Indian Citizen, Irish RP, Germany Ireland Frequent Travel

Question

I am an Indian citizen currently holding a residence permit (Blue Card) for Germany. My wife is also an Indian citizen holding a Stamp 4 Irish Residence Permit and working full time in Ireland.

She wishes to travel to Germany for short stays and so will not be living in Germany. Hence we wish to apply for the spouse visa but as understood by us, she is eligible for a spouse visa which is valid for only 6 months.

Could you let mw know if there is any provision for a multi-entry visa for a longer duration (2-3 years) which will allow her to travel to Germany from Ireland for short stays? If not, could you please suggest any other options for frequent travel between Germany and Ireland?

Answer 1

She'll be needing a Family Reunification Residence Permit to have a right to remain in Germany.

But, as it would be only short stays, it will likely be denied, as the requestor needs to actually emigrate to Germany to validate it.

I'd contact the German consulate in Ireland for guidance

Answer 2

There is such a thing as a long multi-entry short-stay Schengen visa, which would cover frequent short stays in Germany and elsewhere in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. This visa is not specific to spouses of residents and can be valid for up to 5 years (it was sometimes called a “circulation” visa in some documents).

You cannot specifically apply for it. You can check the box “multi-entry” on the form or write a letter but you would be applying for a regular Schengen short-stay visa and the consulate is always free to issue a short single-entry visa instead. In principle, after repeated trips, they should issue increasingly longer visas. I have heard of residents in the UK getting one easily, even on the first go.