Do Permanent Residents need a Visa to travel Europe?

[kyle.sari 0]

Do permanent residents need a visa to travel Europe? My wife will have her Indian passport along with her permanent residence card. Since U.S. passports are only given to citizens, will she need to get a visa to travel Europe? Does she get a visa from her home country of India?

Thanks for the help!

[Otto 83]

Entry (visa requirements) to Europe (or elsewhere) is based on a person's citizenship - so if they needed a visa before becoming a PR, they'll need one now. Until such time that they become US citizens.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

Karin and Otto are correct; visa requirements are based on citizenship, not green card. So if your wife would need a visa to travel to a country as an Indian citizen, she still needs one now, because she is still an Indian citizen. I believe that means that she will need a visa for all European countries, but you are best off checking the individual country's embassy's websites.

[ikarus 1]

Not to beat the horse, but think of the residence card as your ticket to enter the usa, not europe. She must follow her country's citizenship guidelines to enter any other country. She will be able to enter europe once she has her us citizenship.

[kyle.sari 0]

Thank you guys for the help!!! That's a real bummer though. We were planning on 3 countries in Europe and all the visa fees per country could add up to over $500! I guess I've got to bite the bullet.

[JERIII 8]

Thank you guys for the help!!! That's a real bummer though. We were planning on 3 countries in Europe and all the visa fees per country could add up to over $500! I guess I've got to bite the bullet.

I depends where you are going. You will only need one visa for all of the Shengen countries. I think the Schengen visa is about $90. Where are you going?

[motu 5]

Hey Kyle - not necessarily true - for example when I contacted UK embassy they told me that my wife doesn't need a visa to enter UK if she has a greencard (she had a Colombian Passport then - same true of Mexico and Canada - both allowed her based on the greencard - otherwise she will have to apply for visas for these countries - we just flew in and they stamped her passport after they checked her greencard - so it was rather easy). My advice - check from the embassy of each country that you want to visit and be aware that if they are European Union - you may only need one visa not multiple - A good source will be a local travel agent - you don't have to buy the tickets from him but can get the info for free. Good Luck

Edited June 21, 2009 by motu