Need to travel after EU FP expires

Rohma Saqib wrote:Hi,
I am a Pakistani citizen married to a French national who is living in the UK as a qualified person. I have received my Family Permit today which is valid from 1/06/17 to 1/12/17. I will be travelling to the UK in the start of July 2017 along with my French husband who is coming to Pakistan to pick me up.
1. Is there a way for me to extend my family permit while I am in the UK?
No - all actions involving Family Permits have to be initiated outside the UK; from inside the UK you can only apply for the EEA Residence Card (as soon as you arrive assuming all requirements are met) or the EEA Permanent Residence Card (after living in the UK for 5 years in accordance with the EEA regulations).

2. Can I enter via receiving the Code 1A Stamp at the border? If so, what are the requirements? (Documents etc)
Yes - it is permissible within the EEA regulations to do so. In addition to valid ID documents (your passport, his nat'l ID or passport) you will need to a) prove your relationship (marriage certificate, w/translation would be wise) and b) prove he is a qualified person in the UK since he will have resided here more than 90 days by Dec 2017. This can be either his EEA residence document (residence certificate) or proof of employment (payslips) or proof he's a student, etc., whatever the case may be. Your much bigger problem will be getting to the border at all, as Pakistanis are visa nationals for UK immigration purposes.

3. Will it be easier to obtain Code 1A stamp if I enter the UK via Calais, France?
I don't think it matters much which UK port of entry you're using; they will all follow the same rules. The problem will be getting there to begin with. If you can enter the Schengen Area visa-free, or if you can obtain a Schengen visa quickly/easily, then entering via Calais could work for you.

4. Would the airline let me board the plane with an expired family permit but a letter from the Home Office stating that I have applied for my Permanent Residency Card.
I would say your odds would be pretty low. They get fined a lot of money for carrying non-admissible people, and so usually default to 'no' if they're not 100% sure you're ok.

5. How long does the PR card take to come?
I think you mean RC card, since PR requires 5 years residence. In either case it appears it's taking 6 to 7 months right now from application to receipt of card.

6. Can I apply for another FP while I am in the UK, if so, do I need to go through the same application process as the first time?
No - see Q1.

Rohma Saqib wrote:I need to travel to Pakistan in December for my sister's wedding. My Family Permit would be expired by the time I wish to return to the UK. (I will be returning along with my French husband)

zazii wrote:if i were you i didn't take this risk,
you have to apply for 5 years RC no PR.
no you cannot extend your family permit in uk unless you apply for RC.

GMB wrote:

Rohma Saqib wrote:Hi,
I am a Pakistani citizen married to a French national who is living in the UK as a qualified person. I have received my Family Permit today which is valid from 1/06/17 to 1/12/17. I will be travelling to the UK in the start of July 2017 along with my French husband who is coming to Pakistan to pick me up.
1. Is there a way for me to extend my family permit while I am in the UK?
No - all actions involving Family Permits have to be initiated outside the UK; from inside the UK you can only apply for the EEA Residence Card (as soon as you arrive assuming all requirements are met) or the EEA Permanent Residence Card (after living in the UK for 5 years in accordance with the EEA regulations).

2. Can I enter via receiving the Code 1A Stamp at the border? If so, what are the requirements? (Documents etc)
Yes - it is permissible within the EEA regulations to do so. In addition to valid ID documents (your passport, his nat'l ID or passport) you will need to a) prove your relationship (marriage certificate, w/translation would be wise) and b) prove he is a qualified person in the UK since he will have resided here more than 90 days by Dec 2017. This can be either his EEA residence document (residence certificate) or proof of employment (payslips) or proof he's a student, etc., whatever the case may be. Your much bigger problem will be getting to the border at all, as Pakistanis are visa nationals for UK immigration purposes.

3. Will it be easier to obtain Code 1A stamp if I enter the UK via Calais, France?
I don't think it matters much which UK port of entry you're using; they will all follow the same rules. The problem will be getting there to begin with. If you can enter the Schengen Area visa-free, or if you can obtain a Schengen visa quickly/easily, then entering via Calais could work for you.

4. Would the airline let me board the plane with an expired family permit but a letter from the Home Office stating that I have applied for my Permanent Residency Card.
I would say your odds would be pretty low. They get fined a lot of money for carrying non-admissible people, and so usually default to 'no' if they're not 100% sure you're ok.

5. How long does the PR card take to come?
I think you mean RC card, since PR requires 5 years residence. In either case it appears it's taking 6 to 7 months right now from application to receipt of card.

6. Can I apply for another FP while I am in the UK, if so, do I need to go through the same application process as the first time?
No - see Q1.

GMB wrote:

Rohma Saqib wrote:I need to travel to Pakistan in December for my sister's wedding. My Family Permit would be expired by the time I wish to return to the UK. (I will be returning along with my French husband)

The more certain option is to just apply for another FP as soon as you get to Pakistan in December, even if this means going there ahead of your husband to make sure you have plenty of time for it to be processed.

Rohma Saqib wrote:However, can we apply for another FP while the previous one has not yet expired?

Rohma Saqib wrote:Yes I can get a schengen visa quickly due to my livret de famille. So plan B should be entering via France on my return from Pakistan?

GMB wrote:

Rohma Saqib wrote:However, can we apply for another FP while the previous one has not yet expired?

To the best of my knowledge you can, especially in your case as you can easily show through airline itinerary that you'll be returning after the current one expires.

Rohma Saqib wrote:Yes I can get a schengen visa quickly due to my livret de famille. So plan B should be entering via France on my return from Pakistan?

I think that's a realistic backup plan. You just need to get to the UK border to gain entry. If that's into Heathrow with a Family Permit, great. If that's into France then via the land border at Calais, that works as well.

If you re-enter at Calais, the relevant piece of legislation is from the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006, Part 2, Rights of admission to the UK, section 11, and most importantly 11(4)(b), which says:
11(4) Before an immigration officer refuses admission to the United Kingdom to a person under this regulation because the person does not produce on arrival a document mentioned in paragraph (1) or (2), the immigration officer must give the person every reasonable opportunity to obtain the document or have it brought to him within a reasonable period of time or to prove by other means that he is (b) a family member of an EEA national with a right to accompany that national or join him
in the United Kingdom.

Rohma Saqib wrote:Thank you GMB. Your responses have been greatly helpful in making my mind up. Would you happen to know if suppose I travel to France via UK while I still have a valid Family Permit and it has not yet expired. And upon entering the UK from France i request them for a Coda 1A stamp despite having a valid FP. I can carry all the necessary documents to prove my relationship to my French husband. This way when I travel to Pakistan in December I would already have a Code 1A stamp to re-enter UK afterwards even after my FP expires on 1st December 2017. I hope that makes sense!