EEA Family Permit Surinder Singh Route COMPLICATED

[aa123]

Seen as its an albanian passport it belongs to the albanian authorities,so it will be down to them to take any action. Hence why it was returned to them.

[UKCanadaAlbania]

You can appeal and make a fresh application at the same time,but your application will risk refusal due to the nature of the current refusal.

Your wife can also apply for a travel document to return to albania.

We went to the Albanian embassy in Paris today but it was closed. At least we now have the proper hours and days of the week which it is open. We will be going again Thursday morning.

If we re-apply as well as appeal the re-application would of course be after she gets a new passport issued in Albania. Would they still refuse even with a brand new passport?

Again the accusation of tampering is absolutely false but I am not sure how we prove it? When I personally look at the photocopy of the Schengen visa it looks fine and it is in no way torn or having a loose corner etc. They do mention 'chemical' but what would that be? Could it be from my wife's purse, make-up etc? I am so unsure how we prove this in our appeal. Or do we just need to prove her identity by means of her national ID card and info from the Albanian embassy?

[UKCanadaAlbania]

One more problem I can think of is that your wife could be alleged of being the originator of or party to the tampering. Personally I would have expected that the French police would be informed at some point. I still wonder what the Albanians are expected to do: report back that the passport itself is alright? Have your tried to get this information from the UK embassy? Have you considered to seek for legal advice?

I am unsure what they are expected to do as well. I mean they could examine the passport and say it shows no signs of tampering but would the UK then change their mind? If they don't then clearly that passport will do us no good and we need the Albanian government to issue a new one. Which of course means that my wife needs to quit her job here in Paris and fly to Albania to get it sorted. This is the worst thing for us. Also I assume it has been sent to Albania itself and not the Albanian embassy so again not sure if the embassy can do any more than to give my wife travel documents to fly back to Albania. Do they automatically destroy the passport or can we somehow get it back to submit to the appeal that it is not tampered with at all.

As for the UK embassy or consulate, not sure which one I go to but the family permit is done in Paris through their commercial agent WorldBridge. I am not sure how it works as to who I can talk to about this?

And legal advice I assume requires a lawyer which we can not afford.

[aa123]

Its better to sort out the issue with the current passport first, to clear your wife name.
Seek advice from the albanian embassy in paris when you go.

[UKCanadaAlbania]

Ok so obviously we will be appealing this to clear my wife's name/character and also trying to sort out the passport situation but I have been researching all day and I came across some things. I thought I would put this out there to see what people think.

In regards to if we re-apply after getting a brand new passport from the Albanian government to make sure the UK has no issues with it. I have read in this thread that we would most likely be refused but I wonder why as I notice the ECO denied the EEA Family Permit on the basis of ECB8.1 and made no mention of any other issue. I note that 320(7A) and (7B) which I believe would have been the reason to refuse a second application does not seem to apply to EEA Family Permits applied under the EU rules.

So it appears that although they can take the prior refusal into account in order to verify everything to a higher degree that they can not refuse the EEA Family Permit if everything verifies on the second try with a newly issued passport. But maybe I am missing something?

Here are the relevant UKBA parts:

RFL6.1 EEA Family permits - can 320(7A) and (7B) be applied?
If a non-EEA family member of an EEA national is applying for an EEA Family Permit under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, they cannot be refused under Paragraph 320 of the Immigration Rules as their applications are not considered under the Rules (see EUN02 EEA Family permits for further guidance).

However, if they are applying under the Immigration Rules and not the EEA Regulations, for example, as a visitor, they can be refused under the general grounds covered in the section on General Grounds for Refusal (GGFR).
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REFUSED UNDER THIS GUIDANCE FROM ECB(ENTRY CLEARANCE BASICS)
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ECB8.1 Why a passport or travel document is needed and what constitutes one
The Immigration Rules state that persons seeking entry to the UK are to be refused entry by an Immigration Officer if they fail to produce a valid national passport or other document satisfactorily establishing their identity and nationality (Rules paragraph 320(3)).

This applies equally to applicants requesting entry clearance from an ECO.

