Travelling outside Germany as a US permanent resident with just a SOFA CARD

[Schatzi 0]

I am a Philippine citizen and a US permanent resident. My husband who's in the U.S. military is currently stationed in Germany. I already have a SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) Card to enter and exit Germany. However, when I get to Germany next year, my husband wants to take me on a side trip vacation to Spain and France after his tour of duty in Iraq, do I need a Schengen Visa this time to be able to travel outside Germany??

I need your input on this one... Anybody have any ideas on this? Thanks much!!!

Edited December 17, 2006 by fussycathy

[jodee 30]

Cathy,...As long as your country of the Phillipines is a part of the Schengen agreement you wont need a visa, Australia is, So I didnt need a visa when I travelled to Austria, France, and Amsterdam. You will need to check with Filipino consulates/embassies in the countries you wish to travel too, to see if you will need a visa. I still check with the Australian consulates site before I travel anywhere, as Visa restrictions change daily. Unfortunately, even though you have the SOFA, it wont help you to get into the other countries, it only helps you in and out of Germany specifically.

Jodee

[Schatzi 0]

could i apply for a schengen visa when I get to Germany? It's too early if I apply here in the US now... My hubby won't be in Germany until March I think...

[Schatzi 0]

My country is required to apply for a Schengen visa... So is there an Embassy in Frankfurt where I could apply for one??

[Anna C. 4]

Hi Fussycathy,

Since you are close to DC I would recommend you to call the German embassy there, here is the website:

http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/cons...vices/visa.html

[Schatzi 0]

Hi Fussycathy,

Since you are close to DC I would recommend you to call the German embassy there, here is the website:

http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/cons...vices/visa.html

They weren't very helpful... they asked to ask Spain embassy.... talk about bad customer service hahaha

[Anna C. 4]

I'm so sorry. So far I only dealt with the Atlanta Consulate - why just don't you try to ask them for advice? Also, in which city in Germany will you be? There are Consulates of Spain not only in Berlin! Maybe you will have to go to their embassy/consulate in Germany. That won't be a big deal, they aren't busy and you can travel a little

[Schatzi 0]

I'm so sorry. So far I only dealt with the Atlanta Consulate - why just don't you try to ask them for advice? Also, in which city in Germany will you be? There are Consulates of Spain not only in Berlin! Maybe you will have to go to their embassy/consulate in Germany. That won't be a big deal, they aren't busy and you can travel a little

Thanks Anna C.!! I will be staying in Giessen,Germany - Inside a US army base.. How long does it take for Schengen visa processing?

[Emo 0]

I am a Philippine citizen and a US permanent resident. My husband who's in the U.S. military is currently stationed in Germany. I already have a SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) Card to enter and exit Germany. However, when I get to Germany next year, my husband wants to take me on a side trip vacation to Spain and France after his tour of duty in Iraq, do I need a Schengen Visa this time to be able to travel outside Germany??

I need your input on this one... Anybody have any ideas on this? Thanks much!!!

If you enter any Schengen country you don't need anything to visit other Schengen countries. There no borders between them.

http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/citiz...ip_intro_en.htm

[Anna C. 4]

That's true, but technically she needs a visa for the Schengen territory. There are no border controls, but if she wants to fly, they wanna see a visa in her passport! They will check if she had one for Germany and with her SOFA card they will tell her that she needs a visa to travel around in Europe.

But if she goes by car, nobody will bother.

[thea 1]

If you fly from one Schengen country to the next there are no passport controls. Flights between Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Greece, and Iceland are just like getting on a domestic flight. Technically you could travel between these countries without ever having to show your passport - however, part of the Schengen agreement is also that countries (other than the one you have a visa for) only need to grant you access for transit purposes (sometimes they really do spot-checks on travellers upon arrival - they even pulled me out once when I got off a domestic flight in Germany). Meaning that if you want to go on vacation you may want to get a visa.