EEA Family Permit - some queries

Hi,

I am an Australian citizen currently living and working in the UK on a working holiday visa. My husband and I got married in Australia a couple of months ago. He is a Swedish citizen working in London.

For me to remain in the UK after the expiry of my working holiday visa, I am not sure if I need to apply for an EEA family permit or just a residence card. Can anyone clarify this for me?

Also, is there an expedited procedure? Does it really take six months? I have some travel plans so do not want to submit my passport for the whole duration of the application process. I have been told that if I ask for my passport back the application is cancelled. Is this the case?

Thank you so much for any advice you can offer.

salarna wrote:Hi,

I am an Australian citizen currently living and working in the UK on a working holiday visa. My husband and I got married in Australia a couple of months ago. He is a Swedish citizen working in London.

For me to remain in the UK after the expiry of my working holiday visa, I am not sure if I need to apply for an EEA family permit or just a residence card. Can anyone clarify this for me?

Also, is there an expedited procedure? Does it really take six months? I have some travel plans so do not want to submit my passport for the whole duration of the application process. I have been told that if I ask for my passport back the application is cancelled. Is this the case?

Thank you so much for any advice you can offer.

Please check if you can change your Visa status from working holiday to EEA permit or residence card.
The application will not make a difference, if you are travelling from outside the UK then you'll be issued with the EEA family permit, but once you're here in the country it does not matter. You should receive a 5 years residence permit after that you can then apply for the ILR.
once again all the best. I hope I made sense.


Yes the application can take between 3 to 6 months Imine took about 3 months to come through. The good side of the story is you can speed this process if you need to travel urgently but ONLY FOR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES like family Bereavement, health reasons of a close family member for compasionate reasons. You will need to send a proof to the home office then they will speed up your application. I was in the same situation when they received the proof the next day i received my passport via special delivery with residence card. I wish you all the best.

salarna wrote:For me to remain in the UK after the expiry of my working holiday visa, I am not sure if I need to apply for an EEA family permit or just a residence card.

You can apply for the EEA family permit outside of the UK, or the residence card within the UK. Theoretically you don't have to do anything, but then getting into the UK could be difficult.

salarna wrote:I have some travel plans so do not want to submit my passport for the whole duration of the application process. I have been told that if I ask for my passport back the application is cancelled. Is this the case?

The web site of the Home Office says so, but it is wrong. Applications under European law are not affected if you ask for your passport back or travel. You can also send a copy of your passport with the application. Once your "waiting time" is over, they will ask for the original.

alpha1 wrote:The good side of the story is you can speed this process if you need to travel urgently but ONLY FOR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES like family Bereavement, health reasons of a close family member for compasionate reasons.

That is interesting. They didn't offer me any option, but maybe my circumstances weren't special enough.

alpha1 wrote:Please check if you can change your Visa status from working holiday to EEA permit or residence card.

There is no problem to switch from the WHM visa which is considered to be under the UK immigration rules into the Residence Card which is under the EU rules.