Non compliance of Article 3 of Directive for Family Members

[eldane]

we then plan to drive to Calais and get the ferry across to the UK where I intend to insist on us being allowed to enter together under the Surinder Singh ruling.

Would you not just enter the UK on your Spanish passport and save yourself the grief?

Ben, I do not recall Tracy ever having mentioned she possess a Spanish passport. Either way if she did she would never had to go through all these discussions with the UK ECO/M whether or not she could go to the UK with her husband as she should just have been issued a EEA family permit with no further questions asked if she had a Spanish passport.

On a side note I do think Wanderer has a point which I don't think Tracy has realised yet. In fact if Tracy wants to succeed, my opinion is she must tackle this matter in two steps.

Get her coming husband to Spain first and/or exercise a treaty right in Spain. She might have exercised a treaty right in the past but back then her partner (now coming husband) did not have the papers in order hence she could not apply for a "tarjeta de residencia para un familiar de un comunitario" and consequently she cannot apply for an UK EEA family permit while in the UK. If she were living in Spain now and wanted to go to UK while her husband were in a non EU state that would entitle her to a EEA family permit. Being in the UK and once having exercised a treaty right wanting a partner to come to UK on an EEA family permit I am afraid would be very difficult to obtain.

Hence...

Exercise a treaty right in Spain while applying for a UK EEA family permit will probably be the end result.

But, allow me to say I do hope you manage, at least, to get this case brought to the attention of the EU authorities as we do urgently need the member states to casework and understand the citizen's rights more uniformly.

Many thanks - just my pence of thought

El danés

[Ben]

we then plan to drive to Calais and get the ferry across to the UK where I intend to insist on us being allowed to enter together under the Surinder Singh ruling.

Would you not just enter the UK on your Spanish passport and save yourself the grief?

Ben, I do not recall Tracy ever having mentioned she possess a Spanish passport. Either way if she did she would never had to go through all these discussions with the UK ECO/M whether or not she could go to the UK with her husband as she should just have been issued a EEA family permit with no further questions asked if she had a Spanish passport.

Now, I also have a claim to Spanish Nationality as my father, who sadly passed away a couple of weeks ago, was Spanish.

[eldane]

we then plan to drive to Calais and get the ferry across to the UK where I intend to insist on us being allowed to enter together under the Surinder Singh ruling.

Would you not just enter the UK on your Spanish passport and save yourself the grief?

Ben, I do not recall Tracy ever having mentioned she possess a Spanish passport. Either way if she did she would never had to go through all these discussions with the UK ECO/M whether or not she could go to the UK with her husband as she should just have been issued a EEA family permit with no further questions asked if she had a Spanish passport.

Now, I also have a claim to Spanish Nationality as my father, who sadly passed away a couple of weeks ago, was Spanish.

A claim! That does not mean she has Spanish nationality or passport. Does it?

If that is the case I will be Danish national and can claim to be British as I have a UK permanent resident card after having been in the UK for 7 years which entitle me to apply for UK naturalisation.

It does not work that way does it?

[TracyCK]

we then plan to drive to Calais and get the ferry across to the UK where I intend to insist on us being allowed to enter together under the Surinder Singh ruling.

Would you not just enter the UK on your Spanish passport and save yourself the grief?

I don't have a Spanish passport currently and unfortunately, I no longer have the time to apply for one. This might also be complicated now by the fact that my father has now passed away and my birth was never registered in Spain. I think it would still be possible to get one but I honestly believe that since I maintained residency in Spain for nearly 4 years, irrespective of whether I was working all of that time or not, I should be treated as an EU Citizen for re-entry to the UK in this respect. The fact that the UK has placed restrictions even on the Surinder Singh route for its own citizens doesn't change the fact that the ruling itself is quite clear and simple.

