This is both a rant and a desparate plea.

I've got my head around the hoops I need to jump through to get a visa for my wife to visit the UK. It's crazy that the wife of a British citizen has more trouble going to the UK than economic migrants from Poland, but that's life for you.

I can not make any progress finding out how my wife can get a visa to travel from the UK to France and back. The French consulate in Shanghai is one of the most unhelpful and annoying switchboard entities that I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. Nobody was willing to answer my simple questions and everyone was passing me from pillar to post. It is the worst customer service experience that I have ever encountered in Shanghai. Chinese bureaucracies are a walk in the park in comparison!

Please help. I want to cry!

I totally sympathise, there are not the most helpful bunch....
Not sure whether it's useful but I found this on their website:

Roughly you need to download the form below + 2 pictures on a white background (they can be very strict, for my passport renewal I was told to only to Kodak because they knew the French standard requirement so you might want to check whether the same applies for a visa) + wedding certficate + your passport to prove that you're from the EU.
The main issue I find is that they don't mention the UK amongst the EU countries where this VISA is valid....

http://www.ambafrance-cn.org/fr/showdet ... story_id=5


Visas, visite familiale, amicale et tourisme : 6103 2200 ext 100
info@consulfrance-shanghai.org

Hope this helps....

Thank you. That is very helpful It looks like my wife needs to get 2 visas. So much for the EU. You can blame the UK for being so stubborn about open borders in Europe.