I am a spouse of EU national and want to apply for Schengen visa as a family member of EU citizen.Can I send my visa application and documents to Netherlands Embassy in Malaysia while I am a citizen of Pakistan and also currently living in Pakistan.
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1I'm a bit confused as to why you want to do this. It probably isn't allowed, but if you explain your reasoning a bit more, it might be possible to give some useful advice.– MJeffryesCommented Jan 2, 2019 at 15:45
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1 Answer
Probably not. A Schengen consulate is only supposed to accept visa applications from people who reside in the consulate's jurisdiction. There is an exception, but it seems that in practice the threshold for invoking this exception is very high.
Article 6 of the Schengen Visa Code:
Article 6
Consular territorial competence
An application shall be examined and decided on by the consulate of the competent Member State in whose jurisdiction the applicant legally resides.
A consulate of the competent Member State shall examine and decide on an application lodged by a third-country national legally present but not residing in its jurisdiction, if the applicant has provided justification for lodging the application at that consulate.
As a resident of Pakistan, therefore, to apply in Malaysia you must be in Malaysia and you must have a good reason for not applying in Pakistan.
Examples of "good reasons" may be found in section 2.8 of the Handbook for the Processing of Visa Applications (pdf). The examples imply that the reason should be something like (1) a planned absence during the three-month period allowed for an application or (2) an unforeseen urgent circumstance. Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that at least some consulates refuse to consider applications from nonresidents altogether.
Furthermore, you are probably aware of the following points, but they should be noted as well. First, whether you can apply for the visa at a consular post of the Netherlands depends on where you plan to travel. Second, to qualify for a visa as a family member of an EU citizen, you must be either traveling with or joining the EU citizen family member.
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Thank you for the useful answers. My husband is a British citizen and I will travel to Netherlands with my husband from Pakistan. Commented Jan 2, 2019 at 16:07
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@FatimaKhan, in that case you should check that you travel before Brexit.– o.m.Commented Jan 2, 2019 at 16:20
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Yes I want to travel before Brexit. The reason of applying from Netherlands Embassy in Malaysia is that, May the Netherlands Consulate in Pakistan consider my application less important and there may b the chance of refusal if I apply from Pakistan. Commented Jan 2, 2019 at 16:24
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@FatimaKhan the Netherlands consulate in Pakistan is required to give priority to your application because you are the family member of an EU citizen. The Malaysian consulate will not even consider your application unless you have a good reason for applying there. The belief that the Malaysian consulate will be more likely to grant the visa is definitely not a good reason (and it is probably incorrect as well).– phoogCommented Jan 2, 2019 at 16:34
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@FatimaKhan The consulate in Pakistan is required by EU law to issue your visa within 15 days. Commented Jan 2, 2019 at 16:34