I think if we stand our ground, my husband will be allowed entry, even if our case continues to be assessed after the fact. My husband doesn't give 2 hoots where we end up, so long as we are together so I think that should help also - it's not as if we met in the UK and he is desperate to get back there - he has never actually been to the UK, so it can hardly be said that I am trying to manipulate immigration law to get him in the easy way either - we met and began our relationship in Spain while I was firmly exercising my Treaty rights and I think that it is this point that will see us through in the end, whether the UK likes it or not.

The urgency that I have is that my job is to manage my mother's business there and we just had a letter of foreclosure from the bank. I have a meeting with the bank next Monday to try and reverse the situation and I can show all of this evidence at the border. The fact that Rachid's EEA Permit took 5 weeks to be refused the first time, and that the appeal has now been with the ECM for 3 weeks actually goes in our favour that I clearly don't have the time to get that resolved when my job is on the line. Neither am I prepared for my family to be separated any longer. The UK should surely be happier that I am returning immediately to a job (and potentially a job for my husband also) and therefore already a qualified person to apply for his residency?

Excuse my ramblings - it helps me to clarify my thoughts in words. I will be making this trip armed with the knowledge and many of the arguments that I have found here on this forum and if I had never found it, I don't know where we would be right now.

[Ben]

If that is the case I will be Danish national and can claim to be British as I have a UK permanent resident card after having been in the UK for 7 years which entitle me to apply for UK naturalisation.

It does not work that way does it?

You're right, it doesn't work that way.

In any case, I don't think Tracy has any intention of having her husband apply for an EEA Family Permit at all. It appears that the couple intend to enter Spain, then France, then the UK, with only their passports and marriage certificate. Hopefully, actually crucially, Tracy will also be carrying evidence that she has been pursuing economic activity in Spain.

The couple may be in for a struggle. That struggle would be made significantly easier if Tracy were to obtain and enter the UK on a Spanish passport, as opposed to a British passport. However, acting on a claim to Spanish nationality may cause Tracy to lose, by renunciation, her UK nationality. Important to note here though, is that UK nationality, once renounced, can be reclaimedjust as easily (but only once).


EDIT: Crossed posts with you Tracy, sorry.

EDIT 2: Tracey, sorry, does Rachid now have a valid EEA FP?

[TracyCK]

EDIT: Crossed posts with you Tracy, sorry.

EDIT 2: Tracey, sorry, does Rachid now have a valid EEA FP?

Rachid doesn't have an EEA FP, nor a visa to enter Spain yet. It is possible that the refusal is overturned by the ECM here in Morocco, but even if it happens tomorrow, we no longer have the time to travel to Rabat to collect it.

I am fairly confident that entry into Spain will be a formality tomorrow when we reach the border. We have been there before, and have been informed at the border and also by the consulate and the EU Commission that all games stop once we are married and he will be allowed to enter once we have a marriage certificate. There is a spanish consulate in Tetouan that we will pop into tomorrow morning, but unless they can issue the visa on the spot, we will go directly to the border without it.

As far as entering the UK, I do realise that it will be tricky, however, I do have plenty of documentation to show that I was exercising Treaty rights in Spain, including Certificates of Residency, tax returns, rental contracts on different apartments and also on the bar that I ran, and school enrollment papers for my son. I will also be driving in my father's car which is insured on my policy which I have had the last 4 years. I will print out my letter of employment in the UK and also the foreclosure letter from the bank and emails from the Bank representative that I am to meet with to show the necessity of a speedy return, but I will also printout and complete the EEA FP application form.

I guess that we will have to see what happens, but I am pretty determined here and I believe that I am right in my logic.

[Ben]

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at the UK port. Best of luck to you both.

but I will also printout and complete the EEA FP application form.

I'm not sure I follow you on this though ^^^ ?

[TracyCK]

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at the UK port. Best of luck to you both.

but I will also printout and complete the EEA FP application form.

I'm not sure I follow you on this though ^^^ ?

