My wife and I are 66, retired and have worldwide medical coverage, living in the US.
Your wife needs a visa. With your situation the smartest solution would be to apply for a residency permit to France.
Contact the French embassy in the USA and ask for help. Let them know about your travel plans. Getting the visa shouldn't be a problem, as the wife of an EU citizen (you) she is entitled to it as long as you are with her.
[ 30-May-2010, at 03:30 ]
According to this
http://www.justlanded.com/english/France/France-Guide/Visas-Permits/Residency-in-France
"To make an application, you need to have obtained a long-stay visa before coming to France. "
"Unlike visas, residency permits are only issued in France."
"A residency permit usually also gives the right to residency for your spouse and children (when minors)."
So the process would be for me to get my UK passport, get a long stay visa in the US, have my wife get a short stay visa on arriving in France. Then me apply for the residency permit, as she would be covered. Correct?
How long is the res. permit good for, and what happens when we go back to the US for 6 months and want to go back to France again?
Thanks
So the process would be for me to get my UK passport, get a long stay visa in the US, have my wife get a short stay visa on arriving in France. Then me apply for the residency permit, as she would be covered. Correct?
No.
If you are a UK citizen you are usually an EU citizen too. As a result you do not need a visa or residency permit to live in France.
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_citizenship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passport_of_the_European_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ukpassport-cover.jpg (note that it says "European Union" before and on top of "United Kingdom of..")
Your wife needs to apply for visa if she intends to stay for longer than 90 days inside the Schengen area. She has to apply for a visa to France that allows her to stay long-term/immigrate. Application has to be done 2-3 months before departure at the French embassy or consulate in the USA, since you both currently live there. After arrival in France she will then have to convert this visa into a residency permit. I am unclear about the exact procedure, but the French embassy in the USA will be able to tell you. Let the people at the embassy know that she is the wife and the mother of EU citizens. She is entitled to a visa and a residency permit, no argument. EU laws say so.
How long is the res. permit good for, and what happens when we go back to the US for 6 months and want to go back to France again?
Ask the French embassy.
However if you plan to go back and forth every few months it might be sensible to limit your stay to the "90 days in a 180 day period". Over the course of a year that is almost 50 % of the time that you can be inside the Schengen area visa-free.
[ 30-May-2010, at 17:17 ]
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