen supposed to present as documentary evidence?,and ASAP because my wifes health has gotten more precarious and Ireland would have been ideal but it takes too long ,so perhaps Netherlands should be the port of call considering its proximity to the U.K.

Another question is would we have to incur the cost of her flying down again rather than presenting her passport certified and is that necessary since we already have a legalized marriage certificate asserting her being a BRIT and the marriage having been investigated as genuine?

P.S:What was the rationale of asking my wife to travel down if she was not to be interviewed and the documents she was asked to bring was not enough apparently and they refused to ask for appropriate documents,just shrouded the entire process in mystery.

 

Been there done that.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice but you might notice that I asked for the specific documents to be presented,we would be glad to actually follow set rules if we could be sure the rules wouldnt be changed midway,there are some embassies that seem to apply the rules scrupulously(BLASTED LUCK i CANT FIND THEM), and most seem to play it by ear,the marriage and the certificate was verified by my spouses Embassy with a document to that effect,took them 3 weeks but they declared it genuine which is easy because we have evidence of a subsisting 7 year relationship,photos,accounts e.t.c.

She has decided to settle like you suggested but there are pressing considerations why I must join her ,health being the most predominant,my spouse was in hospital within minutes of visiting the embassy in Nigeria as requested and leaving it also had to be rushed to hospital,with medical evidence to support this and a clear coherent explanation as to why I must accompany her,I was all but told that she should cope with it on her own even after doctors had clearly stated their fears for her health,Yes,we would be happy to apply the rules,if we could pin down what the rules are.I will PM you the "honorable"embassy in question.Thank you.

 

I am glad you guys are like they "ought to ask"or "should ask for"e.t.c,their suspicions if any, would be baseless because we actually have enough documentary evidence, 7 years worth as a matter of fact,I concur with what you said to the Colombian/Irish couple about different people having different experiences,what happens is that some embassies pointedly ignore what you have,and give you misleading information about what to do and when to do it,its a matter of luck not a matter of law,as in meeting someone who is having a good day,thanks so much for your advice one and all,this forum really makes one heck of a lot of diffrence.