Travelling while applying for PR

Hello! I sent my application the UKBA for permanent residency as the spouse of an EU national June 20th and I got my confirmation letter July 20th after completing my biometrics June 30th. My residency card expired August 11th.

My brother is getting married in the US October 3rd. It's kind of a big deal, and I would die if I missed it. I can request my passport back, right, but it shows an expired residency card. I could wait, but I think I won't get the PR in time. I would like to book my tickets, but I don't want to until I know I won't get trapped in the US.

Has anyone successfully travelled while applying for PR? What documents did you use to 1) get the airline to let you board the plane, and 2) cross the UK border?

Thanks!

msblackandwhite wrote:Hello! I sent my application the UKBA for permanent residency as the spouse of an EU national June 20th and I got my confirmation letter July 20th after completing my biometrics June 30th. My residency card expired August 11th.

My brother is getting married in the US October 3rd. It's kind of a big deal, and I would die if I missed it. I can request my passport back, right, but it shows an expired residency card. I could wait, but I think I won't get the PR in time. I would like to book my tickets, but I don't want to until I know I won't get trapped in the US.

Has anyone successfully travelled while applying for PR? What documents did you use to 1) get the airline to let you board the plane, and 2) cross the UK border?

Thanks!

I am in exactly same situation as you are.

Are you a visa national? Meaning do you need visa to enter UK. If no, then you can travel and enter just how you would in the first place. However, if you are visa national then believe me it is impossible and DO NOT listen to any cowboys out here mentioning they have done that travel with expired RC and COA. In order for you to travel back into UK, you would have to apply for Family Permit in the closest UK high commission in the country you would be traveling to. Since you would have the COA, it should be easy (average processing time for Family Permit is 10 working days in all British High Commission). However, just in case your application gets refused in the meantime, then you are practically in a very difficult and impossible situation to come back to UK.

liquid web wrote: In order for you to travel back into UK, you would have to apply for Family Permit in the closest UK high commission in the country you would be traveling to. Since you would have the COA, it should be easy (average processing time for Family Permit is 10 working days in all British High Commission). However, just in case your application gets refused in the meantime, then you are practically in a very difficult and impossible situation to come back to UK.

I think you are very realistic. Does your scepsis re: entry UK while expecting PR/RC extends to include entry via likes of Eurostar, etc on A1/1A?

Just as an update, after speaking with both the Home Office and the Heathrow Border, it was confirmed to me that as long as I was travelling with my original passport showing the expired RC and my COA, I would be admitted into the UK. (I'm an American national)

I traveled to the US and returned, without applying for a family permit (10 days was too long to apply for the permit - I had to work). At the border, they checked my COA by calling the home office. I was then notified by the border agent that I had effectively withdrawn my PR application and I would have to reapply. However, they would granted me a 6 month permit to reside in the UK, as I was travelling with my French spouse.

Furious, I called the Home Office asking why no one had told me my application would be withdrawn if I left the UK. The first agent said I needed to speak with BorderForce and provided me a number that didn't work. The second agent gave me a 'customer service' number, which sent me to someone who handles detentions, who gave me a number for Liverpool to someone who handles criminal cases. The third agent told me I would need to request all my documents back and resubmit my PR application. They also said there was nothing else to do but send an email to complaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. The fourth agent requested a case worker call me back, who confirmed my application had not been withdrawn and stated, 'Travelling does not impact your application. The border agent can only decided whether you can enter or not enter the UK.'

All I will say is that I was admitted, but it was a bloody awful experience. DO NOT DO THIS! Get the 10 days to apply for the family permit.

Omg that's crazy! Thanks a lot for posting about it. I planned to travel with my COA etc. n thought re-entering without an EEA permit would be okay. I won't risk it now, you never know what happens.

Thanks again.

msblackandwhite wrote:Just as an update, after speaking with both the Home Office and the Heathrow Border, it was confirmed to me that as long as I was travelling with my original passport showing the expired RC and my COA, I would be admitted into the UK. (I'm an American national)

I traveled to the US and returned, without applying for a family permit (10 days was too long to apply for the permit - I had to work). At the border, they checked my COA by calling the home office. I was then notified by the border agent that I had effectively withdrawn my PR application and I would have to reapply. However, they would granted me a 6 month permit to reside in the UK, as I was travelling with my French spouse.

Furious, I called the Home Office asking why no one had told me my application would be withdrawn if I left the UK. The first agent said I needed to speak with BorderForce and provided me a number that didn't work. The second agent gave me a 'customer service' number, which sent me to someone who handles detentions, who gave me a number for Liverpool to someone who handles criminal cases. The third agent told me I would need to request all my documents back and resubmit my PR application. They also said there was nothing else to do but send an email to complaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. The fourth agent requested a case worker call me back, who confirmed my application had not been withdrawn and stated, 'Travelling does not impact your application. The border agent can only decided whether you can enter or not enter the UK.'

All I will say is that I was admitted, but it was a bloody awful experience. DO NOT DO THIS! Get the 10 days to apply for the family permit.

I am actually glad someone just proved what I always suspected and commented above. They cannot possibly stop you from entering the country but boy border control knows how to make you rip all your hair apart from your head. This is deliberately done in order to test the genuineness of your status and I don't think I mind it. However, getting the EEA family permit is very easy when you have COA.