Residence card in UK

Hi,
I am married to French citizen and I am currently at London on EEA family permit which is valid till September 30 2014.
My queries are in bold
Now I would like to apply for residence card and I downloaded the application form EEA 2 from UK hard copy form or
Do we have any online facility to apply for residence card?
If I apply for residence using hard copy card using application EEA2, I believe I need to submit my passport along with the duly filled application form. Once I submit the application form along with my passport to home office, how can I apply for Jobs and other facilities till I receive my residence card, as my Visa is stamped in the passport? Will I get any application number or any other receipt that can be used as a substitute for VISA? If I get it from where and when I can get it?
While applying for residence card I need fill only payment details, my details and my spouse details and other parts I can leave as its not applicable for me, for eg suriender singh case etc?
In application form they are asking us to send the application to the below address. So I believe all the EEA2Applicationfrom UK need to mailed to below address only irrespective of your current residing place in UK.
Home Office – EEA Applications
PO Box 590
Durham
DH99 1AD

Somebody please help me by providing clarifcations

There are no online facility to submit a Residence Card application. Only hard copy application is accepted as stated in the application.

Once your application is sent a document called Certificate of Application will be sent to you. This will allow you to accept job offers and continue working whiles your application is under consideration .

Hello jmg2511,

Thank you for your post. I hope you have been able to obtain your residence card. Like you, I am also residing in the UK on a EEA Family Permit. I will soon be applying for a Residence card in order to seek employment in the UK. However, my wife (EEA national working in the UK) has not obtained a "EEA Registration Certificate" yet, which I don't know if it will have a negative impact on my application. Can you please advise me if this was needed in your case? Also, if it's not too much to ask, can you post a quick update on how your application has been handled so far? Did you receive the Certificate of Application after applying and (if yes) did it help you find employment? I read people can seek employment on a Family Permit, but it can quite challenging.

The information on the UK Border Agency website is somewhat confusing/vague at times and it would really help me understand this process better. I've also read stories about people waiting 6 months to obtain a decision on their residence card application; I hope this is not the case as I really would like to obtain employment soon.

Thank you!!