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I'm intending to drive to Turkey through EU countries ie; France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. I know I'm ok as a UK national, but the wife is a Turkish citizen with indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Could she use a multiple entry French Schengen visa all the way to Turkey and back?

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  • You do realize that because of the security situation, your driving to and forth from Turkey may raise some red flags at the border crossings. Not saying air travel will be any easier, but just in case. – DumbCoder Jun 24 '15 at 14:14
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    @DumbCoder all the IS people just flew to istanbul like common tourists, they certainly don't drive through europe on a brit car. Plenty of emigrants drive to the balkans on land. Also they'll never know about it by just looking at the visa. Going to Turkey on land is not a crime, at worst they can inspect the car. – Formagella Jun 24 '15 at 14:24
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    @DumbCoder There are literally tens of thousands of people doing this every year from France and Germany, earlier through Yugoslavia, then Italy and Greece (with a ferry) during the war, now through Serbia or Romania and Bulgaria. It hardly makes you stand out. – Relaxed Jun 24 '15 at 14:55
  • @Formagella Where did I say it is a crime ? You are over analyzing, I just said might happen (see the word may) and I didn't say it will happen. You should read the news to learn about how Brits have driven off to Turkey to join ISIS. – DumbCoder Jun 24 '15 at 15:34
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    @phoog Not quite. Only if her residence car/permit states "Family of EU citizen" Anything else doesn't quality. See this question for further details - and do click through to the linked question, too. – Aleks G Jun 24 '15 at 19:19
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Yes, you can enter all those countries, including Bulgaria and Romania with a valid multiple-entry Schengen visa. Even some non-EU countries might grant your wife a visa exemption based on her Schengen visa (if she needs a visa in those countries in the first place). See Which are the non Schengen countries that allow entry for Schengen visa holders? for details. Alternatively, getting a visa for Romania and Bulgaria should be quick and easy for members of the family of an EU citizen.

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  • I've crossed the border from Turkey to Bulgaria with Turks (who spoke both languages) and the guards on the Bulgarian side gave them a lot of grief. I don't know how normal this is. – hippietrail Jun 24 '15 at 14:37
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    @hippietrail I was actually speaking about this a week ago with a French citizen of Turkish descent who goes every two years. Obviously he does not need a visa but still got a lot of grief from border guards over the years. He said the situation in Bulgaria improved vastly with Frontex support in the last couple of years (apparently, there are even some German border guards there now), but Serbia is still bad. During the summer holidays, the wait can be long in any case. – Relaxed Jun 24 '15 at 14:50

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