I have been meaning to write this informative post for a while about non-UK Passport holders wishing to travel to Europe and are confused about visa policies if they are married or related to an EU citizen. After doing a little research I have found out that in some cases holders of non-British passports DO NOT need a visa in order to visit the following countries, if you meet the criteria listed below. Please note that this information is for people who are traveling to Schengen Countries from the United Kingdom ONLY.
- If you are a child (under 21) /spouse of an EU/EEA National (click here for list of EU Countries).
- You MUST be traveling together with your spouse/ family member who is an EU/EEA national.
- You must provide proof of marriage or birth (if a child of an EU/EEA National). These must be legalized and in English or translated into the official language of an EU member country.
- If you hold a “Residence Card of a Family Member of an EEA National”
- If you have been given ‘Leave to remain in the United Kingdom for an indefinite period’ stamped on your passport.
- If you are only planning a short stay in the chosen country.
List of EU countries that you do not need a visa for IF you meet the above criteria.
- Austria
- Bulgaria
- Cyprus
- Estonia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Poland
These are the list of countries that REQUIRES visa on entry, but most of them waive the fee in accordance of producing the relevant supporting documents, proving the relationship to the EU / EEA national (spouses, descendants and dependent ascendants). Please check the official websites for detailed information, as some embassies charge an administration fee with each application. Remember that their policies also change in time so please use this a guide only.
- Belgium
- Denmark
- France
- Finland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Malta
- Norway
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Spain
It seems like I have been inundated with tags on Facebook as well on my blog, but I don’t mind this one as it suits the occasion, being Valentines Day and all.
I was tagged by Bingkee and she’s asked me 14 reasons why I love my husband. It hasn’t been hard to find reasons why I appreciate my other half as I know for sure that he has hundreds of qualities that I love, and 14 of them I want to share with you.
I’m going to try not to be too ‘mushy’ about this, as I don’t normally like to embarrass him or myself. But it’s Valentines Day…. so what the heck!
- He is very talented, a great guitarist. I love to watch him play in his office especially when he thinks i’m not watching, he also plays songs to Sam and sings to him which makes my heart swell with pride.
- He’s a great chef, we both love cooking and I actually think that he is a better cook than me. When my family comes over he never fails to impress them with his dishes which actually makes me look pretty bad.
- He never fails to give me a hug at least once a day, and if I’m feeling down he has the time to ask what’s wrong and listens to my rantings and whining, which makes me feel that it’s ok to feel down once in a while.
- He has a wicked sense of humour, even though he acts like an idiot sometimes, he always make me and the kids roll around in laughter.
- He works very hard but his family is his priority and makes sure that he spends time with us when he can.
- He makes me feel good about myself, because he always make me feel attractive even though I have days when I just want to crawl under a rock and die.
- When we have an argument, he is not afraid to say sorry if he’s in the wrong and he makes sure that we’re OK and hates to let an argument go on for days.
- If he sees that I’m tired he helps around the house and tells me to relax while he takes over.
- He surprises me a lot, especially on birthdays, anniversaries… he never forgets a date.
- He puts up with my temper even though at times I know I’m the devil incarnated, he doesn’t make me feel bad about it.
- He brings out the best in me, and believes and encourages me in everything that I do, whether it’s any personal or career decisions that I have to make.
- I like the way he tells me nonsense and babbles on for ages at the end making no sense, but he knows that I’ll listen anyway!
- He’s a geek and a computer savvy and his knowledge for everything always impresses me.
- The fact that he is my true soul mate and how he looks forward in growing old with me… grey hairs, bad back and all!
We never really fully recovered from the sickness and other evil things pre and post Christmas. Five people in our household, all sick one after another.
I spent New Years Eve shivering and tucked up in bed at 11.30, I couldn’t even bring myself to welcome 2009 upright never mind in style. While everybody was out to party, I settled for my hot cup of Lemsip and a thick blanket. Excellent!
Blogging had been put in the back burner while I tried to bring some kind of normality in our household. The kids had been off for over two weeks both suffering from sniffles, throat and chest infections. While David and I have forgotten what it’s like to have a decent nights sleep for over a month, now that Sam has decided to cut his molars and incisors all at the same time. I didn’t think it was possible to have over 5 teeth coming through continuously, obviously it is… and I have the eye bags to prove it.
Slowly but surely, things seems to be getting better, my two older ones are back to normal, I’m just dealing with Sam at the moment, I’m sure that the whole teething process is no fun for him either but the 4 hour night sleep that I’m getting in the last 4 weeks is really not doing my sanity any good.
I’m off to catch up on some zzzzz….
