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?
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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1@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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) 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