A bona fide passport or travel document should:

• contain the photograph, name and date of birth of the holder;
• state the holder's nationality (or disclaimer if the holder is stateless or of undetermined nationality);
• be valid for travel to the UK.
To enable a UK visa to be placed in a passport, there needs to be at least one full page available which is blank on both sides.
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BELOW IS 320 WHICH APPARENTLY DOES NOT APPLY TO EEA FAMILY PERMIT
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320(7A) where false representations have been made or false documents or information have been submitted (whether or not material to the application, and whether or not to the applicant's knowledge), or material facts have not been disclosed, in relation to the application.

320(7B) subject to paragraph 320(7C), where the applicant has previously breached the UK's immigration laws by:

(a) Overstaying;

(b) breaching a condition attached to his leave;

(c) being an Illegal Entrant;

(d) using Deception in an application for entry clearance, leave to enter or remain (whether successful or not);

unless the applicant:

(i) Overstayed for 28 days or less and left the UK voluntarily, not at the expense (directly or indirectly) of the Secretary of State;

(ii) used Deception in an application for entry clearance more than 10 years ago;

(iii) left the UK voluntarily, not at the expense (directly or indirectly) of the Secretary of State, more than 12 months ago;

(iv) left the UK voluntarily, at the expense (directly or indirectly) of the Secretary of State, more than 2 years ago; and the date the person left the UK was no more than 6 months after the date on which the person was given notice of the removal decision, or no more than 6 months after the date on which the person no longer had a pending appeal; whichever is the later;

(v) left the UK voluntarily, at the expense (directly or indirectly) of the Secretary of State, more than 5 years ago; or

(vi) was removed or deported from the UK more than 10 years ago.

Where more than one breach of the UK's immigration laws has occurred, only the breach which leads to the longest period of absence from the UK will be relevant under this paragraph.

[Kitty]

From what you have posted the application was refused because your wife did not submit a valid passport.

By definition a passport that has been tampered with is no longer considered valid by UKBA.

It's interesting that they did not make any statement or allegation about who might have done the tampering. The refusal does not state that she was refused because it would be undesireable to admit her to the UK etc.

My own thought is that provided the Albanian authorities are happy to issue a new passport to your wife, then that should be considered valid as required.

[86ti]

It's interesting that they did not make any statement or allegation about who might have done the tampering.

On what grounds could they possibly do that? The passport was obviously out of hands (and sight) on several occasions. There is also a chance (though I would think a slim one) that it was accidential.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

First off, your wife is your wife. If you are legally in France ( http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2011/09 ... eed-to-do/ ) then so is she ( http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2011/09 ... eed-to-do/ ). That she has a passport or not does not change much for her, though obviously it makes things harder.

I would also advise you to keep very careful records of your communication with them. I would also suggest that you keep all receipts of any expenses associated with them confiscating your wife's passport.

The embassy seems to have acted very oddly. You have presented a valid passport. They have confiscated it and returned it to the Albanians. You have not had a chance to examine the damage they claim there was the the visa. And they have not issued the required visa to you.

I do not know all the details of your situation, or what might have happened to the passport. But I suspect you will have grounds, when this is all over, to claim compensation from UKBA for how they have handled the situation.

For that you will need details of everything you have spent on this. And receipts. For direct and indirect expenses. So for instance, if she is required to travel to Albania to get a new passport, the tickets for that as well as the cost of any emergency travel documents.

See http://eumovement.wordpress.com/eu-coun ... d-kingdom/ for links to the UKBA compensation policy.

[UKCanadaAlbania]

Just an update. We were able to go to both the Albanian and British Embassies today but it was not very eventful.

The Albanian embassy seemed upset that the UK embassy had taken away my wife's passport and also that they had presented us with a letter not stating the exact place where they had sent it including the address. But aside from that they stated that it was not their job to verify the validity of the passport or to accept the passport sent from the Albanian issuing office in Albania nor to verify that it had not been tampered to refute the UK's claims. The lady said that we would need to travel to Albania to go to the Greek embassy that issued the visa to confirm it not being tampered, go to Albania to pick up the passport and also go to Albania to get issued a new passport.

The British embassy got on the phone to ask and came back stating that it was too early since we picked up the refusal on Monday and they have not yet sent the passport. He told us to contact/email via the WorldBridge website enquiry which is a contact form on their site. We did this and it seems that will now be forwarded to the embassy via their website. He also did not think an appeal would be a good idea because if they say it is tampered then we would not win. He said to simply get a new passport and reapply.

We stated in our message on the contact form that this accusation was untrue and that a mistake must have been made. We asked that they check the passport verification report so I am hoping maybe it is a mistake and there is still a chance of everything being ok.

