Europe travel w_Chinese SO... anyone w_experience?

[Daviation]

Anyone have experience with travel through Western Europe with Chinese SO when they have 2 year green card? I have a bunch of airline miles about to expire and my spouse says she would rather see Europe than go back to China this year. I'd like to take her some of the places I've already been... thinking maybe Germany, Italy, Switzerland as options.

 

Have any of you done this? If so, how was the visa process? Were you able to get single EU visa for all these countries? I've heard a bit about EU Schengen Visa... has anyone done this?

 

Just scouting for advice at this point, so thanks in advance.

[whome?]

Anyone have experience with travel through Western Europe with Chinese SO when they have 2 year green card? I have a bunch of airline miles about to expire and my spouse says she would rather see Europe than go back to China this year. I'd like to take her some of the places I've already been... thinking maybe Germany, Italy, Switzerland as options.

 

Have any of you done this? If so, how was the visa process? Were you able to get single EU visa for all these countries? I've heard a bit about EU Schengen Visa... has anyone done this?

 

Just scouting for advice at this point, so thanks in advance.

To my understanding you can apply for a EU Schengen visa as a chinese national. I have not done it but thinking about it. Maybe you can be my point man ...

 

Here is a link to German embassy with a Schengen visa application in english and chinese.

 

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/en/Wi...stimmungen.html

[dnoblett]

Anyone have experience with travel through Western Europe with Chinese SO when they have 2 year green card? I have a bunch of airline miles about to expire and my spouse says she would rather see Europe than go back to China this year. I'd like to take her some of the places I've already been... thinking maybe Germany, Italy, Switzerland as options.

 

Have any of you done this? If so, how was the visa process? Were you able to get single EU visa for all these countries? I've heard a bit about EU Schengen Visa... has anyone done this?

 

Just scouting for advice at this point, so thanks in advance.

To my understanding you can apply for a EU Schengen visa as a chinese national. I have not done it but thinking about it. Maybe you can be my point man ...

 

Here is a link to German embassy with a Schengen visa application in english and chinese.

 

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/en/Wi...stimmungen.html

From my understanding, you apply for the Schengen visa through the consulate or embassy of the first Shengen country you will be visiting.

 

NOTE UK and Ireland are NOT Schengen countries, so you need to apply for a separate visas for them.

 

The 15 Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. All these countries except Norway and Iceland are European Union members.

http://www.eurovisa.info/

 

MORE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement

http://www.immihelp.com/visas/schengenvisa/

 

The form is FREE: don't pay a service for it. http://www.migrationsverket.se/blanketter/...a_119031_en.pdf

 

In our case we are waiting for my Yu's US Citizenship and will visit Europe in a few years. Her green-card is good for travel into Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean without a visa.

[Guest shutterbug]

Anyone have experience with travel through Western Europe with Chinese SO when they have 2 year green card? I have a bunch of airline miles about to expire and my spouse says she would rather see Europe than go back to China this year. I'd like to take her some of the places I've already been... thinking maybe Germany, Italy, Switzerland as options.

 

Have any of you done this? If so, how was the visa process? Were you able to get single EU visa for all these countries? I've heard a bit about EU Schengen Visa... has anyone done this?

 

Just scouting for advice at this point, so thanks in advance.

 

Switzerland used to waive visa requirement for US LPRs, but stopped this practice near the end of the last year when it joined the Schengen visa program.

 

For a Schegen visa you can apply at foreign missions of either the first country you will visit, or the "main" destination of your trip. When I applied for one at the French Embassy a few years ago, I was out with the visa in hand in about 20 minutes; a couple of years later I applied for one at the Greek Embassy, it took two weeks (and a phone call to remind the consular officer in charge of visa issuance - he gave me his business card when I was at the embassy) before the visa was issued and my passport was given to FedEx - wished I had gone back to the French Embassy instead, after all on that trip my port of entry into the Schengen zone was Paris. Required documents are somewhat different, but the cost is identical among all the embassies/consulates.

 

Visiting UK requires a separate visa. As for Ireland, if you have a UK visa in theory you can slip through once you are in Northern Ireland (not that I would recommend it)

Edited July 28, 2009 by shutterbug (see edit history)

[lyscra]

My wife and I travelled to Europe last month. If you are stopping in the UK first it helps to get that Visa first. For the schengen visa, you would then provide proof of the UK visa and if that one is approved then the chances of getting approval for the schengen are pretty high because the UK is pretty thorough. Almost every EU country requires you to go in to interview for the schengen visa EXCEPT Sweden and France. As I had already been to both places, I chose to go through Sweden (plus French people really seem to dislike Americans from my experience). The rule is that you apply to the country you plan to enter the schengen coutries by OR wherever country you plan to stay in the longest. You can, however, state that you have not planned all of the countries you plan to go to and include a letter stating the half of your plan and that you plan to travel around by train and this is acceptable. That is what we did and we spent the majority of our time in Austria. Its a little tricky, but its unreasonable to fly back to LA for an interview 2 months after flying to LA for her passport renewal, which we did. The schengen visa requires you to have your air itinerary, but they DO NOT require you to buy the tickets. Go to Orbitz or one of those sites and create a "possible" itinerary and you can submit that for the schengen visa. I was actually told to do this by the consulate, and not to purchase the tickets until you get approved. We did however, reserve and pay for the hotels and submit this with the schengen form. Be prepared to take pictures. My wife took 960 in a two week times span, and I still feel I held her back.

[hello123]

My wife and I traveled to Greece in June. Basically, we went to the nearest Greek consulate (Chicago) and brought with us the required information. Travel itinery, some financial records to prove we can afford the trip, etc. and went for a small interview. The interview was really more about me than my wife. They just wanted to make sure we had the resources and were not any risk to go beyond the visa time frame. Once you have the visa it is good to travel to any other countries included.

 

Good luck!