Hello everyone,
Earlier this year I begun asking questions regarding traveling abroad specifically to Spain and England some were answered and some well, I had to find out once I left for my travels.
Travel to Spain:
Through this forum I received great information and was told I needed a visa to travel to Spain especially because I didn’t have my GC. I called the embassy to make sure I needed a visa, I was told “yes.” The day of my appointment I was told that since I didn’t have my GC I couldn’t apply for a visa. I wasn’t “officially” denied as they didn’t even take my application.
So, I decided to go to Germany and take a plane to Madrid, resigned to be turned back at the airport.
On June 17 I flew out of LAX to Frankfurt with a stop in Chicago. I arrived in Frankfurt on June 18 I approached passport control in Frankfurt and the officer had never seen a Refugee Travel Document, luckily –to avoid delays- the officer sharing his booth knew of the document and he took care of me. 5 minutes later I was trying to figure out how to take a quick trip to the city before my flight to Madrid, Spain.
Before anyone here rolls their eyes, thinking I did something terrible. Allow me to explain why I took the chance with Spain. I am of Salvadoran nationality. If I were using my national passport, I would not need a visa to visit continental Europe, so after consulting with the Spanish embassy in Los Angeles and New York, I was told that there was no clear guidance for folks in my situation. The embassy employee in charge of processing visas told me I shouldn’t have any problems because of my nationality;as other people with the same situation, had gone to Spain and were ok.
So, at 10:45PM (Spain’s time) I arrived at the Barajas airport in Madrid and as I approached passport control I think I had minor heart attack, when I got to the booth, the officer took my RTD asked me if I was going to be staying in Madrid, I say yes, and he said, “Welcome to Spain”
I spent 11 days in Spain with no problems.
England:
The British folks were clear and so friendly. I was told I did need a visa to visit the UK, however, because my RTD took so long and I spent 10 days trying to deal with the Spain situation, I didn’t have a time to apply for the UK Visa in the U.S.
I was told you can apply for the UK visa in any country you are, as long as you are there legally. So, I made an appointment to apply for my visa in Madrid. I went to my scheduled appointment; they took my picture and fingerprints and processed my application. However, I had to take a plane from Granada to Barcelona within Spain and needed to keep my RTD. The embassy folks allowed me to keep my passport and told me they would let me know when it was time to send in my RTD in to affix the visa. The UK visa was processed and approved in less than 48 hours.
At the airport my picture and fingerprints were once again taken, I was asked some “standard” questions, was told the reason why the UK documents visiting asylees/refugees so carefully.
For those that might be curious the reason is FRAUD. People trying to have asylum in both the UK and other countries.
I flew from Barcelona to London and spent 10 wonderful days in England.
Coming back to the U.S.
On July 10 I flew from London to Madrid, as my flight was departing from Madrid to Dallas, Texas.
I arrived to Madrid, once again, went through passport control without problems.
However, as I went through passport control to leave Madrid, the officer said “You need a visa to travel with this document in the Schengen area, next time apply for a visa” I didn’t say a word as I was leaving and there was no sense in arguing. I nodded my head and he returned my RTD and off I went to catch my flight.
At DFW, Dallas airport, I went to “soft second” the immigration officer apologized for making me wait an hour, but their computers were down. Then, he asked “how long were you out of the U.S.?” I said 22 days. He stamped my RTD and issued me a new I-94 and off I went to catch my connecting flight to Los Angeles.
While the immigration officer and I were chatting about the hassles of technology, I took the opportunity to ask if I needed to turn in my ORIGINAL I-94 when departing from the U.S., which, was given to me when I was granted asylum and he said “no, that is your original evidence and should not leave your possession”
Well, I know this is long, but I hope in some way it helps anyone who might have questions.
Always do your research and consult with many reliable sources.
I am thankful for this forum.