Presumably there is already some record of Rachid's previous application in the system, and I will have a copy of the appeal for that with us. However, given our changed marital status, we could submit another application but we just dont have time to go to the Embassy and wait for it to be processed. I can show that we don't have time, but will take a completed application to give them at the port of entry where they have the authority to issue the Permit there - it just saves them the bother of providing it to us, and avoids the argement that we haven't bothered to secure it. My stance will be that we are not asking permission for my husband to enter as he already has that right under EU law, however, if they wish for him to have an Entry Permit in his passport then they need to put it in there.

I promise to come back and post details of our experience, whichever way it goes.

[ciaramc]

Been following this story....would love to know how it went Tracey???

Also I have battled for my own husbands residence permit...and believe me v. difficult...even though EU law is easier than national law....but I do understand what wanderer is getting at you actually haven't lived in another EU state with your husband...(legally) that is??? Also you had left Spain? Right? So you are no longer exercising treaty rights.....now I'm only saying this because my friend was doing the same thing only difference was she was married several years her husband had a residency permit and they had a child together and the Brits put her through hell all becuse she was on maternity leave when applying for the permit!!

So good luck.....think you might have needed it!! Would have loved to be a fly on the wall!!!

[pierre75]

If you are exercising your Treaty rights in another EU country and you come back to your own country, you can still benefit of these rights in your own country.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 70:EN:HTML

European Court of Justice, Singh case, Case C-370/90 - Return to a Member State of one of its nationals who has exercised his right of free movement ° Right of residence of that person' s spouse :

"Article 52 of the Treaty and Council Directive 73/148/EEC of 21 May 1973 on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within the Community for nationals of Member States with regard to establishment and the provision of services, properly construed, require a Member State to grant leave to enter and reside in its territory to the spouse, of whatever nationality, of a national of that State who has gone, with that spouse, to another Member State in order to work there as an employed person as envisaged by Article 48 of the Treaty and returns to establish himself or herself as envisaged by Article 52 of the Treaty in the State of which he or she is a national. A spouse must enjoy at least the same rights as would be granted to him or her under Community law if his or her spouse entered and resided in another Member State."

+ Metock case.

In French :

http://multinational.leforum.eu/t642-Ar ... rigine.htm

Am I wrong ?

[ciaramc]

"Article 52 of the Treaty and Council Directive 73/148/EEC of 21 May 1973 on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within the Community for nationals of Member States with regard to establishment and the provision of services, properly construed, require a Member State to grant leave to enter and reside in its territory to the spouse, of whatever nationality, of a national of that State who has gone, with that spouse, to another Member State in order to work there as an employed person as envisaged by Article 48 of the Treaty and returns to establish himself or herself as envisaged by Article 52 of the Treaty in the State of which he or she is a national. A spouse must enjoy at least the same rights as would be granted to him or her under Community law if his or her spouse entered and resided in another Member State."

She has not been in another EU country with her spouse??? Think thats the point Wanderer was trying to make? She just got married and previously he had been deported of course she excerised treaty rights but as the uk see it not with her spose??? Thats how I'm understanding it at least....now if she had still been in Spain regardless of him been illegal well then they would have to have been issued with an FP....

[pierre75]

Thank you for the bold and sorry for my broken english.

It should mean that there is different categories of european citizenship rights regarding family life :

- the ones of whom who were already living with their 3rd country spouse in another european country than the one of which they "belongs".

- The ones whom the spouse didn't actually lived with them in Europe.

Isn't it a breach in the egality between European citizens ?

Didn't happened a recent case with Holland, a case stating that the administration cannot make difference if the spouses were living together or not at all before to ask to live together in Holland ?

(I have no answer, I ask myself and others) - ( egality of rights between European citizens seems to me crucial )

http://www.buitenlandsepartner.nl/forum
http://www.mixed-couples.nl/forum/index.php
http://www.stichtinglawine.org/

Edit april 14th :

Sorry, I tried to find some kind of analogy somewhere but pitifully failed attempt and not usefull to Tracy actual problem ( except as usual article 8 of EHCR ).

