Dual British/Irish Citizen - Can I sponsor someone coming to meet me in Greece?

Question

I’ve got an online friend I want to meet. She’s from the Philippines, but currently lives and works in the UAE. (She’s got a working visa there). She’s been there for less than 6 months.

I hold both a British and Irish Passport. We both want to meet half way, so Greece seems like a good meeting point both distance and timezone wise.

Because my friend has less than 6 months of bank statements from the UAE, she won’t be eligible for a Schengen visa without sponsorship. I assume that because she’s appplying from the UAE, she won’t be able to use bank statements from her bank account in the Philippines?

Since I’m British and Irish, I’m an EU Citizen, therefore I have no visa restrictions when entering Greece for whatever reason I choose to travel there. Can I take advantage of this to sponsor my Filipina friend when she meets me in Greece?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I think you are misunderstanding the nature of "sponsorship" when it comes to Schengen visa and the purpose of bank accounts.

• The visa officials want to understand where the money for the trip comes from to make sure that it is a luxury (i.e. your girlfriend wants to see the sights and then leave again) and not an investment (i.e. your girlfriend plans to work in the EU).
• The visa officials want to understand the living conditions of your girlfriend where she lives now to gauge if she would willingly leave again.

Your promise to pay can settle the first question. It can never answer the second question. So she needs to mention your "sponsorship", especially if she couldn't afford the trip otherwise, but she still needs to show her circumstances in the UAE.

Things might look different if you were living together in a stable, long-term relationship.