Hi!

I am married to a British citizen, I am South African.We would like to travel to the Schengen States as we have both been offered work (letters of employment have been sent to us).

I am in the UK on a tourist visa. Do I apply for a schengen visa? I have heard that no visa's will be issued in the last 3 months of ones UK visa... how can this be fair if I am married to an EU-citizen (have been since 1 April 2006).

Please advise!

Thanks
Lisa

There are currently 24 Schengen countries and all of them are in Europe.

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

Norway and Iceland are not members of European Union.
United Kingdom and Ireland are members of the European Union, but do not belong to the Schengen area.

Schengen visa allows the holder to a total stay of up to 90 days within a period of 6 months for tourist or business purposes. If you get a multiple entry Schengen visa, you may leave and return any number of times within the 180-day period, but the combined stay within the region must not total more than 90 days. You need to apply for Schengen visa if you are a citizen of a country whose citizens are subject to the visa requirement. Schengen visa must be applied in person, NOT by mail.

Once you get a Schengen visa, you can enter one country and travel freely anywhere within Schengen territory. Internal border controls have been abolished and there are no or few stops and checks. Internal air, road and train travel are handled as domestic trips, just like traveling from one state in the US to another. Traveling within Europe has got simplified with Schengen visa as the unified visa system offers many advantages. The Schengen Agreement still allows the customs control as long as there is no passport check, and checks are made randomly, or at real suspicions.

Married to a Brit may help if your status has changed, but since you are holding tourist visa, not much you can do about it.