We are setting off for Europe in a few week's time, with an odd sort of itinerary.
Santo Domingo - Madrid - Rome (10 days in Italy) Rome - Madrid - Gibraltar (where we will spend the rest of the summer). Now that there are direct Madrid-Gibraltar flights it saves us the hassle of driving from and to M?laga after a long trip. Thing is, it's a bit of an anomaly because Iberia classifies it as an internal flight for political reasons, but it does mean that we are only transiting through Spain.
Mr C, a Dominican national, has his UK/Gibraltar visa sorted, so that's no problem. The question is - the Schengen visa. Should he get it from the Spanish or Italian embassy? He has had countless visas from Spain, so the former would be the ideal option.
However, if he is technically just transiting through Spain and the main Schengen destination is Italy, should he apply for an Italian visa? He tried phoning the Italian embassy this morning to ask their advice but they were incredibly rude, slamming down the phone after saying "refer to the website" without giving him a chance to ask his question - problem is, website does not cover cases like this. That combined with other people's less than pleasant experiences at the Italian embassy in Santo Domingo makes me hope that the Spanish option is valid.
Anyone have any informed advice?
Santo Domingo - Madrid - Rome (10 days in Italy) Rome - Madrid - Gibraltar (where we will spend the rest of the summer). Now that there are direct Madrid-Gibraltar flights it saves us the hassle of driving from and to M?laga after a long trip. Thing is, it's a bit of an anomaly because Iberia classifies it as an internal flight for political reasons, but it does mean that we are only transiting through Spain.
Mr C, a Dominican national, has his UK/Gibraltar visa sorted, so that's no problem. The question is - the Schengen visa. Should he get it from the Spanish or Italian embassy? He has had countless visas from Spain, so the former would be the ideal option.
However, if he is technically just transiting through Spain and the main Schengen destination is Italy, should he apply for an Italian visa? He tried phoning the Italian embassy this morning to ask their advice but they were incredibly rude, slamming down the phone after saying "refer to the website" without giving him a chance to ask his question - problem is, website does not cover cases like this. That combined with other people's less than pleasant experiences at the Italian embassy in Santo Domingo makes me hope that the Spanish option is valid.
Anyone have any informed advice?