EU court says British visa rule illegal

Brussels - The European Union's supreme court told Britain on Thursday that it could no longer require entry visas in advance for non-EU citizens who are family members of EU citizens and hold residence rights in other EU states.

Ruling in the case of Helena Patricia McCarthy Rodriguez, a Colombian married to a man with British and Irish citizenship living in Spain, the Court of Justice said EU rules did not allow London to insist on her applying in advance for an entry visa when she travelled from their home in Spain to Britain.