ILR in UK for EEA national?

Hi Everyone,

I am an EEA national (germany) and am married to a UK national. We are living together in Germany for 3.5 yrs and planning to move back to UK next year. I would like to be able to apply for UK ILR as soon as it will be possible. We have enough resources to maintain ourselves in UK without Govt funds. What options have i got:

1) Enter UK as an EEA resident and apply for EEA residence permit. In this case i will be able to apply for ILR after 4 years. Right????

2) Can i enter UK as an EEA national and apply for ILR as the Spouse of UK national with in UK?

Or

3) Will i need to apply for ILR at UK consulate in germany before entering UK?


Many Thanks for any one answering.

wh


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Extract from a Website:http://www.ncadc.org.uk/resources/rules2005.html

Changes to the UK Immigration Rules: Inforce effective @ 1st January 2005

Marriage Visa

Spouses of UK citizens or permanent residents (mainly those with indefinite leave to remain) may come to the UK under marriage visa category, and are able to work as soon as a visa is granted. You will need to meet the following marriage visa requirements:


* If you have been together for less than four years you are granted a marriage visa for a probationary period of two years. If you are still married and living together at the end of two years in the UK permanent residence (properly known as indefinite leave to remain) will usually be granted.

** * If you have been together for four years or more outside the UK you will be granted indefinite leave to remain (permanent residence) in the UK without having to live in the UK for two years.

....................................

Hi, interesting question, but I wonder why you are asking it?

I say that because as a German citizen, and therefore an EEA citizen, you have an absolute right to live and work in the UK. And that would apply even if you were not married to a British Citizen!

So your interest in ILR? Is it your intention to then apply for British Citizenship? If not, what practical real advantage do you see ILR giving you?

Picking up on your questions, you can of course enter the UK visa-free and then obtain employment. Once you are exercising your treaty rights in that way you can obtain a UK Residence Permit in your German passport, but that alone really gives you no extra rights as such. I say that because once you have been exercising your treaty rights for four years you can obtain ILR in your passport, even if you did not previously have the ordinary Residence Permit.

And once you have that ILR, given that you will then be married to a British Citizen (presumably) you could immediately apply for naturalisation as British.

Before going on .... your interest in getting ILR?

Hi John,

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes my intention is to apply for the UK Citizenship (since i ve read somewhere that acc to some treaty German National can keep Dual nationality with other EU countries, incl UK). The reason why i am interested in ILR quickly is that it will give me the right to social funds (incase i will ever need that). Per my understadning by merely being an EEA national does not give u the right to claim such funds (like unemployment Benifits ....)

I hope u wont get me wrong i do NOT intend to rely my life on public funds and both me and my spouse are Univ grads, working as professionals in related fields. My wife is a qualified UK teacher and shouldnt ve any trouble in finding work when we will move back.

Shortly said i am interested in ILR and UK nationality as a Safety measure, since we will be living permanently in UK. (u never know what ahead u in life).

regards

WH

Sit out half a year in Germany and come in straight with ILR. After 3 yrs residence in the UK as the spouse of a BC apply for naturalisation (as rules stand..they may have change by then). The EEA residence permit route is far longer pursuant to an ILR application being much later on.

Kayalami, will the British Embassy/Consulate in Germany deal with the application OK?

That is, is there a problem? The German national clearly needs no UK visa is their passport in order to enter the UK and live and work here. So if that person applies for a spouse visa, and duly pays their £260, or rather its equivalent in local currency, the British Embassy/Consulate will actualy deal with the application?

If they will deal with the application, totally agree that it makes sense to wait until the four years are up and then the visa granted in Germany should be ILR.

Thanx both of u for replying.

If i will be granted the ILR in germany, than after how much time after that will i be able to apply for naturalization in UK? (isnt it 1 year after ILR???)

Actually acc to UK consulate (germany) website, one dont need to pay any fees, if he returning to UK with his/her spouse(UK citizen) and:

*****************
Settlement Visas:
*****************

Completed VAF 2 application form ...
....
......
Correct fee. Please note dependants of British citizens may be entitled to gratis entry clearance if the British sponsor can provide evidence (eg payslips and/or letter from employer) that they have been working for a substantial period of time in an EU country other than the UK.

Marriage or birth certificate (whichever is applicable to show relationship to sponsor.

Copy of your sponsor's passport showing residence status in UK.
Confirmation of accommodation in UK or other evidence that you have the ability to accommodate yourself. This information should include details on the size of the property and rent if applicable. If the property is to be shared with other occupants you should indicate how many room will be available for your use.

Evidence of financial means, for example recent bank statement or savings book.

Information about any job offers you or your spouse may have in the UK.
Unmarried or same sex partners should also be able to show evidence that they have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least 2 years.

I'll pick up on this part :-

If i will be granted the ILR in germany, than after how much time after that will i be able to apply for naturalization in UK? (isnt it 1 year after ILR???)

No, it isn't. There are a number of tests that need to be passed and as regards ILR, as the spouse of a British Citizen, you merely need to have ILR (and not to have held it for any particular length of time).

However the main hurdle you will face is this ... the applicant needs to have been physically in the UK exactly three years prior to IND receiving the naturalisation application form. Accordingly, in practice, you are looking at a three-year period before you can apply for naturalisation.

Incidentally, my wife's application was posted 3 years and 1 day after she first arrived in the UK, so IND received it 3 years and 2 days after her first arrival.

Correct fee. Please note dependants of British citizens may be entitled to gratis entry clearance if the British sponsor can provide evidence (eg payslips and/or letter from employer) that they have been working for a substantial period of time in an EU country other than the UK.

But going down that route, what will they actually grant? I just have a suspicion that it will be an EEA Family Permit, rather than a two-year spouse visa.

But that is merely a doubt in my mind, and other views especially welcome.

John wrote:Kayalami, will the British Embassy/Consulate in Germany deal with the application OK?

Consulate must process any application submitted that is deemed to be valid. ECO will likely ask why the OP needs ILR when he can work in the UK as an EEA national. He can say he wishes to acquire ILR at the earliest opportunity which is a valid enough reason given he meets the rules under which the application will be processed. There is no aspect of EU law and hence applicable fees must be paid.

WH431 wrote:If i will be granted the ILR in germany, than after how much time after that will i be able to apply for naturalization in UK? (isnt it 1 year after ILR???)

If you bother to read my reply in detail I state that you may do this after 3 yrs.

WH431 wrote:Actually acc to UK consulate (germany) website, one dont need to pay any fees, if he returning to UK with his/her spouse(UK citizen) and:

Only applicable for EU law applications under which the EEA family permit falls = free. EEA family permit has nothing to do with ILR until post your UK entrance and only then if extended by way of an EEA residence permit to 4 years. Your ILR application is under UK immigration rules - all applicable fees must be paid. Sorry - you are mixing up legislation to suit you..it doesn't work like that. All you are gaining by way of current UK ILR route to naturalisation is 1 yr over the EEA route.

Thanks Kayalami and John for clearifying the scenario. Now i understand what i need to do for ILR. I guess Spouse visa route will be quicker, so i will go for it.

Regarding fees it still isnt clear to me from what is written on the British Consulates website that whether there is no fees for EEA family dependants or there is also no Fess for Spouse Visas. All it says there is that there wont be any fees for settelement visa (dont know what exactly its meant by the settelement visa).

Also the VAF 2 Form is mentioned there (with the No-fees Note) and isnt this the form for Husband/Wife visas? Here is the link http://www.britischebotschaft.de/en/con ... settlement

As far as i know there is a different form (EEA somthing..) for the dependants of EEA family members.

WH