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Can I Be Denied a Spouse Visa in Europe Because of an Overstay

Can I be denied a spouse visa because of a previous visa overstay? Yes, certainly. It is possible that your application for a spouse visa in Italy can be denied because of your previous overstay and subsequent ban. Though I doubt that this would happen, as Italy tends to be a little more lax with [...]

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Can I be denied a spouse visa because of a previous visa overstay?

Yes, certainly. It is possible that your application for a spouse visa in Italy can be denied because of your previous overstay and subsequent ban. Though I doubt that this would happen, as Italy tends to be a little more lax with immigration than some of their Schengen neighbors. If you are granted the spouse visa, be sure to take a direct flight to Italy to lend a better chance that you will be admitted without incident.

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Complete question about applying for a spouse visa after being banned from the Schengen zone

Hello, Wondering if you might have any experience or expertise with the situation I am in. Six months ago, I overstayed my 90 day allowed visit in the Schengen area by a few days while visiting my (EU national) fiance in Italy. I was stopped in Switzerland while leaving and issued a ban from the Schengen area until 2013. Since then, my fiance and I have been married.It is our plan for me to join him back in Italy, where we will live. It is my understanding that, since we are married, I should not be denied a Schengen spouse visa unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as my being a threat to national security (I am not). I have gotten this advice online: “In its judgement of 31 January 2006, the Court of Justice of the European Communities has ruled that a Schengen visa may not be denied to a national of a third country who is the spouse of a EU national on the sole ground that he or she is a person for whom an alert was entered in the Schengen Information System, without first verifying if the presence of this person constituted a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting the fundamental interests of society.” I am making my appointment to apply for my Spouse visa at the Italian Consulate in the coming weeks. I am looking to foresee any problems I might run into because of my overstay ban. Does anyone know if the Italians can, in fact, give me difficulty in my application for this reason? Any advice is so very appreciated! Thank you!

Do you have a Schengen visa question?

If so, then take a look at our Schengen visa community forum. It’s a community just for people who have questions or concerns related to Europe’s Schengen immigration zone.
Filed under: Italy, Visas

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I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3694 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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