Being told a non-EU spouse cannot travel with you without a visa.
Entry and family members
Directive 2004/38/EC. A non-EU spouse travelling with you needs no visa if they hold a residence card of a family member of a Union citizen.
Free · Independent · Reply in 7 days
You have rights in all 27 EU countries. Nobody hands you the manual.
Told you need a visa you do not need. Charged foreign-student fees. Refused a bank account for the wrong reason. Tell me what happened, in your own words, and I will tell you what EU law actually says — and exactly who to push.
No cost. No account. Five questions, about four minutes.
A nursing qualification earned in one member state, and another asking for a two-year top-up before you may work.
An illustration of the kind of problem that arrives here. Not a client's case.
Sound familiar?
Most of what people are told is simply wrong.
These are the shapes problems tend to arrive in. In each one, the answer somebody was given is not the one EU law supports.
Being charged international tuition fees after years of living in the country.
Studies and equal treatment
Article 18 TFEU. Equal treatment on tuition applies from day one for EU citizens exercising free movement.
A bank asking for a national ID card before it will open an account.
Money and banking
Payment Accounts Directive. Any consumer legally resident in the EU has the right to a basic payment account.
Having worked in several countries and not knowing which one pays the pension.
Social security across borders
Regulation 883/2004. Each country pays a share; your periods are added together, not lost.
Eight areas
Pick the one that sounds most like your problem.
Not sure which? Choose the closest. Getting it slightly wrong costs you nothing — the enquiry gets re-filed on this end.
How it works
Three stages. No waiting room.
The whole point is that you leave with something you can act on, not a leaflet.
You describe it
Five short screens. Your nationality, which country you are dealing with, what you were told and by whom. Plain language — no forms in legalese, no file uploads unless you want to.
About 4 minutesIt gets assessed
Your enquiry is checked against the directive or regulation that governs it, and against how the countries in your case actually apply it. This costs nothing. If it belongs with SOLVIT or a national body instead, you are told that straight away and charged nothing.
2–5 working daysYou see the price, then decide
If it is answerable you get a fixed price for the written answer and a plain description of what it covers. Accept and the answer follows: what the rule says, whether the decision you were given holds up, and the exact next step — which office, which article to cite, what to put in the letter. Follow-up questions on the same case cost nothing.
ANSWER Within 7 days
Advising across the EU and EEA
Who you are talking to
Karen Vella
I spent years watching people accept a “no” that was never lawful in the first place — at a counter, on a helpline, in a letter with no reasons attached. Almost always the rule was on their side and nobody had shown them where to look.
This service exists to close that gap. You get a direct read on your situation under EU law, written for you rather than for a file, and a concrete next move. Where your case belongs with SOLVIT, a national regulator or a court, I will say so plainly rather than keep it here.
- Qualified asAn advocate, practising on her own account — not a firm or chambers
- FocusEU law — free movement, residence, social-security coordination and recognition of qualifications
- Works withPeople in any of the 27 member states, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
- Replies inEnglish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Maltese or Luxembourgish
- HowEntirely in writing, wherever you are — nothing needs you to be in the same country
- NotDomestic law of any one country, except where EU law settles the point. No representation in court, no retainer and no billable hours — each case is priced before any work starts
Qualifications
- Undergraduate Higher Diploma in Social Entrepreneurship
- B.A. Legal & Humanistic Studies
- Diploma Notary Public
- LL.D
- M.A. Diplomatic Studies
- M.A. Human Rights and Democratisation
- Executive MBA
Before you ask
The questions that come first.
What does it cost?
Asking costs nothing, and you are never charged without agreeing to a price first.
Once your enquiry has been read, one of two things happens. If it is not something this service can answer, you are told so and pointed to who can — free. If it is answerable, you get a price for the written answer before any work starts. Fees depend on the case; a straightforward question costs considerably less than one that needs two countries' rules unpicked.
Follow-up questions on the same case, once paid for, cost nothing.
When do I pay?
After your enquiry has been read and priced, never before. You get a link showing exactly what the answer covers and what it costs. If you would rather not go ahead, ignore it — nothing is charged and nothing is owed.
Are you a lawyer?
Yes — I am an advocate, and what you get here is legal advice.
What it is not is representation. I do not appear in court for you or run litigation on your behalf. This service is the step before that, and for most people it is the only step they need: what the rule actually says, whether the decision you were given stands up, and exactly what to do next.
If your situation does need someone in a courtroom, you will be told so, and told what kind of lawyer to look for.
How is this different from SOLVIT?
SOLVIT is the EU's problem-solving network between national administrations. It is excellent, and free, but it acts once you already know that a public body has broken EU law.
Most people are not there yet — they need to know whether what happened to them was even wrong. That is what happens here first. When SOLVIT is the right route, you will be told exactly how to file with them.
What if my problem is not in your nine categories?
Send it anyway and pick the closest. The categories exist to route enquiries quickly, not to turn people away. If it falls outside EU competence entirely — a purely domestic matter for one country, say — you will be pointed to who does handle it.
What happens to my information?
Your enquiry is stored to answer it and to follow up, and is not sold, shared with advertisers or used to profile you. Under the GDPR you can ask for a copy of what is held about you or have it deleted at any time by replying to your enquiry email.
Which languages can I write in?
Write in whichever language you are most comfortable in — your enquiry will be read either way. Written answers come back in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Maltese or Luxembourgish, whichever you pick on the form. If none of those works for you, say so when you send the enquiry and it will be sorted out before you are quoted anything.
News
News and publications
Updates from the practice, published work, and general notes on how the rules apply. None of it is advice on your own situation — that takes reading your papers.
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Four minutes to ask. Seven days to an answer you can use. Nothing to lose but the sentence someone told you at a counter.