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EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

General UK immigration & work permits; don't post job search or family related topics!

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anapo1987
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EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by anapo1987 » Sun Mar 08, 2015 10:21 pm

Hello,

My partner and I have a few questions about UK visas and are finding it difficult to find reliable information. Any advice or assistance would be appreciated! Our situation is as follows:

One of us lives in France, and the other lives in Canada. We've been together for over 3 years and are considering moving to the UK to work full-time.
We would plan to live together once we're there, but have never lived together before (for very long).

We are considering the following visa options:

- EEA family permit: Can we apply for this, knowing that we would likely need to prove that we've been together for more than 2 years but that we don't have any official proof, such as a civil partnership certificate? We do have plenty of messages, photographs and other evidence that we've been together, but we don't know what kind of evidence they expect from us.

If we can apply for the EEA family permit, would the visa become effective when it's granted, or immediately upon arrival in the UK? Essentially, we plan to be in the UK in October, so we're looking for the optimal time to apply for this visa.

- Work visa (Tier 2 general): We thought about applying for the EEA family permit and transitioning to this visa because the process appears simpler (e.g., as the work visa requires us to have a job lined up 3 months prior to entering the UK, I don't know how many businesses are looking to hire 3+ months in advance). Furthermore, if we lose the job after arrival (for whatever reason), do we have to go back to Canada? For this one, we're looking more for general advice since the process appears more involved.

Thank you very much in advance.

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by Wanderer » Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:37 am

Do either of you hold British or another EU citizenship?

Partner visa of any sort is not open to you in any case, as you need to have lived together as man and wife for 2 years minimum.
An chéad stad eile Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile....

anapo1987
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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by anapo1987 » Mon Mar 09, 2015 3:29 pm

Thanks for your reply.
For the citizenship, yes we do. I am a French citizen and my partner a Canadian citizen (both born and raised in our respective country). Do you think the only option then would be the Work Visa or can my French citizenship make it easier ?

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by ALKB » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:49 am

anapo1987 wrote:Thanks for your reply.
For the citizenship, yes we do. I am a French citizen and my partner a Canadian citizen (both born and raised in our respective country). Do you think the only option then would be the Work Visa or can my French citizenship make it easier ?

You can:

- get married and apply for an EEA family permit for your Canadian partner

- move to Canada and apply for an EEA family permit for your Canadian partner after cohabiting for two years

- find an employer willing and able to sponsor your Canadian partner for a work visa (might be quite difficult depending on field and skill level)

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by anapo1987 » Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:00 am

ALKB wrote:You can:

- get married and apply for an EEA family permit for your Canadian partner

- move to Canada and apply for an EEA family permit for your Canadian partner after cohabiting for two years

- find an employer willing and able to sponsor your Canadian partner for a work visa (might be quite difficult depending on field and skill level)
Interesting. Thank you for the info, ALKB. This certainly helps us move forward.

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by ALKB » Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:16 am

anapo1987 wrote:
ALKB wrote:You can:

- get married and apply for an EEA family permit for your Canadian partner

- move to Canada and apply for an EEA family permit for your Canadian partner after cohabiting for two years

- find an employer willing and able to sponsor your Canadian partner for a work visa (might be quite difficult depending on field and skill level)
Interesting. Thank you for the info, ALKB. This certainly helps us move forward.

Depending on your partner's age they might also qualify for a Youth Mobility Visa.

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by anapo1987 » Tue Apr 14, 2015 2:54 pm

Hi again,
After further researches, I am coming back to you with another interrogation.
If we are able to register for a French PACS (which is the French equivalent for the UK civil partnership), living together for a few months either in France or Canada, could I then apply for a "UK residence card" (knowing that the visa criteria mention the "civil partnership with an EEA citizen") ? Or would it still be compulsory to live together more than 2/3 months? How long?
Furthermore, could I apply to that "UK residence card" only from my country (Canada) or would it be possible from France as well ?
Thank you in advance for your help. It is indeed really easy to get confused about those Visa options, and this forum definitely helps us!

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by wf » Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:48 pm

If your partner has a UK born grandparent they can apply for an Ancestry visa, or as already mentioned if under 30 they can apply for Youth Mobility. If eligible these 2 are far easier and less hassle than Tier 2/Work Permit.

