Spousal Visa and working overseas

And I'll bite, what is the Portuguesa loophole?

It's to do with dependents of seconded workers within the EU.

Keep us informed on what happens at the Dutch consulate stateside...

Hello, all.  I'm Ian's fiancee, Jessica.

This is all turning out to be so very complicated.  I cannot thank you all enough for your help.  Thought I've been a silent (Ian would dispute this greatly, I'm sure) participant, I've been reading much of the forums and have found your help invaluable.

I've tried phoning the Dutch consulates (New Orleans and Miami), only to get voice mail.  I am going to try emailing tonight.  My ISP has a sense of humour and picks rather comical times to die.

So, I'm working on it and shall keep you informed.  Don't give up on us:)

Thanks,

Jessica

The British consulate people want to charge you to call.  The Netherlands consulate bypass this by just not answering the phone.  So I sent an email last week and got this reply today:

Dear Madam,
Our honorary consulate in New Orleans forwarded us your email.
As an American citizen you do not need a visa to enter the Netherlands.
As you are planning to stay there longer than 3 months, you will have to
report at the foreign police in the city where you are residing. They
will ask you about your housing, income and health insurance. This
information will have to come from your husband.
You will have to take care of health insurance via your husband (or
maybe his work?).
There are not EU visa's only Schengen visa for entering the Netherlands
for a short visit. As an American citizen you do not need one for a 3
months visit.

So, this says to me a couple of things:

1. that I will need to get a spousal visa for the UK and just travel there if I need to see the doctor for meds or whatever.

2. That everything gets taken care of when I get to Amsterdam and have to go report to the foreign police.

3. That I may need additional health insurance besides to live there.  I'm not sure about this.

This sounds a bit too simplistic to be real (as getting visas can't be easy).  I suppose that I could "visit" there to make sure all of this is correct before moving over, as we will have to have a permanent residence in the UK, so I won't be homeless if this information is incorrect and I get kicked out.  However, I think I shall carry around a copy of the email, because I'm sure they know what they're talking about, but it's safer to be healthily paranoid.

Any new thoughts?

Thanks,

Jessica

It would be well worth your while to check the unmarried partners visa in the Netherlands.  Germany and Belgium do not have the 2 year requirement that the UK does so unmarried partners just go ahead and apply straight-away.   

You can get an EU residence permit as an unmarried partner if your other half can show habitual residence in the Netherlands *AND* is exercising treaty rights (which he is).

But I'm certainly not the expert on matters arising under laws of individual EU states, so that's why I say it's best to check it out.

Editted to add:  the gays have taken this hill already, so that's the logical place to get some background information...