UK General or Family Visitor Visa

dmuk · Post by **dmuk** » Tue Nov 18, 2014 2:03 pm

For the past 10 years we have lived and worked in the UK. We hold EU passports.

Our parents plan to visit us in February for around 30 days.

They hold non-EU passports. If it makes any difference they do have entitlement to live in one EU member state – however this could be ignored to avoid any complexity.

Should they apply for a General or Family visitor visa? Is one easier to get than another?

According to the Family Visitor Visa, we need to satisfy the below – I assume EU nationals are considered “settled in the UK”?:

“a British citizen
settled in the UK
granted asylum in the UK
under humanitarian protection in the UK”

We will be applying on their behalf. Can we complete the forms here and get them to submit the forms in their home country (along with required evidence)?

Thanks.

dmuk · Post by **dmuk** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 1:26 pm

Bump.

MPH80 · Post by **MPH80** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 4:28 pm

EU Citizens aren't considered settled in the UK until they have been here 5 years.

However, you don't need to apply for a UK visa for them - you can apply via the EEA family permit: https://www.gov.uk/family-permit

dmuk · Post by **dmuk** » Sun Nov 23, 2014 1:27 pm

MPH80 wrote:EU Citizens aren't considered settled in the UK until they have been here 5 years.

However, you don't need to apply for a UK visa for them - you can apply via the EEA family permit: https://www.gov.uk/family-permit

Thanks.

Wow, great news! That will save us £83 per application!

The online form looks very similar to the UK visa; and processing times are the same.

We have been in the UK for more than 5 years however it seems like the EEA family permit will allow our parents to visit (at no cost).

Lucapooka · Post by **Lucapooka** » Sun Nov 23, 2014 2:16 pm

An EEA Family permit will be refused if your parents are not dependant on you. What proof will you submit of this?

dmuk · Post by **dmuk** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 8:59 pm

Lucapooka wrote:An EEA Family permit will be refused if your parents are not dependant on you. What proof will you submit of this?

Our parents are not dependent on us... they are simply visiting for a couple of weeks.

I thought that you only need to prove dependency for extended family members; or for stays over 6 months?

Can you provide any more info?

I suspect for the UK Family Visitor Visa we do not need to prove dependency.

MPH80 · Post by **MPH80** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 10:08 pm

Lucapooka wrote:An EEA Family permit will be refused if your parents are not dependant on you. What proof will you submit of this?

I thought you (as a parent) only had to be dependant to stay more than 6 months - but up to 6 months was non-dependant for parents.

Am I wrong?

Lucapooka · Post by **Lucapooka** » Tue Nov 25, 2014 8:39 am

My understanding is that to qualify for an EEA Permit, non-nuclear family members must be dependent on the EEA National in the UK. The distinction is that parents need only be dependant at the time they apply, but extended family members must show they were dependent before the EEA national moved to the UK.

For the UK visit visa, you don't need to show dependency. Indeed dependency in such circumstances could be considered a negative trait as the applicant must have social and economic ties to their homeland.

dmuk · Post by **dmuk** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 8:59 am

Lucapooka wrote:My understanding is that to qualify for an EEA Permit, non-nuclear family members must be dependent on the EEA National in the UK. The distinction is that parents need only be dependant at the time they apply, but extended family members must show they were dependent before the EEA national moved to the UK.

For the UK visit visa, you don't need to show dependency. Indeed dependency in such circumstances could be considered a negative trait as the applicant must have social and economic ties to their homeland.

I assume we are talking 'financially' dependent?

This isn't the case although we'd certainly be helping with accommodation and daily expenses. This is general hospitality rather than financial support.

Both applications are the exact same form. So I wonder if you apply for the EEA permit and this is rejected, they won't allocate you a family visa during the same appointment.

Based on the uncertainty it seems like the Family Visa is the easiest option (even though it costs £83 per person).

Lucapooka · Post by **Lucapooka** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:03 pm

The dependency required is with regard to their current and on-going situation rather than what you will provide them during the visit. There is, in my opinion, no way they would qualify under EEA rules and it's more appropriate to apply for UK visit visas.

Lucapooka · Post by **Lucapooka** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:39 am

With all these hijackings, this thread has become like the sea lanes that approximate the Horn of Africa! If you have questions unrelated to this topic, rather than comments that are related to this topic, please ask those questions in a new thread of your own creation.

MPH80 · Post by **MPH80** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:56 am

I've de-duped and split the offending hijackings out the way.

Please avoid doing that people!

dmuk · Post by **dmuk** » Tue Dec 02, 2014 7:08 pm

Lucapooka wrote:The dependency required is with regard to their current and on-going situation rather than what you will provide them during the visit. There is, in my opinion, no way they would qualify under EEA rules and it's more appropriate to apply for UK visit visas.

Thanks. The issue of dependency is not totally clear from the visa guidance (at least gov.uk) but to avoid issues we will apply for the family visitor visa at a cost of £83.

It would be interesting to know if anyone has had success with a EEA FP without proving dependency.

One example that states a EEA FP could be used for a short visit is here:
http://www.findlaw.co.uk/law/immigratio ... 30190.html

dmuk · Post by **dmuk** » Tue Dec 02, 2014 7:15 pm

Another link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... rmit-eun02

Hence the confusion... however section 9 does call out dependency.

9. EUN2.9 How do I establish dependency under the EEA Regulations?

Direct family members must be wholly or mainly financially dependent on the EEA principal to meet his or her essential needs in order to qualify for an EEA family permit, (children under 21, spouses, civil partners do not need to provide any evidence to show dependency on the EEA national).

Extended family members must be wholly or mainly financially dependent on the EEA principal to meet his or her essential needs in order to qualify for an EEA family permit (durable partners do not need to provide evidence to show dependency on the EEA national). Emotional dependence to the EEA national would also be expected in order for an extended family member to qualify for an EEA family permit.

Whilst the following criteria are not in themselves grounds for refusal, they should be taken into consideration when assessing dependent relatives:

Whether there are any other close relatives in the country of origin from whom the family member receives material support. If a family member receives funds from the EEA national but, for example, is living in the same household as another relative who provides their food and accommodation, the family member cannot be said to need the financial support of the EEA national in order to meet his / her essential needs.
Whether the family member leading an independent life. For example, if a direct descendent 21 or over is married (and especially if they have children), it may be questionable as to whether the EEA national is supporting the essential needs of both the family member and their spouse and children. In such cases additional attention should be paid to ensure that the financial essential needs of the family are being met by the EEA national.

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UK General or Family Visitor Visa

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