Family Permit application "complex" What does it mean?

Hi,

I'm enquiring this on behalf of my husband and would really appreciate any help/info (am already a nervous wreck).

So we submitted the application in November, went for the biometrics appointment in early December and then received the following email on January 4th:

UKVI in New York processes all straightforward visa applications within 15 working days. However, your case is considered to be complex, so the processing time for your visa application may extend past the normal 15 working days.
We will continue to process your application as quickly as possible, and UKVI will provide you with an update every 15 business days. We will notify you immediately when your application has been completed.


Why would a case be considered complex? Does anyone have any experience on how long it could take?

Here is a little bit of background. I'm a PhD student enrolled at London university currently in maternity leave till March 2017. I need to return for 6 months to finish my data collection. Since I don't want to leave my husband and daughter (10 months) in the US, we applied for EEA family permit for my husband. I have studentship to support us and my husbands dad agreed to sponsor us in case my studentship is not enough (he earns 3 figures) . We have our flights and accommodation for 6 months booked and paid for (March 10th till September 7th). My husband has a criminal record: dui, relationship with minor (17 and he 22 - was ruled a misdemeanor) and hosting a party with alcohol and minors present. Nothing to be proud of, but could this be a reason for our application to be rejected?

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Thank you

The delay could simply be due to incompetence and inefficiency. Not necessarily something you have done or not done.

Who is EEA/EU national sponsor here?

If its you and you have been in UK over 3 months (as you must have been as a student) then how did you show you are exercising treaty rights in UK?
(especially as you are now on maternity leave).

And do be aware its quite common for applicants to be refused on first application for a FP;
if so, just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again.

Thank you so much for your reply noajthan.

Yes, I am the sponsor. I'm German and have been in the UK for longer than 3 months. I'm still a registered student, but have been on maternity leave with my husband in the US for a year now.

The issue is that all our flights and accommodation are already paid for and I have to return this March or I will loose my studentship and PhD position. My maternity leaven cannot be extended past a year and I have to be present at the university to continue.

If his FP gets rejected, could we still fly to the UK and stay on a regular tourist visa for a month (my husband is American) and then leave?

Any help would be very much appreciated!

One year out so you are close to breaking continuity of residence in UK (which resets PR clock).

If FP is refused suggest address refusal points and apply again.
Or present at border with all evidence and ask for EEA dependent stamp. (Not guaranteed).

If hubby has a FP refusal and turns up as a visitor he is likely to be turned away.

Thank you for your reply.

I am not sure what PR clock is, could you explain this to me please? On the website it said: The EEA citizen you’re joining must either:
- be in the UK already
- be travelling with you to the UK within 6 months of the date of your application

I would be travelling with my husband with my husband to the UK.

Unfortunately, reapplying will not work for us. If I do not show up and stay on March 9th for 6 months I will loose my PhD position (3 years worth of work). Travelling alone for 6 months without my husband and baby is not an option for me.

Thank you in advance!

mashUSA wrote:Thank you for your reply.

I am not sure what PR clock is, could you explain this to me please?
...

It may not be of interest as I sense your long-term plan may not be to stay in UK.
But your 'PR clock' (towards acquiring PR - permanent residence in UK) will have been running for all the time you have previously been exercising treaty rights, continuously, in UK.
For example as a student qualified person (qualified in EU context not educational context).

So by the sound of it you are almost 3 years towards the goal of 5 years as a qualified person.

And the clock can continue to run even if you are physically outside UK but still 'resident' in UK.
Longer absences break such continuity of residence by stopping the PR clock and, in fact, resetting it back to zero.
A one-off absence (of up to one year) due to pregnancy/childcare does not stop the clock.

Thank you for explaining it. Yes, that's correct, we as a family have no interest in staying past the 6 months that I need to be there to finish the data collection for my PhD. Our home is and will be the US. It's a shame that it is so difficult and probably impossible for us to come there for 6 months and for me to finish my PhD.

If his FP is refused, when would he be able to just go there for a couple of weeks as a tourist again?

Is there any way of contacting the embassy? I read that they can take up to 120 business days. We want to go to my home country (Germany) in April and now am worried that he won't have his passport back.

mashUSA wrote:Thank you for explaining it. Yes, that's correct, we as a family have no interest in staying past the 6 months that I need to be there to finish the data collection for my PhD. Our home is and will be the US. It's a shame that it is so difficult and probably impossible for us to come there for 6 months and for me to finish my PhD.

If his FP is refused, when would he be able to just go there for a couple of weeks as a tourist again?

Is there any way of contacting the embassy? I read that they can take up to 120 business days. We want to go to my home country (Germany) in April and now am worried that he won't have his passport back.

Contact embassy for what reason?
You apply for FP online.

120 days - for what? FPs should be processed quicker than that.

The only problem is that, with any FP refusal in the system, hubby nay not get in as a visitor.
You would probably be better off presenting at the border and requesting an EEA dependent stamp (as mentioned previously).

If it takes much longer I would like to contact the embassy to cancle his application if possible. This way we can get his passport back and visit my family in Germany in April.

So if his FP is rejected it basically means he can never ever enter the UK again (unless he gets the dependent stamp, which you said is not certain) , even for a vacation? That would be very upsetting.

Concerning the processing time:
Number of days to process application
2 days 3 days 5 days 10 days 15 days 30 days 60 days 90 days 120 days
6% 80% 86% 96% 96% 96% 96% 96% 100%
This is what it shows when I use the .gov processing time calculator for the US and FP.

mashUSA wrote:If it takes much longer I would like to contact the embassy to cancle his application if possible. This way we can get his passport back and visit my family in Germany in April.

So if his FP is rejected it basically means he can never ever enter the UK again (unless he gets the dependent stamp, which you said is not certain) , even for a vacation? That would be very upsetting.

...

Presumably you know the embassy you applied through if you did not apply online. Although my understanding is processing is done in UK.

Never say never.
But the point is, if someone has declared their hand by applying for a FP because they have a spouse in UK, a visit visa application will be scrutinised even more carefully than ever.
US citizens, due to ease of entry into UK, are known to have a tendency to overstay. (This is a generalisation not an accusation).
The onus would be on the applicant (either applying for visit visa or turning up at the border) to convince ECO/IO that he has sufficient ties and reasons to return to US after any visit.

So calculator shows chances are you would get a FP in 5-10 days. Cool.

We have already waited over 25 business days, that's why I am worried that it might take 120 days.

So presuming his FP gets rejected, but we still take the flight on March 9th to London, but would have a flight booked to Germany on the very same day from the same airport, do you think they would let us through? (I checked, the airline I booked to London does not fly to the airports close to my home, so it's not an option to buy another flight with the same airline. So we will have to go through immigration, get our bags and drop them off again if that makes sense). I'm asking because I would hate to have wasted the money for the flights.

Hi,
Have you got an update on your case? What was the outcome of your husbands case? Did he get the family permit?