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by ALKB » Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:01 am

anapo1987 wrote:Hi again,
After further researches, I am coming back to you with another interrogation.
If we are able to register for a French PACS (which is the French equivalent for the UK civil partnership), living together for a few months either in France or Canada, could I then apply for a "UK residence card" (knowing that the visa criteria mention the "civil partnership with an EEA citizen") ? Or would it still be compulsory to live together more than 2/3 months? How long?
Furthermore, could I apply to that "UK residence card" only from my country (Canada) or would it be possible from France as well ?
Thank you in advance for your help. It is indeed really easy to get confused about those Visa options, and this forum definitely helps us!

Are you a same sex couple?

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by anapo1987 » Thu Apr 16, 2015 6:46 pm

No we're not, but the French PACS is available for opposite-sex couples as well. Isn't it the same for the UK civil partnership?

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by Greenie » Sat Apr 18, 2015 7:48 am

No the uk civil partnership is only for same sex couples

I don't think the uk recognises a French PACS between and opposite sex couple.
See question 9

http://www.resolution.org.uk/site_conte ... l_2014.pdf

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by manci » Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:10 pm

What would be the advantage of registering for a French PACS rather than getting married in France or Canada (or somewhere else)? If you did the latter both your Canadian wife/husband and you could come to live and work in the UK with an EEA family permit and as an EEA citizen respectively.

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by anapo1987 » Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:56 pm

Greenie wrote:No the uk civil partnership is only for same sex couples

I don't think the uk recognises a French PACS between and opposite sex couple.
See question 9

http://www.resolution.org.uk/site_conte ... l_2014.pdf
Yikes! That's too bad. Thanks for forwarding that Greenie. It appears at this point that our only options are to try for the work visa or to get married. We're young enough to be eligible for the Youth Mobility Visa, but apparently this visa cannot be extended and we want something longer term than only 2 years.
manci wrote:What would be the advantage of registering for a French PACS rather than getting married in France or Canada (or somewhere else)? If you did the latter both your Canadian wife/husband and you could come to live and work in the UK with an EEA family permit and as an EEA citizen respectively.
Great question Manci. The honest answer is that we're not quite ready to be married. That's why we've been focusing so diligently on the opportunities around civil partnerships, which we view as a "step down" from marriage and something that we would be happy and willing to register for. We're just not sure if we're ready for marriage. You've given us something to think about, though, considering (as you've eloquently explained) how much easier things would be if we were married! Thank you for your input.

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Re: EEA Family Permit or Work Visa ?

Post by ALKB » Tue Apr 21, 2015 8:09 am

anapo1987 wrote: Yikes! That's too bad. Thanks for forwarding that Greenie. It appears at this point that our only options are to try for the work visa or to get married. We're young enough to be eligible for the Youth Mobility Visa, but apparently this visa cannot be extended and we want something longer term than only 2 years.
If your partner gets a Youth Mobility Visa and you and your partner then live together in the UK for two years (be diligent about collecting evidence of living together "akin to marriage" = tenancy agreement, bills in joint names, joint bank account, council tax bill in both names, etc.) your partner can then subsequently apply for a residence card under EU rules as an unmarried partner.

I think this would be the easiest route.

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Switching from Youth Mobility Visa

Post by anapo1987 » Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:21 pm

Hello,

I understand the Youth Mobility Visa is not extendable beyond its 2-year period, but I'm wondering if I could switch to another visa while on the visa or after it has expired, without having to leave the UK.

My partner (a French citizen) recently got a job in the UK and I (a Canadian citizen) am looking to move there with him. We have been together for 4 years but have never lived together.

We see that the UK Residence Card could be an option once my YMV expires, provided that we either 1) live together for 2 years while I'm on the YMV (however, since we would only be considered "family" by the UK Residence Card after living together for 2 years, I don't know if I this is feasible since the YMV is exactly 2 years in length), or 2) get married while I'm on the YMV. I just don't know if it's legally possible to switch from the YMV to the UK Residence Card or another visa without having to leave the country and apply for a new visa.

Thank you in advance for any help.

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Re: Switching from Youth Mobility Visa

Post by CR001 » Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:26 pm

EEA Residence card would be your only option and yes, you can apply for it from within the UK. It is also the cheapest option.

Any other visa under the UK immigration rules (i.e. Tier 4 or Tier 2 G) you have to apply from your home country.
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Re: Switching from Youth Mobility Visa

Post by anapo1987 » Wed Feb 10, 2016 1:47 am

CR001 wrote:EEA Residence card would be your only option and yes, you can apply for it from within the UK. It is also the cheapest option.

Any other visa under the UK immigration rules (i.e. Tier 4 or Tier 2 G) you have to apply from your home country.
Thanks, CR001.

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