Travelling advice from Home Office while EEA2 is in progress

Dear Forum Members,

I have been writing here for a few times now and received some really helpful comments from you. Hope you can help me with the current case.

Me and my wife are living in the UK for a year now. I'm Hungarian, she is Venezuelan. Her FMRS stamp expired in March but we already applied for EEA1 and EEA2 at the very end of February as i completed the one year employment. We sent the applications together as an advisor on the phone said it is ok to do that. We received our confirmation letters and had been waiting. My wife working for the same employer, nearly a year now. Her employer wants to send her to the US for a five days conference but for that she needs to apply for a US Business Visa and the conference is in the beginning of May. She and her employer contacted the Home Office and someone told them that they can send back the passport but when she is coming back to the UK, she has to apply for an FMRS stamp in the United States.

I contacted them telling that i do not understand why my wife has to apply for an FMRS in the US if she already has an EEA2 in progress. The lady on the phone said that's right but the proper legal way is to apply for the FMRS in the US otherwise she can come with her passport and confirmation letter but it's not the correct way and it depends on the immigration officers discretion. Just a quick story about the immigration officer's discretion:

Last year we came back to the UK and at Newcastle airport the immigration officer looked at the FMRS stamp and said/asked us "[i]but this is not from the UK is it?[/i]" After they even stamped her passport.

Finally there was a last call to them, what my wife's employer made on Friday as we still did not get back her passport and they are running out of time for the Visa application. My wife asked them finally how is she supposed to apply for an FMRS in the US if I will be here and my passport is still with the Home Office (EEA1 app). How can she prove that I am her husband? With the marriage certificate? How is she supposed to apply for an FMRS on a business trip. An FMRS what we had been waiting for 4 months to get in the UK. They said they can not answer this question she has to contact the caseworker on Monday and they are very sorry but the passport is still there with the Home Office. At the same time i found a red card at home from the Post Office that the passport has arrived.
We picked it up on Saturday. We got back her old passport with the expired FMRS.

I don't even mention the problems being without a passport and trying to sort out anything like opening bank account for her, finding job, getting mortgage etc.

I also don't understand why they have to keep our passports for so long. I mean last year 4 months with FMRS. This year for the EEA1 and EEA2. Our conditions has not changed at all.

I would like to know that all these things happening to us are part of the standard procedure? What solution would you recommend? Is it better if my wife stay here as I don’t see that she will have a chance to get an FMRS in the US. Is there any way I can put in a complaint about this? Is there any point to do it?

Thank you for your help in advance.

szabcsee wrote:I would like to know that all these things happening to us are part of the standard procedure? What solution would you recommend? Is it better if my wife stay here as I don’t see that she will have a chance to get an FMRS in the US. Is there any way I can put in a complaint about this? Is there any point to do it?

It is their standard procedure. However, I would always recommend to include only a copy of the passport-that is my standard procedure. The Home Office will request the original once they are actually processing the application, and then it usually only takes a few days.

I agree that the process is completely broken, but it is designed based on the experience with the UK immigration rules. There you are not allowed to travel while an application is in progress, so holding the passport makes sense. For application under EU law it does not, but the process is still the same.

In any other country where I did this, the process was working much better. You would go to your local council, hand in the application, show your passport, and receive a sticker in the passport with a temporary visa while the application is pending. Now that is what I would call a functional process.

Tom

What does your Residence Card application confirmation letter say?

It is in any case definitely NOT at the discression of the UK immigration officer whether your wife is let in. She MUST be let in as she is resident in the UK with her EU spouse.

What UK-issued visa-likestamps does she have in her passport and when do they expire?

The letter is the standard Certificate of Application, exactly the same what I received when we applied for FMRS or EEA2. My wife received the same Certificate for EEA1 what i received for EEA2. In her case (Paragraph of Family members who are not themselves EEA nationals) only mentions that she can engage in employment without a work permit while the R Card application is under consideration.

Her passport only has an FMR Stamp which expired on the 8th of March.

I don't know how can they expect her to apply for an FMRS in Minneapolis (there is only a consul there, the nearest embassy is Chicago) without me being there and I also don't have my passport as the HO still hasn't sent it back yet.

Can you give me any advice how could we solve this situation?

Thank you very much.

Directive/2004/38/EC wrote:What does your Residence Card application confirmation letter say?

It is in any case definitely NOT at the discression of the UK immigration officer whether your wife is let in. She MUST be let in as she is resident in the UK with her EU spouse.

What UK-issued visa-likestamps does she have in her passport and when do they expire?

szabcsee wrote:I don't know how can they expect her to apply for an FMRS in Minneapolis (there is only a consul there, the nearest embassy is Chicago) without me being there and I also don't have my passport as the HO still hasn't sent it back yet.

No, I do not think an application would work withing this short period of time. If she has been in the UK before (which she has know), the application would be forwarded to the Home Office anyway, and that can cause some additional delay.

Can you give me any advice how could we solve this situation?

This is a mainly question of documentation. Did you get your Registration Certification? It would answer on of the documentation needs (residence and employment). And she should also bring the marriage license. If you do not have a copy, it may be a good idea to ask the Home Office to mail it back. With these two documents, she should be legally able to enter the UK. And it may take some convincing, so she has to be persistent.

Tom

I think it would be silly to apply for another visa. The only possible visa I would apply for is an EEA family permit, because that is the one which applies and which might sometimes be issued quickly (or not).

First off, it is good news that Venezuelans do not need a visa to come as a visitor to the UK, so she will be allowed on the plane by the airline.

Be very clear that your wife has an almost absolute right to enter the UK. She is married to you, an EU citizen. Her right to be here comes from that relationship only and she does not need permission to stay.

She needs to be able to prove that she is married to you (by carrying the marriage certificate), a photocopy of your passport, and a recent payslip of yours (as a way of proving you are in the UK working). She should also carry the letter confirming your application for a Residence Card.

If she does not have the correct visa on arrival, and she is either travelling with you or joining you, and she can provide evidence of the relationship, then they legally must let her in.

She should also, of course, have a well-charged cellphone to call you and a book in case she gets bored - worst case you go to the airport on her return with your passport to prove that you exist.

This is a quite relevant discussion about entering the UK without an EEA family permit: http://www.gherson.com/articles/new-ait ... -nationals