Emiric

Can anyone tell me who or which office I need to speak to ASAP as my wife and british kids are in fear of their lives in Venezuela..
We are waiting to apply to get them back to the UK,but now I cannot wait anymore very bad thing are happening over their.
Any advise appreciated.

brissybee

Have you tried the British or Australian embassies? Maybe DFAT (department of foreign affairs and trade).

I don't know for sure... but that's where I'd start. Maybe your local MP's office can give some advice.

Emiric

Thanks yes was going to call the local MP tomorrow.
Just feel so useless now!

BritInParis

The telephone number for the consular section at the British Embassy in Caracas is +58 (0) 212 319-5800. The 24 hour FCO helpline is +44 20 7008 1500.

If your wife is Venezuelan however then the help they can offer will probably be limited.

Emiric

Thank you
Will try.

SanDiegogirl

Have you thought of returning to Australia which is where you lived until August 2013 if it is as bad as you say.

Emiric

Yes but now I'm running a business.
Will be looking at flights today just need to get them back.
Tourist visa for now and then plan.

Emiric

Could all of us get a flight to Malta and stay with my wife's sister and then I go back and forth to the UK. How long could we do that for?

BritInParis

I'm presuming you and your children are British. Which passport does your wife hold?

Emiric

Yes kids are British and my wife has an Australian/Venezuelan Passport.

englishguygoinghome

Your kids can go anywhere you can as they are British, I guess they could even get consular support themsleves (which leaves open the question of what the consul does about unaccompanied minors and/or the third-country mother. Given that she is a commonwealth citizen she would usually get support but NOT in her country of nationality - so not in Venezuela)


As for Malta - your wife is entitled to join you in any EU country other than the UK and stay as long as you are there, if you are lving and working there then she can work too. As an Australian she wouldn't need a visa to enter any Schengen country (including Malta) so there will be no problem with an airline insisting on seeing a piece of paper in her passport before letting her board (thus saving the time to apply for a family permit).
Exactly what the legal status would be for the period where you were in the UK is probably questionable - but right now I'd say: get her out of Venezuala and into another country. Then work out what to do longer term. Maybe you could even officially set up shop in Malta as a subcontractor to your UK business?

Englishmum

I was intrigued as to what is going on in Venezuela. I thought that things would be looking up since the death of Hugo Chavez...it seems that I was wrong:

http://www.channel4.com/news/venezue...colombia-drugs

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/One%...b_4807273.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014...n_4822371.html

Today's news:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-26283971

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...rotests-police


Emiric; I hope you manage to get your wife and kids out quickly. Is it possible to get them to one of the nearby Caribbean islands and then later fly them on a direct flight with BA or Virgin to the UK? I would imagine that if they go through the US your wife may need a transit visa?

Emiric

Thankyou Englishguygoinghome.

Thats eased my mind a little and i will look into subcontractor idea.
Thats my priority to get them home.
Thanks again for your help.

Emiric

Thanks Englishmum

Yes its got worse and worse out there obviously when my family first arrived it was nowhere near like it is.An illegitimate government that makes their own rules as they go.

My wife has been sending me videos that the media do not get hold of and they ere terrible.They even shut down Twitter so as the news would not get out.
Yes getting them to one of the Dutch Islands would be my second option.We have return tickets via Miami which the dates need to be changed if American Airlines are still taking that route.
Thankyou so much for your reply.

Englishmum

I'm pretty sure that your wife will find it more advantageous to use her Aussie passport if she is transiting through Miami. I'm assuming that your kids have British passports? If so, they can all go through the US by using the ESTA visa-waivers. (I don't know if Venezuela is like the US; eg. US citizens have to leave and enter the US on their American passports even if they are dual nationals. Are their ESTA's up to date or have they expired?

Otherwise your wife will need to apply for a Transit 'C' visa in her Venezuelan passport.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visa...r/transit.html

It seems crazy to need a visa or visa waiver to transit through an airport in the US (even if it's the same terminal!) but they do this in the UK and other countries too. Perhaps it's in case they decide not to take their connecting flight or the onward connection is cancelled due to weather or mechanical delays etc. and can't be rescheduled quickly.

I was at a British Airways desk at Newark airport, New Jersey a few years ago. A family was checking in and flying with BA to Cyprus and had their connecting flight via the UK. They were passport holders of Guyana....however they didn't have transfer visas and were denied boarding! They were told that they'd have to go to the British Consulate in NYC to apply for visas....understandably they were hopping mad

Tbh if I were you I'd get the family out imminently; they must be very frightened. If their AA flight to Miami can't be rescheduled for the next few days, I'd get them out to Aruba, Bonaire or Curacao and then see if they can get on a flight after some R&R to Puerto Rico or Miami or even Amsterdam on KLM.

Good luck to your family