So now we wait...

86ti Re: The accusation of tampering, I wish I could show you the passport or at least the photocopy of the Schengen visa I have and you would also be amazed that we are being refused because of this. We never did anything to it and we also never suspected that someone else had as it looks exactly as it did last year when we received it, completely normal. No fading, no abrasion, no tears, I am honestly bewildered how they can do this and it is maddening because how on earth do we prove innocence when we are not even in possession of the passport. If we get it back and suddenly it doesn't look like our photocopy of it then it means someone working at Worldbridge or the UKBA is corrupt.

Kitty: Yes, it seems that we will have to book tickets to Albania very soon along with emergency travel documents for my wife. Then apply for a new passport, a new Schengen visa, then return to France and reapply.

Directive: Sounds like great advice and I will be tracking the receipts and expenses for sure. I have read about asking for the Document Verification Report (DVR) under national immigration cases of the UK but not sure if it applies to under the EU route. Maybe that report can help us fight this in an appeal. It is nice to know she is still legal in France with me despite the lack of a passport but as you said that knowledge is hard to prove if it ever came down to needing it. For example even our new apartment hunt which we are now required to do since our lease has run out and we need another place to live since we were refused we will be asked for her passport id.

[aa123]

Your wife won't need to apply for a schengen visa to return to france, as albanian nationals can travel freely to the schengen zones visa free. But the maximum stay is three months and work is not permitted.
Not sure what the rules are if she is a spouse of a person exercising treaty rights in france?

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

The British embassy got on the phone to ask and came back stating that it was too early since we picked up the refusal on Monday and they have not yet sent the passport. He told us to contact/email via the WorldBridge website enquiry which is a contact form on their site. We did this and it seems that will now be forwarded to the embassy via their website. He also did not think an appeal would be a good idea because if they say it is tampered then we would not win. He said to simply get a new passport and reapply.

Who still has the passport? If it is Worldbridge, why in the world would they have it? Was the rejection letter from UKBA or from Worldbridge?

I personally would try to stop them from sending the passport to anyone. They claim there has been an attempt to alter it, fair enough, so now they should own the problem. If they now send the passport to Albania, then nobody can prove or disprove anything. If it becomes just your word against their word and no passport, and they will likely win.

I would ask them:
- for a detailed report on what, if anything, was altered in the passport
- for a complete colour photocopy of each page of the passport and the chance to inspect it in their offices, so that they can point out their issue with it
- to retain the passport as evidence until such time as an appeal is completed

86ti Re: The accusation of tampering, I wish I could show you the passport or at least the photocopy of the Schengen visa I have and you would also be amazed that we are being refused because of this. We never did anything to it and we also never suspected that someone else had as it looks exactly as it did last year when we received it, completely normal. No fading, no abrasion, no tears, I am honestly bewildered how they can do this and it is maddening because how on earth do we prove innocence when we are not even in possession of the passport. If we get it back and suddenly it doesn't look like our photocopy of it then it means someone working at Worldbridge or the UKBA is corrupt.

For future reference, you should photocopy EVERYTHING before you submit it to any government office. It is important that you have this as part of your appeal.

[UKCanadaAlbania]

Your wife won't need to apply for a schengen visa to return to france, as albanian nationals can travel freely to the schengen zones visa free. But the maximum stay is three months and work is not permitted.
Not sure what the rules are if she is a spouse of a person exercising treaty rights in france?

Yes, thank you, I am aware that Albanian citizens no longer require a Schengen visa for travel of 90 days every 180 days which was not the case last year when we got the first Schengen visa and her passport. But I was unsure if because she has been in the Schengen zone for over 365 days in a row if they will say that her 90 days every 180 days are used up? Since she is the spouse of an EU citizen I assumed we could and should still get the Schengen to avoid problems. (that is unless the new Schengen provides the UKBA with another way of falsely accusing tampering!!! )

I also believe the rule to not work does not apply to her as my spouse since I am British and exercising treaty rights through self-employment.

[UKCanadaAlbania]

The British embassy got on the phone to ask and came back stating that it was too early since we picked up the refusal on Monday and they have not yet sent the passport. He told us to contact/email via the WorldBridge website enquiry which is a contact form on their site. We did this and it seems that will now be forwarded to the embassy via their website. He also did not think an appeal would be a good idea because if they say it is tampered then we would not win. He said to simply get a new passport and reapply.

