UK Visa people querying my status

Hi, I am currently applying for an EEA family permit to come back into the UK on behalf of my wife. I am British She is Chinese. I was working in Ireland for 2 years but was then involuntarily unemployed and claiming benefit for 10 months at the end while looking for work. We are applying through the surinder singh case. I phoned the Immigration helpline and the woman on the phone said point blank that as I was claiming benefit, the application will be refused because I was a burden on the state and therefore not exercising my treaty rights. Is this correct, and if not, what should I quote in the application to make it clear that I was exercising treaty rights?

thanks

JetBlack wrote:Hi, I am currently applying for an EEA family permit to come back into the UK on behalf of my wife. I am British She is Chinese. I was working in Ireland for 2 years but was then involuntarily unemployed and claiming benefit for 10 months at the end while looking for work. We are applying through the surinder singh case. I phoned the Immigration helpline and the woman on the phone said point blank that as I was claiming benefit, the application will be refused because I was a burden on the state and therefore not exercising my treaty rights. Is this correct, and if not, what should I quote in the application to make it clear that I was exercising treaty rights?

thanks

anyone any idea?

sorry for bumping this again, but it is quite urgent. Are the UK Immigration authority correct in saying that I was not exercising my treaty rights whilst in Ireland?

The quickest question to that answer is, no they are not correct, for a variety of reasons.

I will not start making a fuss when an application is yet to be refused or rejected.

The people we normally speak to at the UKBA, might not always be friendly or helpful, for reasons they may percieve to be justifiable.

File in an application, and if it is refused, then you can take it from there.

I suspect the problem is that the British Embassy is looking at the 10 month unemployment, which of course exceeds the 6 month figure mentioned in the EU Directive. But just because you have gone over the 6 month level does not automatically mean that you are not exercising Treaty Rights. It just means that there is some doubt about it.

JetBlack, are you able to get work ... any work? Its nature or rate of pay would not matter ... but being employed again would get rid of any doubt that you are exercising Treaty Rights.

It is unlawful for them to do that.

The Directive provides for Involuntary employment. A worker retains his/her migrant worker status, if they become involuntary unemployed.

More over, going be the principle in Eind, which is applicable in this case, once a migrant worker has cease working in the host member states, he or she continue to benefit from the effect of the previous employment. This effect gives the migrant worker the right to re-enter the memberstate of his/her nationality even if they are not in employment, or has a job waiting for them.