Guess we just have to hope that they will see that although we didn't obey the letter of the law (timing of arrivals), we are obeying the spirit of the law (we are living together in the UK).

I wonder what happens if I just don't apply for a residence card?

I got ready to fill out the EEA2 form for a residence card and got to the bit where they ask for dates of latest entry into UK for both me and my husband. I entered on the EEA family permit and know that one of the requirements is that I travel with my EEA family member or am meeting my EEA family m...

Have you tried another surgery? I think sometimes they just don't know what they're doing, or what their own rules are. My husband is British, and has come back to the UK to live after spending three years in Ireland. The GP he went to said they couldn't register him until he could show he had been ...

Work permits are for highly-skilled people who can do jobs that an employer can't find anyone in Ireland or the EU to do. The employer must prove that they've advertised the job on the official government channels for a specific length of time. They must also prove that there's no one from an EU cou...

Congratulationss, Yankeegirl! We are actually going to move to the UK this weekend. Eek. I've got a job to start and everything, and need my passport, so won't be applying for residency for a bit. Hope it goes as well as yours! (Although, since my husband is a UK citizen moving back from another EU ...

According to the INIS site, they do but you have to show evidence of at least 4 years co-habitation. And, I'm sure with all things related to Irish immigration, nothing is guaranteed. Oh, right, I didn't know this. That's good news! I'm glad the Irish have managed to do that. In social attitudes, t...

Also, in order to be admitted to a US university as a graduate student and to obtain funding there his academic performance in the UK will have to be truly outstanding. This may be the way to go. And, dare I say it, it may not be that difficult. Given a decent comp. sci. degree from a UK university...

First: you'd have to be moving to a country that recognizes un-married partners. Ireland, for example, doesn't. No matter that you can prove a "marriage-like relationship" for decades. If a country doesn't recognize unmarried partners, then it's a no go. If you want to go to a country that does reco...

Concerted action is a great idea, but organizing it would basically be a full time job for someone. Well, since a whole bunch of spouses can't work, maybe someone has time for it. Might be an uphill climb considering it's proven difficult to even get people together to meet! There's lots of anger an...

If you're willing to do anything, think about studying a subject that will get you in almost anywhere: nursing or medicine. Or: finish your bachelor's degree and apply to a UK university for graduate school. If you're good enough, you will be funded, especially in the sciences. I did a science degre...

If you notify the airport you are coming into in advance then you can arrange for an immigration officer to meet your plane, just to stamp your visa. Really?! That would be awesome! Oooh, I'm going to look into trying that. What specific "department" should I look for and ask about? Thanks for help.

Thanks for the replies. Crap. I don't want to send off my passport! I've just signed a job contract, so when we arrive in the UK, I need my passport for other stuff, like sorting out a bank account, tax number, etc., not to mention applying for a residence card. Aarrgh, annoying. Oooh, it just occur...

Ireland, like everywhere else, does need skilled workers. However, the EU1 problem isn't a skilled worker problem. Since you're applying solely based on being a family member of an EU citizen, how skilled you are doesn't come into it. They're certainly not going to make it a policy to only allow spo...

Do you have an Irish-born grandparent? That would give you Irish citizenship and passport. A few other European countries do this as well. But not further back than a grandparent. What about studying? If you want to do a degree, and can get a European university to accept you, you can move (not perm...

beloved is a very blatant thing, there is no subtlety to it. This is not true. There is lots of subtle, yet equally destructive and hateful beloved around. However, in this case, I can see no reason why the OP thought the immigration officer's behaviour was racially motivated. I would be angry at s...

Hi. I have an EEA FP for the UK. My husband and I will be flying in from Ireland, so there won't be any passport control on the UK side for me. Will it matter that I therefore won't get any stamp or other proof of the exact date I entered the UK using the family permit? I know I have six months to a...

I only just noticed that the article said they were deporting non-EU spouses (who entered the country illegally) of both EU and Irish citizens . So it's not just an EU1 or Directive 2004/38/EC issue, at this point. It also seems to imply that even spouses of Irish citizens have to have resided in an...

Thanks for the help and reassurance, Yankeegirl. I received the EEA FP today. In case it may help other people, a timeline: Thursday, 16/08: fill in and submit on-line form Tuesday, 21/08: drop off supporting documents at the UK Embassy in Dublin Friday, 24/08: got e-mail saying my application had b...

The on-line application at the British Embassy in Dublin asked for all sorts of information for an EEA family permit, as well. I e-mailed the Embassy saying that, as far as I was concerned, they were only allowed to ask for passports and a marriage certificate. They wrote back saying, Yes, that is t...

It took three months for my employer to apply for mine the first time. I think it's supposed to be eight weeks.

Good luck with it.

This may be a good question for SOLVIT. I mean, ideally, of course you could ring up the DoJ and ask yourself, but we all know how that usually goes. However, SOLVIT do seem to have internal contacts at the DoJ and may be able to get you a straight answer to the "what is considered previous residenc...

While the EU1 is being processed, your husband is in Ireland legally, even if there's no stamp showing it. He can't work, and he may find it difficult to get a re-entry visa if he wants to leave Ireland and return. If you haven't lived together as a married couple in another EU country before, your ...

Hi. We're in the middle of putting together our application for an EEA FP for me, an American. My husband is British, but has been living and working in Ireland for three years. We have everything they want, except proof that we're living together . We married on holiday and just before that, he mov...

Dublin airport requires passport checks for all flights from outside Ireland, even the UK. It checks flights not only from London but from, in my personal experience, Bristol, Southampton, Nottingham...basically anytime I've arrived into Dublin airport from outside Ireland, they've checked my passpo...

it may help to be American This would not surprise me. My personal theory on all this is that someone at the DoJ got hold of Directive 2004/38/EC and the first thing that came to mind was "Oooh, we'll get a bunch of Nigerians marrying Poles to stay in Ireland" or, more charitably "Oooh, there will ...