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hi i applied for a resident card using the EEA application. my application was refused on grounds that the marriage cert provided looked altered. this obviously is not the case. the issuing body has written a letter to validate the certificate presented.
i have gone for a judicial review. what is my immigration status as at now..am i allowed to work legally n freely?

Can you please tell on which visa you had before you applied for EEA.

If you had any kind of leave to remain before than I think same conditions will apply on you until JR finished.

i had a students visa before i applied for the resident card

Where and when did you got married?If you are married with an EEA person in UK than you can work as you like during your JR.

got married in my home country last year and yes my wife is an EEA citizen..do u have an idea on how long JR takes?

Could take around 6 months in average.

so btn now and then am i ok to legally work?is there any way i can push for it to be quicker

Yes you can work.but there is no way to push JR process to finish it quickly.

thank you so so so very much for your help..

AUHS wrote:Yes you can work.but there is no way to push JR process to finish it quickly.

I don't believe the OP can work whiles the JR permission application is ongoing. His right to work is through his EEA spouse. If the proof of relationship to that spouse is being discredited, he has no right to work, and no employer will take him on, until his JR is successful , and a declaration is made that his Marriage Certificate is genuine and not counterfeit.

JR can take up to a year or over.

The HO will have to provide acknowledgement of Service, which they usually take, in some cases months to do, after that, the case will be listed for a judge to decide on paper, this can take up to 3 months, depending on whether court is in sesssion or not, then you will either be granted permission or refused. If refused you will have to apply for Oral renewal of permission at the High Court, which could take about a couple of months. If successful their HO will have 35 days to provide service, and then the case will proceed to a Substantive hearing, which will take perhap few months as well. If unsuccessful, then you might have to apply to the court of appeal for permission to JR. If granted you will come to the High court again.

If things go well, and HO concede your case early, it could take as littles as 2-3 months. If however they decide to contest the case, and you are unsuccessful in getting permission to Judicial review at the initial stages, it could take up to a year or over.

The OP was a student when he applied for EEA before his student visa expired.
His old conditions will continue to apply until his JR is sorted.

He can work as permitted on student status(usually 20 hours per week).

Also some time even home office is accepting your claim in between the process of JR and even after sending pre action protocol .and some time full procedure is followed.

It can be decided at any time. We can not give a exact time frame. It can be in 1 month(where ukba agree to overturn the decision after pre action protocol ) it can around 6 month(if ukba agree to change mind in half way through) or it can be around 1year if full JR is going ahead.

In my opinion The op's previous immigration status is not relevant. He has not applied to extend his leave under the immigration rules so he doesn't benefit from 3c

If his relationship with his eea partner is being disputed he is going to find it difficult to demonstrate his right to work in the UK.

Section 3 does not apply for the following reasons.

1. A Judicial review is not an appeal.

2. Section 3C applies if someone has made an application under national rules for a variation of his Leave to Remain before that leave expires.

3. Section 3D applies if he has a Statutory Appeal pending, as stated in my first ground, a JR is not an appeal.

4. Section 3 apples to national rules and not the EEA regime.

5. If he is not currently a student or his a valid student visa for which, he has kept to the conditions attached, then the rights you mention , is not in existence.

Perhaps further information will be required from OP.

all this is quiet interesting. i do not even know where to start. the grounds on which the application was refused was that the marriage certificate presented looked "altered"(according to HO). the body that issued the marriage certificate was notified and they ascertained to the fact that the document was authentic and very much valid.this letter was then forwarded to the HO then the JR filed.
my issue now is, am i legally entitled to work pending the outcome of the JR or until i hear from HO.
the thing is, if they think it was altered, i do believe that it doesnt make it any less valid. if the marriage certificate has now been confirmed by the issuing body, am i in the position to work freely and legally?

and also, i am not currently a student as my visa has NOW expired. i even want to enrol on a programme at the uni but now in a fix looking at my current situation.

In light of the fact that the marriage was done in a different jurisdiction, it would be difficult for a potential employer to undertake their independent investigation and obtain the necessary proof, that will contradict the HO finding, which will prevent them from being liable to a fine or prosecution. They will not go against the HO judgement, as they are the authorities responsible for issuing a document confirming your right to reside in the UK.

Until the courts have confirmed that the confirmation from the authority in the state you contracted the marriage is authentic, and that the HO has no basis for concluding the marriage certificate is altered, you cannot in actual fact work legally, especially if you don't hold a valid COA, or have a right of appeal.

I will suggest you exercise some patience. If the document is genuine, which i believe , based on what you have shared with us, then your case will be concluded soon.

thanks for the information.its just that i have very limited time to take up the job but looks like the only option here is patience. the documents confirming the authenticity of the marriage certificate has been sent to the HO and i pray they accept it even before JR is completed.

capital1010, can you post the exact wording of your refusal?

When and where were you married? Was the marriage legally recognised in the country where it happened?

As regards working, your right to work depends on your actual status: if you are genuinely and legally married to an EEA national who is exercising Treaty rights in the UK, then I would say you are allowed to seek work.

BUT (and it's a big but), both Greenie and Obie are right when they say that you will find it difficult to find an employer willing to hire you. If you do not have a Residence Card or a Certificate of Application, an employer cannot protect themselves from a fine if they are raided: they will not want to take the chance.

Does the Home Office have your passport?

you have applied for a residence card as confirmation that you are a family member of an EEA national who is excersing Treaty righs in the UK
you have submitted a marriage certificate to support your application. the marriage certificate submitted has clearly been substantially altered. the names on the marriage certificate have been typed over different names, which can be seen underneath the text.
therefore we do not accept this doc as proof of relationship with an EEA national.
your application has therefore been refused on grounds that you have not provided evidence in the form of:
A marriage certificate as evidence that you are related to an EEA national.
.............................

I can clearly confirm that the marriage certificate is authentic and very much valid in the country where the marriage was carried(ie Ghana). is has been confirmed by the issuing body through a letter which has been forwarded to them.

the employer has just sent a query to HO confirming whether they can employ me or not. i anxiously await the outcome.

and yes they have my passport.......