Most of you know the quotes below. I only put it for reference.

About the case in Holland (Chakroun, Case C‑578/08 ) :
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex ... 78:EN:HTML

It follows that the rules contained in the Directive, with the exception of Article 9(2) thereof, apply both to what the Netherlands legislation refers to as family reunification and to what it defines as family formation.

62 That interpretation is supported by recital 6 in the preamble to the Directive, which seeks to ‘protect the family and establish or preserve family life’. It is also supported by the travaux préparatoires cited by Mrs Chakroun, from which it is apparent that there was broad agreement that family reunification should cover both family formation and preservation of the family unit.

63 Furthermore, that interpretation is consistent with Article 8 of the ECHR and Article 7 of the Charter, which do not draw any distinction based on the circumstances in and time at which a family is constituted.

64 Having regard to that lack of distinction, intended by the European Union legislature, based on the time at which the family is constituted, and taking account of the necessity of not interpreting the provisions of the Directive restrictively and not depriving them of their effectiveness, the Member States did not have discretion to reintroduce that distinction in their national legislation transposing the Directive (see, by way of analogy, Case C‑127/08 Metock and Others [2008] ECR I‑6241, paragraph 93). Furthermore, the capacity of a sponsor to have regular resources which are sufficient to maintain himself and the members of his family within the meaning of Article 7(1)(c) of the Directive cannot in any way depend on the point in time at which he constitutes his family.

About the Metock Case - C‑127/08
http://curia.europa.eu/jurisp/cgi-bin/g ... ance=ARRET

93 Therefore, in the light of the necessity of not interpreting the provisions of Directive 2004/38 restrictively and not depriving them of their effectiveness, the words ‘family members [of Union citizens] who accompany … them’ in Article 3(1) of that directive must be interpreted as referring both to the family members of a Union citizen who entered the host Member State with him and to those who reside with him in that Member State, without it being necessary, in the latter case, to distinguish according to whether the nationals of non-member countries entered that Member State before or after the Union citizen or before or after becoming his family members.

[TracyCK]

Well, I am officially beaten.....

Unfortunately, we fell at the first hurdle on Monday and have had a few traumatic days since.

After we collected our marriage certificate translated into spanish, we popped into the spanish consulate to just see what they could or couldn't do.

To cut a long story short, we were informed that we were not married as far as they were concerned as Spain does not recognize Islamic marriage! The Consul was pulled out of an important meeting, a shouting match ensued and the entire thing was pretty ugly but resulted in him stating that if we got confirmation from the UK consulate that the UK recognised our marriage, he would then issue Rachid with a Visa and also talk with the Spanish Police to revoke the expulsion/alert in SIS.

Me, being bull-headed as I am (I admit to this) insisted that we go to the Ceuta border anyway, perhaps the border police would think differently. I was very wrong. It was an awful experience that resulted in them screaming in my face that my husband was not my husband and was a terrible criminal who would not be entering Spain ever. The told me to go on to England without him and took his passport back to the Moroccan police refusing to even allow him to be on Spanish soil. I was told that if I did not move my car that I would be arrested and my child taken into care.

Moreover, and extremely worrying, is that the police were citing to me things that they have on Rachid that he is not responsible for, including an expulsion from Italy (he has never even set foot in Italy!) and stating that the expulsion that he has from Spain was one given instead of a prison sentence for robbery which is not right either. It is all just incredible to me. Rachid is no angel, he is hot headed and this has got him into trouble in his past, but he is not responsible for these things that appear to be on his record.

I made the decision then that I could not put ourselves through that kind of trauma any more and that we would need to rely on the Spanish Consul helping us as he said he would and the UK Embassy doing the right thing and issuing Entry the correct way. That night, I submitted another application for an EEA FP for Rachid and got an appointment for the next day in Rabat, figuring that we would try and do everything there, including getting something from them that stated our marriage was valid.

