Entering EEA family permit from different country

sombaden · Post by **sombaden** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:03 pm

I applied for an EEA permit for my spouse who is currently in Kenya. She has Somali nationality and I am a Swedish citizen having lived and worked in the UK for the past 15 years. Just got the permit from the visa office which states the visa runs out in May 2020 (6 months).

Now that's all fine the question I have is does she have to travel from the country of issue (in this case Kenya) or can she travel from any other country as long as she has her visa permit? She wanted to potentially go to Somalia and get some of her belongings and say goodbye to her family and then travel on from their to the UK, would that be fine? Seeing as the visa is valid until May that also means she can travel to the UK today, next week, next month etc. right?

kamoe · Post by **kamoe** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:37 pm

sombaden wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:03 pm
does she have to travel from the country of issue (in this case Kenya) or can she travel from any other country as long as she has her visa permit? She wanted to potentially go to Somalia and get some of her belongings and say goodbye to her family and then travel on from their to the UK, would that be fine?

Bear in mind I'm not by any means a legal expert in this matter, but from my point of view I cannot see how or why there would be a problem.

The main controls are made by airline staff at the airport when they print her boarding pass, and at the gate, then in the UK with the immigration official once she arrives. At both points the main check is to verify she has a family permit valid for the UK, not what consular section issued it. Since all UK consulates represent the UK abroad, which particular one issued a visa or permit doesn't really matter, it's all representation of the same government.

Seeing as the visa is valid until May that also means she can travel to the UK today, next week, next month etc. right?

Correct. Just keep in mind she should be applying to replace that permit for a EEA RC or Pre settled status card as soon as she arrives in the UK, and allowing sufficient time to have this done before her Family Permit runs out. So it would not be a good idea to travel to the UK with little time left.

iwolga · Post by **iwolga** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:55 pm

The main controls are made by airline staff at the airport when they print her boarding pass, and at the gate, then in the UK with the immigration official once she arrives. At both points the main check is to verify she has a family permit valid for the UK, not what consular section issued it. Since all UK consulates represent the UK abroad, which particular one issued a visa or permit doesn't really matter, it's all representation of the same government.

This is my opinion as well. I was also not travelling from the place where I applied for EEA FP, all was fine.

Entry clearance is your - sorry to say - entry clearance to enter UK, not your permission to leave from a designated port. Plus, a lot of people travel not directly with a change of the planes.

not what consular section issued it.

I think they are all processed in Sheffield, not in the country where you apply. So this all makes the reservations even less valid.

kamoe · Post by **kamoe** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:02 pm

iwolga wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:55 pm
a lot of people travel not directly with a change of the planes.

I think this is a quick and easy argument as to why there should not be a problem

not what consular section issued it.
I think they are all processed in Sheffield, not in the country where you apply. So this all makes the reservations even less valid.

I was more trying to answer the quesiton from a wider point of view, for example, also including the case of Tier visas, which are issued abroad in different consulates.

Would you have a problem traveling from a different country from that of the consulate which issued your visa? I don't think so, specially since many countries don't have consular representations in all countries, and sometimes you have to send your passport to another country just to have your visa processed because there is no consulate in your current country of residence. Does this mean you have to travel from the other country, the one that hosts the consulate that issued your visa? Of course not

kamoe · Post by **kamoe** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:25 pm

kamoe wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:02 pm
Does this mean you have to travel from the other country, the one that hosts the consulate that issued your visa? Of course not

Actually, I did this myself, twice removed.
I flew to the UK from Ireland, after having spend a week in the US, after having my Tier 4 visa issued in Colombia. Not an issue.

iwolga · Post by **iwolga** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:51 pm

kamoe wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:25 pm

kamoe wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:02 pm
Does this mean you have to travel from the other country, the one that hosts the consulate that issued your visa? Of course not
Actually, I did this myself, twice removed.
I flew to the UK from Ireland, after having spend a week in the US, after having my Tier 4 visa issued in Colombia. Not an issue.

Same here: being Russian, I applied for US visa in Latvia (was closest to the place where I lived in Russia and a lot of Russians apply in Baltic countries or in Poland), traveled to the NL to my (then) boyfriend and flew with him through Belgium to US. Actually, before today I didn't even think that this could be a problem

sombaden · Post by **sombaden** » Thu Nov 28, 2019 5:09 pm

kamoe wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:37 pm

sombaden wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:03 pm
does she have to travel from the country of issue (in this case Kenya) or can she travel from any other country as long as she has her visa permit? She wanted to potentially go to Somalia and get some of her belongings and say goodbye to her family and then travel on from their to the UK, would that be fine?
Bear in mind I'm not by any means a legal expert in this matter, but from my point of view I cannot see how or why there would be a problem.

The main controls are made by airline staff at the airport when they print her boarding pass, and at the gate, then in the UK with the immigration official once she arrives. At both points the main check is to verify she has a family permit valid for the UK, not what consular section issued it. Since all UK consulates represent the UK abroad, which particular one issued a visa or permit doesn't really matter, it's all representation of the same government.
Seeing as the visa is valid until May that also means she can travel to the UK today, next week, next month etc. right?
Correct. Just keep in mind she should be applying to replace that permit for a EEA RC or Pre settled status card as soon as she arrives in the UK, and allowing sufficient time to have this done before her Family Permit runs out. So it would not be a good idea to travel to the UK with little time left.

This makes sense, I was also under the same impression, in other words its the entry that is vital not where you flew a plane from.

Thanks for your advice

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Entering EEA family permit from different country

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