HELP stuck in Italy
 

My cousin's girlfriend is from Ukraine. She was in the USA on a green card and they decided to take a vacation to Italy. When she landed they wouldn't let her in because Italy requires a visa if you're from Ukraine so they sent her back! How can we expedite this process once she's back so they can join everyone on their vacation?

She has to call the Italian embassy. They're the ones who will know what to do. If there's an expediting process they will advise.

Having a green card does NOT give you the rights/privileges of a US citizen in the eyes of other sovereign governments.

As far as Italy is concerned she is Ukranian and need to follow whatever visa rules are for a Ukranian citizen (which she can get from the Italian embassy). Don;t plan on it being done in time for her to join a vacation.

I'm surprised she was allowed on the plane. The check-in people usually check that passengers have the correct paperwork. A green card is only good for the US.

That's terrible...She is the maid of honor at her sisters wedding!!

I'm amazed as well they let her on the plane. Any tips tricks or ideas to get her there pronto?

On the website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it says the visa application process takes weeks, not days.

http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Minister...to_per_Italia/

Looks like she's out of luck. She needs to check on the website for the consular office for where she lives, but the one for DC says she needs an appointment for an interview, and it will take another 7 to 15 days after that.

http://www.ambwashingtondc.esteri.it...servizi/Visti/

>>Any tips tricks or ideas to get her there pronto?<<

There most likely is no way she can travel to Italy before the end of summer at the earliest - IF she starts the process right away. So if she is going to be the maid of Honor, it will have to be via Skype or similar.

Hopefully a lesson learned!

She's just a young kid.... Really a shame. Thank you all so much for your input. They arrive back this afternoon. I'll have to break the bad news to them.

Well if she's traveling to Italy with her boyfriend to be the maid of honor at a wedding she can't be THAT young (12 or 13?)!

Seems she must know that she is traveling on a Ukranian and not US passport (and airline staff probably didn't know this required a visa - how often do they see this - but they should have?) and would ask what documents she needs before just heading to the airport.

Sorry to seem harsh - but one just needs to think a little bit about what you're doing.

Obviously, the airlines checked her passport. It must have been valid. That met their criteria for her to fly. Visas for other countries, etc. are not their concern.

If a person has never traveled and didn't know anything about visas, etc. it might be understandable that this could happen. However, she has only a green card for the US, not citizenship or a US passport. At some point, she (or if she is actually a child or just a kid as the OP indicated - then the adult who is her parent or guardian) had learned about immigration issues. It wasn't a new, out of the blue, issue to suddenly learn about for the first time.

>><i>It must have been valid. That met their criteria for her to fly. Visas for other countries, etc. are not their concern. </i><<

Not true. The airlines are responsible for making sure their passengers can legally travel to the destination(s) including any transit points. If an airline lets someone fly who shouldn't have - the airline is responsible for flying them back home. The airline apparently dropped the ball on this one . . .

The airline is also likely to have incurred a fine from the EU authorities.

What janisj said.

The airlines usually check when faced with a non-American passport, and when the destination country requires a visa. I am a dual national, and recently traveled to SA, starting in Brazil. US citizens need a visa for Brazil, UK citizens do not. I told the person checking me in that I did not have a visa for Brazil in my US passport because I would be entering Brazil using my UK passport (I showed her both passports), and she spent several minutes on her terminal verifying that I did not need a visa.

Do you know which airline let her board?