Who still has the passport? If it is Worldbridge, why in the world would they have it? Was the rejection letter from UKBA or from Worldbridge?

It appears that the UKBA/UK embassy has it but we are told to write via the enquiry form on www.visainfoservices.com which is WorldBridge's site.
Interestingly I just noticed that on the official refusal(UKBA) my wife's name is spelled correctly but on the separate letter(UKBA) informing that they "will be" sending her passport to the Albanian authorities that her first name is spelled incorrectly and that the website in the letterhead is listed as www.infoservices.com which is also incorrect as that is some other non-government website.

Does anyone know of a more direct way to contact the UK embassy in Paris via email rather than via the WorldBridge enquiry form???

I personally would try to stop them from sending the passport to anyone. They claim there has been an attempt to alter it, fair enough, so now they should own the problem. If they now send the passport to Albania, then nobody can prove or disprove anything. If it becomes just your word against their word and no passport, and they will likely win.

I would ask them:
- for a detailed report on what, if anything, was altered in the passport
- for a complete colour photocopy of each page of the passport and the chance to inspect it in their offices, so that they can point out their issue with it
- to retain the passport as evidence until such time as an appeal is completed

We are trying to retrieve the passport and in fact I am hoping, although the chance may be small, that they will agree that they have made a mistake and still approve the EEA Family Permit and return the passport.
Your points sound like a good thing to ask them. I will let you know their response.

86ti Re: The accusation of tampering, I wish I could show you the passport or at least the photocopy of the Schengen visa I have and you would also be amazed that we are being refused because of this. We never did anything to it and we also never suspected that someone else had as it looks exactly as it did last year when we received it, completely normal. No fading, no abrasion, no tears, I am honestly bewildered how they can do this and it is maddening because how on earth do we prove innocence when we are not even in possession of the passport. If we get it back and suddenly it doesn't look like our photocopy of it then it means someone working at Worldbridge or the UKBA is corrupt.

For future reference, you should photocopy EVERYTHING before you submit it to any government office. It is important that you have this as part of your appeal.

I see how that could have been mis-read, we do in fact have a photocopy of the passport and the Schengen visa but I just meant I can not show 86ti what it looks like. I could upload it here but it has identifying details (maybe if I blurred those?). And a photocopy is never as good as the real thing to prove our innocence.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Don't upload it here. No benefit for this discussion.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

This is an unrelated case, but perhaps interesting: http://freemovement.wordpress.com/2011/ ... rt-by-eco/

[UKCanadaAlbania]

So just to update this thread as the story is still ongoing.

About a week ago we were fed up with not receiving an answer and so we decided to get a travel document from the Albanian embassy to fly back and get my wife a new passport. While at the Albanian embassy in Paris my wife was able to talk to the Consular there and persuade him to call the UK embassy. He was able to get an answer that we never were (I guess when another embassy calls they actually listen). Apparently they still had the passport and required him to fax them with a request for it before they would send it. Even though we had a flight booked we decided it was best to retain the original passport first to avoid issues later and so we waited for her passport to be sent to the Albanian embassy from the UK embassy.

These embassies are only a few blocks apart but it took another week and a half to get the passport. Of course it arrived at the Albanian embassy the day after 28 days were up from when we picked up the rejection. Which means they waited the exact time we would have been able to appeal the decision before sending the passport! You must appeal within 28 days and they sent the passport to the embassy after exactly 28 days. Seems like quite a coincidence.

As it turns out they actually physically removed the Schengen visa and have apparently sent it back to the issuing authority which would be Greece in this case. We are about to now book flights to return to Albania and get a new passport to return to France and once again apply for the EEA Family permit to go to the UK.

Do you think leaving the Schengen zone without a Schengen visa in the passport and without a residence card will be a problem? Will they accuse her of overstaying or will they be fine as I am a UK/EU citizen and will be travelling with her.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

So you have not appealed or complained? Why are you getting a new passport? Why not just apply for the EEA FP again using the existing passport?

[Obie]

So just to update this thread as the story is still ongoing.

