Refused EEA family permit for mother-in-law, appeal or new application?

Hello,

My mother has applied for an EEA Family Permit on the grounds that she is financially dependent on my partner and me, we both live in the UK and have pre-settled status. We provided bank statements as proof of the money we send her every month, few days ago we got a letter with the refusal of her visa with the following statement:
"You have provided Bank transfers from sponsor to applicant dated March 2022. It is noted that you have not provided any evidence of your own domestic circumstance in Brazil. Without such evidence, I am unable to sufficiently determine that you cannot meet essential living needs without financial or other material support from your relevant EEA Citizen sponsor or their spouse or civil partner."

They didn't take into consideration the other bank statements we sent (not only from March) and refused based on the fact we didn't provide clarification on her current situation in Brazil. As these were not mandatory documents we did not send them. In the letter, it says we can either appeal if we don't agree with the decision or we can apply again if we have more documents to be considered.
I am unsure which is the best route to follow, so I sought advice from a lawyer who said her application will be denied anyway as she is not unhealthy and depends only financially on me.

I'd like some advice on this, as I haven't found any information that supports the lawyer’s affirmation. Does anybody know if being financially dependent is considered for the EEA Family Permit?
If that is the case, what would be the best, starting a new application or appealing?

Many thanks in advance!

maryanasoadd wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 04, 2022 5:52 pm

"You have provided Bank transfers from sponsor to applicant dated March 2022. It is noted that you have not provided any evidence of your own domestic circumstance in Brazil. Without such evidence, I am unable to sufficiently determine that you cannot meet essential living needs without financial or other material support from your relevant EEA Citizen sponsor or their spouse or civil partner."

They didn't take into consideration the other bank statements we sent (not only from March) and refused based on the fact we didn't provide clarification on her current situation in Brazil. As these were not mandatory documents we did not send them.

You need to address the reason the application was refused. They tell you exactly what to do: Since you did not provide evidence of her own domestic circumstances in Brazil, therefore, to produce a different outcome, you need to provide and clarify her circumstances in Brazil. I'm afraid you don't get to say what documents are mandatory or and what are not, the onus is on you to prove what they ask you to prove.

And since you did not provide enough proof the first time around, it's not a failure on their part, but yours. Any appeal will fail. Therefore, the way to go is a fresh application, making sure her domestic circumstances in Brazil are crystal clear.

Hope that helps.

maryanasoadd wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 04, 2022 5:52 pm

Without such evidence, I am unable to sufficiently determine that you cannot meet essential living needs without financial or other material support from your relevant EEA Citizen sponsor or their spouse or civil partner."

no expert by any stretch, but previously Jia and Lebon allowed to have dependnecy out of will ,rarther than necessity. Not sure about post-brexit application but gurus here may advise.

kamoe wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 05, 2022 10:10 am

"You have provided Bank transfers from sponsor to applicant dated March 2022. It is noted that you have not provided any evidence of your own domestic circumstance in Brazil. Without such evidence, I am unable to sufficiently determine that you cannot meet essential living needs without financial or other material support from your relevant EEA Citizen sponsor or their spouse or civil partner."

You need to address the reason the application was refused. They tell you exactly what to do: Since you did not provide evidence of her own domestic circumstances in Brazil, therefore, to produce a different outcome, you need to provide and clarify her circumstances in Brazil. I'm afraid you don't get to say what documents are mandatory or and what are not, the onus is on you to prove what they ask you to prove.

And since you did not provide enough proof the first time around, it's not a failure on their part, but yours. Any appeal will fail. Therefore, the way to go is a fresh application, making sure her domestic circumstances in Brazil are crystal clear.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for your reply, it does help, makes sense what you said and I am willing to make a new application with the documents asked.

My fear is to have the second application denied on the grounds that financial dependency is not considered, I wanted to confirm if this is accepted before making the next move.

maryanasoadd wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 04, 2022 5:52 pm

I am unsure which is the best route to follow, so I sought advice from a lawyer who said her application will be denied anyway as she is not unhealthy and depends only financially on me.

I'd like some advice on this, as I haven't found any information that supports the lawyer’s affirmation. Does anybody know if being financially dependent is considered for the EEA Family Permit?