Can I apply for the EEA Family Permit for my infant child?

I (Dutch national) live in the UK with my Russian wife. She has an EEA2 card so that's all okay. She is pregnant at this moment and wants to give birth in Vladivostok with her family.

As there is not a Dutch embassy or consulate in the immediate vicinity that'll issue a Dutch passport I think the quickest way for the newborn to get a travel document is to apply for Russian citizenship. Being born in the Russian Federation with a Russian mother that should be okay.

If the baby has a Russian passport, then obviously he'll need an EEAFP to gain access to the UK. Can I as the EEA father apply for this without the infant being present at the Visa Application Centre? I'd rather not have an infant travel too much in planes if this is not necessary.

Once back home in London we can then easily apply for a Dutch passport.

Congratulations Gerkema,

your situation is however a classic example to prove how stupid these travel regulations have become! For what would a few-months old need his own passport? To travel around the world independently from his parents??
I do believe however, that Regulation 11.4 of the 2006 EEA Immigration Rules would grant your child entry to the UK, as long as you have a duly translated birth certificate identifying you as the father and thus proving the EU nationality of the child. The only problem would be to convince airline staff of the same.
Where is the nearest VAC for Vladivostok anyway?
There is a Dutch consulate in Sakhalin (because of Shell being active there I think), although I 'm not sure if they issue passports.

Thank you fysicus. Sakhalin does not issue Dutch passports so that is unfortunately not an option. For an EEAFP the nearest VAC will be Ekaterinburg, but Moscow is easier by flight.

As an alternative we are thinking of going by train or plane (2 hours in the middle of the night) to Beijing and ask for either an EEAFP or a Dutch passport in China.

I did not know of the immigration rules that you point out. Will ask my airline about this as well. That would save us a lot of extra traveling with an infant.

fyi: the relevant bits of 11.4:

(4) Before an immigration officer refuses admission to the United Kingdom to a person under this regulation because the person does not produce on arrival a document mentioned in paragraph (1) or (2), the immigration officer must give the person every reasonable opportunity to ... prove by other means that he is—

(b)a family member of an EEA national with a right to accompany that national or join him in the United Kingdom

full reference: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006 ... art/2/made

There seems to be a VAC in Novosibirsk also.

Given the fact that an EEA FP is not issued on the spot, I would argue that the requirement for an EEA FP is an unreasonable burden in terms of time and money to spend.

Answer from the British embassy in Moscow was:

We advise you to see EEA and Swiss nationals visa application guide on the web site of the UK Border Agency - http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply ... s#22714756

You can submit your child’s visa application to the British Visa Application Centre on your child’s behalf as children under 5 years old do not need to submit biometrics. Your wife and child will not need to be with you.

Full information on visa application procedure can be found on the web site of the British Visa Application Centre – www.ukvac-ru.com

I guess this means that I can fill in everything online and the mail them the passport. I have to admit that I had not read the vac website properly before asking. The website reads under http://www.ukvac-ru.com/applying.aspx#howapply:

All visa applicants (apart from exempt categories and children under 5 years) must apply in person at the visa application centre to submit their biometric data. Although exempt categories and children under 5 do not need to attend the visa application centre, they will need to complete a visa application form. If you refuse to submit your biometric data, your visa application cannot be processed.

I'm not sure if your conclusion is correct that you can do the application online and/or by post entirely. They only confirm that mother and baby do not need to come to the VAC, but they probably still expect somebody to apply in person, be it the father or perhaps some other trustworthy representative. Better check that explicitly.

Have you confronted the British Embassy with Regulation 11.4 (it is essentially the Brax arrest transposed into UK law)?