About a week ago we were fed up with not receiving an answer and so we decided to get a travel document from the Albanian embassy to fly back and get my wife a new passport. While at the Albanian embassy in Paris my wife was able to talk to the Consular there and persuade him to call the UK embassy. He was able to get an answer that we never were (I guess when another embassy calls they actually listen). Apparently they still had the passport and required him to fax them with a request for it before they would send it. Even though we had a flight booked we decided it was best to retain the original passport first to avoid issues later and so we waited for her passport to be sent to the Albanian embassy from the UK embassy.

These embassies are only a few blocks apart but it took another week and a half to get the passport. Of course it arrived at the Albanian embassy the day after 28 days were up from when we picked up the rejection. Which means they waited the exact time we would have been able to appeal the decision before sending the passport! You must appeal within 28 days and they sent the passport to the embassy after exactly 28 days. Seems like quite a coincidence.

As it turns out they actually physically removed the Schengen visa and have apparently sent it back to the issuing authority which would be Greece in this case. We are about to now book flights to return to Albania and get a new passport to return to France and once again apply for the EEA Family permit to go to the UK.

Do you think leaving the Schengen zone without a Schengen visa in the passport and without a residence card will be a problem? Will they accuse her of overstaying or will they be fine as I am a UK/EU citizen and will be travelling with her.

There is no law that states you are precluded from appealing without a passport. You should have put the appeal through, with or without the passport. Furthermore you should have proceeded with a JR, which would have speeded things up, as the ECO is perfectly aware, they would be liable to pay damages and your legal cost, in the event of them loosing.

[UKCanadaAlbania]

So now we are back in France with my wife's new passport.

We plan to take the train to Calais and then the ferry or rent a car and then take the ferry so that we can bypass Worldbridge and talk directly to the border guards this time. We figure that since the only reason for refusal of the EEA family permit last time was the passport that now that we have a new passport that the border guards should issue my wife with the Code 1A stamp and let us enter. We are doing Surinder Singh route and I'm looking into whether or not I need to quote anything from MRAX and Metock as well.

I agree that we should have appealed or fought it but unfortunately we did not have the time or the funds to go down that route.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Be sure to bring proof that you, the EU citizen, have been working in France. If you haven't already, it might be worth reading this: http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2010/08 ... to-travel/

[UKCanadaAlbania]

Be sure to bring proof that you, the EU citizen, have been working in France. If you haven't already, it might be worth reading this: http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2010/08 ... to-travel/

Thanks, it is a great guide.

Final update:

We took the train from Paris to Calais and the ferry from Calais to Dover. We boarded the ferry as foot passengers and first spoke to French immigration who asked about a visa in my wife's passport since we had just replaced her passport and there was no visas whatsoever. I pulled out papers and started talking about European Union law so she just told me to talk to the UK immigration officer who was about 15ft down the hall as she didn't seem to understand me. He could overhear and so he knew we had an unusual situation before we even approached him. I showed him the various sections for Surinder Singh and also about being given means to prove by other means that my wife is indeed my wife etc. He was happy that I had everything so organised and although it was unusual he did everything according to what the laws were that I had read and stamped my wife's passport with the Code 1A. It did not take very long at all.

So my wife and I are now in the UK. The stamp she was given in her passport states that it is good for 6 months with no recourse to public funds. I believe this is the mentioned Code 1A although it does not say Code 1A anywhere.

I am a British(UK) citizen who was self-employed in France. (Surinder Singh)
My wife never possessed a residence card for France (Metock)
We entered at the border/port without the EEA Family permit and instead relied on evidence and where given leave to enter. (MRAX?)
So I believe this is a case of the UK upholding at port the cases of Surinder Singh, Metock and MRAX. Does this seem correct? MRAX seems like quite a big case with a lot of different conclusions so I am not positive on this part.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Well done! Welcome to the UK! Nice to see you aware of all the case law behind your entry!

Does the stamp say she can work?

[Jambo]

I believe that in general, entry clearance stamp/visa doesn't state what you are allowed to do but what you don't.
On a visitor stamp it would state "employment and recourse to public fund prohibited". Code 1A only includes the latter part so you are allowed to work although it doesn't state so implicitly.

[kellyman]

That is a very good news. i think i would go down the route you took. Can you please give me more information about the auto enterpreneur stuff and how i can go about it. Thank you and well done for persevering

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

I believe that in general, entry clearance stamp/visa doesn't state what you are allowed to do but what you don't.

The UK Residence Card is phrased in the positive. See picture.

I am pretty sure the phrasing is the similar on the EEA Family Permit