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My wife is a Russian national. I am a Norwegian national.

We lived in Sweden for 10 months. During that stay she got a residence card (EEA family member) and a biometric Swedish ID card from the Swedish Tax Authority.

We moved to Norway two months ago. She has applied for a new residence card (EEA family member) from Norway through the Surinder Singh route. She has a letter from the Norwegian police saying she has applied, and a document from the Norwegian Tax Agency (D-number). Norway may take several months to issue her the residence card, but she has the right to stay and work in Norway while waiting for the card.

We are considering a short holiday trip to Poland for four days. My guess is that it should be no problem since it is a flight within Schengen and she is here legally after all. However, I am unsure about some things.

What ID should she use at the gate, etc? I am thinking it might be better to use the Swedish biometric ID card, since a Russian passport without a valid visa may appear to mean she is in Schengen illegally, and cause trouble. I suppose the EU residence card from Sweden may now be void since we already moved from Sweden, although she still has it.

Also, I guess as an EEA family member she has freedom of movement in all of the EU when she travels with me, even on holiday?

We are planning to fly from Torp Airport (TRF) to Gdansk Airport (GDN).

How likely is it that she will be fine on her trip? How can we minimize the risk of any inconveniences?

Fiksdal
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    Note: The id card from the Swedish tax authorities is not a national id card in the sense of the EEA regulations. It is strictly speaking only valid in Sweden and can not be used as a travel document, not even within the Schengen area. – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Nov 23 '18 at 10:49
  • @Tor-EinarJarnbjo Did not know that, thank you for informing me. – Fiksdal Nov 23 '18 at 11:02
  • Which airline are you intending to fly with? I see that Ryanair is flying from Torp to Gdansk and they will check your wife's immigration status and without the residence card, they will not let her fly. – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Nov 23 '18 at 11:26
  • @Tor-EinarJarnbjo We are traveling with Wiz Air, but we were planning to return with Ryanair. She does still have the Swedish EU residence card though. Will they somehow swipe it in a computer? It may have been void since we moved from Sweden? – Fiksdal Nov 23 '18 at 11:32
  • @Coke Not that it is relevant at all for this question, but the Swedish authorities disagree with you: "Can I use the tax authority's id card when travelling abroad? No, ... the id card is only accepted within Sweden." https://www.skatteverket.se/privat/sjalvservice/svarpavanligafragor/idkort/idkort/kanjaganvandaskatteverketsidkortnarjagreserutomlands.5.70ac421612e2a997f85800094651.html – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Nov 23 '18 at 11:32
  • @Revetahw If you don't check any bags, you'll be fine with the void Swedish EU residence card (if it isn't expired). Not legal, but doable in practice – Crazydre Nov 23 '18 at 12:51
  • @Coke right, because they won't be swipe it in any machine, an we'll be able to to just show it to them? – Fiksdal Nov 23 '18 at 13:09
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    @Revetahw Exactly, only bag drop staff would swipe it, not staff at the gate. SO print your boarding pass at home and don't check any bags, and you'll be fine – Crazydre Nov 23 '18 at 13:21
  • @Coke Wow, sounds good. – Fiksdal Nov 23 '18 at 13:23
  • @Revetahw This is if flying WIZZ and Ryanair. On other airlines except easyJet, if not checking bags only the boarding pass is needed – Crazydre Nov 23 '18 at 13:23
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    "they won't be swipe it in any machine": there's a good chance that they will. But do the Swedish authorities know you've moved away? Even if you have, the residence card might still be legally valid. Even if it isn't, it might not have been entered into a database of invalidated documents. If you have time you might consider getting a visa at the Polish consulate. – phoog Nov 23 '18 at 13:23
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    @phoog At the gate? At what airport do they ever do this? Not in Scandinavia for sure, and not when I flew from Poznan either – Crazydre Nov 23 '18 at 13:24
  • @Coke when they scan the passport, whether at the gate or the check-in counter. – phoog Nov 23 '18 at 13:26
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    @phoog Check-in counter yes, hence me telling OP not to check any bags. But never the gate – Crazydre Nov 23 '18 at 13:27
  • @Coke if they scan it, they scan it. It doesn't particularly matter where, does it? – phoog Nov 23 '18 at 13:28
  • @phoog But the fact is they don't at the gate, that's the good thing, at least not in Scandinavia when boarding a Schengen flight – Crazydre Nov 23 '18 at 13:29
  • @phoog Of course it matters. If the passengers don't check any bags, whether the staff scan it specifically at the gate or not is the determining factor. – Crazydre Nov 23 '18 at 13:30

1 Answers1

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Legally speaking she's not allowed outside of Norway without the Norwegian residence card; in practice, for any airline but Ryanair, easyJet and WIZZ, you need no ID at all if not checking bags.

For Ryanair, easyJet or WIZZ, the old Swedish residence permit will be fine in practice if you print the boarding pass at home and don't check any bags

Crazydre
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  • EU family members have full freedom of movement when accompanying or joining their EU spouse. On what grounds would she not be allowed to leave Norway? https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/168985/are-spouses-of-eu-citizens-exempt-from-the-90-180-shengen-rules/168997#168997 – Tim Oct 20 '22 at 10:05
  • @Tim She has to be able to prove it with her residence card – Crazydre Nov 30 '22 at 05:33
  • I'm a UK citizen married to an EU national who is working in Norway. I'm awaiting my Norwegian residence permit but there is a long delay. I contacted Norwegian immigration and they confirmed I can come and go as I please. Spouses of EU nationals have the same rights as EU nationals and cannot be turned away unless for very specific security reasons https://travel.stackexchange.com/a/168997/82375 – Tim Dec 01 '22 at 16:09