Do I still need a visa to visit my wife?

[mongoose_za]

Hi,

I've looked around and found a lot of information about people wanting to acquire citizenship once married.

My question is not based on citizenship. If I am married to an Italian, my wife lives in Italy but I'm living and working abroad then do I still need a schengen visa(I'm from South Africa) to visit Italy?

[johnnyonthespot]

According to this site http://www.esteri.it/visti/home_eng.asp there is no tourist visa waiver available for South African citizens, therefore you will need to first obtain a visa before being permitted to enter Italy.

If you intend to stay less than 90 days, you might consider a tourist visa as it may possibly be easier to obtain.

You can also apply for a Family Reasons visa which will need more work, but will allow you to stay for an extended period and would also allow you to seek employment in Italy if you wish to do so.

Either way, you will need to contact an Italian Consulate in South Africa; there are several:

Cape Town: http://www.conscapetown.esteri.it/Conso ... in_italia/

Johannesburg: http://www.consjohannesburg.esteri.it/C ... in_italia/

For others, see http://italy.visahq.com/embassy/South-Africa/

Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert in these matters.

[mongoose_za]

Thanks for your info. So basically being married doesn't carry much weight if I just want to visit Italy to visit my wife. I'd still have to apply for the usual schengen visa. I will contact the Consulate or Embassy to confirm. Thanks again.