French Consulate in Algiers: French Nationals’ Spouses and Children Permitted to Enter Schengen Area
The French Consulate in Algiers has informed that only the spouse and children of French nationals will be authorized to enter the Schengen Zone from now on, part of a set of facilitated travel measures previously introduced amid the Coronavirus crisis.
Through a press release issued this week, the French Consulate in Algiers presented more detailed information regarding the latest decision,
“All children under the age of 21 or dependent on the French parent are affected. Minor children of the foreign spouse of a French national fall within the scope of the exceptions provided, subject to authorization from the other parent and proof that the child usually resides in the same household as the French national,” French Consulate’s press release reads.
According to the statement, foreign minors whose guardianship or parental authority (kafala) has been entrusted to French people are not considered to be French children and therefore do not fall into this category. The same applies for “ascendants of a French national, including a dependent.”
The French Consulate clarifies that the spouse and children of any French national will be eligible to enter France even if they do not usually reside there.
However, holders of long-stay visas (D visas), who are not spouses of French nationals or nationals of the European Union, can only cross the Schengen border if they can prove that they already have their residence in France.
On June 15, France’s authorities decided to lift entry restrictions on for non-essential travel to France for citizens of the European Union and the Schengen Area countries, excluding only Spain and the former European Union nation, the United Kingdom.
Earlier this month, the French Prime Minister Éduoard Philippe presented the idea of the reopening of borders, during a press conference on phase 2 of the containment exit plan of the country.
“Some European countries chose to reopen their borders before others, and I respect that decision…We take our decisions at our own pace, and we believe that the right time to access our territory is June 15,” PM Philippe said, referring to some countries as the Baltic States, which at the time had already reopened their borders for a limited number of EU nationals.