After only 2 hours of very unsettled sleep, we got up at 3am on Tuesday morning and drove to Tangiers after deciding that we did not have the energy to drive the 6 hours to Rabat. We got our marriage certificate legally translated into English, stamped at the court and the foreign office but missed the consulate to get a document regarding our marriage as it closed at 12:30pm. I moved Rachid's Visa appoinment in Rabat to the next day and came back home to sleep.

On Wednesday, we went to Rabat on an early bus and got a document issued by the Embassy to state that our marriage is considered legal by the UK government and that it was suitable for administrative purposes and covered regulations under EU Directive 2004/38 for free movement of EU Citizens and their Family Members. I did not want to leave Rachid's passport with them, but I was actually called in to speak to them and the young female ECO I had previously spoken on the phone with regarding Rachid's prior application actually came out to speak with me. She urged me to leave the passport so that they could process the visa and said that it would normally take a week, but they would mark the file as urgent and we could call to see if it was done earlier. She was extremely kind and sympathetic, and we decided to leave the passport. I am hopeful that the appeal that we left on the last application, and the fact that we are now married has had an impact and the FP will be issued. We shall see.

The Statement from the Embassy regarding the legality of our marriage is currently being officially translated into spanish in Tetouan so that there will be nothing to say about that, but it wont be ready for us to collect until Monday afternoon. Rachid can go to collect his passport and the FP decision this coming Wednesday, if not sooner.

I had booked flights for my son and I to return to the UK, once again without Rachid, for this evening from Malaga. Due to the Icelandic Volcanic Ash cloud, my flight was cancelled and I have now rebooked for this coming Tuesday night. My son was supposed to return to school on Monday and I have a very important meeting with the bank for my job which I will lose if I don't get back to it soon.

Ultimately, I believe that we have the law on our side and we will prevail in the end, hopefully sooner rather than later. Different nations can argue with their own interpretation of EU law and how it should be applied or not, but the bottom line is that I am an EU Citizen who has exercised Treaty rights in another Member State and established a Family while doing so and EU Law does not place restrictions on this whatsoever. This experience has been so costly, both financially and emotionally. We will see what happens in the next week or so to know what we do next. I have a job in the UK and my son is happy in school there, but I wont stay there if my husband can't join us.

[Wanderer]

Tracy, I empathise, I know we disagree on our respective interpretations of whether you qualify under EU law but there comes a time when you have to knuckle under, for the sake of your sanity.

My advice is go the UK route, the rules are simple compared to EEA law, there's little leeway that can't be challenged in court and you have to say, UK being a hellhole uber-plc money grabbing institution, basically if you want any level of fairness it's here. There is corruption of course but not to the level of 99% of the rest of the world.

I know it costs but in two years it's all done and dusted, none of this fiasco.

Scrape together the 500 quid, then u have two years to budget for the next instalment, take it in stages, at the same time sticking two-fingers up, we've paid and displayed, now FO and leave us alone!

That was quite inspiring even tho I do say so myself!

[TracyCK]

Tracy, I empathise, I know we disagree on our respective interpretations of whether you qualify under EU law but there comes a time when you have to knuckle under, for the sake of your sanity.

My advice is go the UK route, the rules are simple compared to EEA law, there's little leeway that can't be challenged in court and you have to say, UK being a hellhole uber-plc money grabbing institution, basically if you want any level of fairness it's here. There is corruption of course but not to the level of 99% of the rest of the world.

I know it costs but in two years it's all done and dusted, none of this fiasco.

Scrape together the 500 quid, then u have two years to budget for the next instalment, take it in stages, at the same time sticking two-fingers up, we've paid and displayed, now FO and leave us alone!

That was quite inspiring even tho I do say so myself!

Well, you might just be right on this. I am exhausted with the fight and just want a peaceful life with my family. Rachid, poor thing doesn't actually understand any of it and it's hard on him when we leave him behind here each time.

We will see things through to next week and see what the outcome is, perhaps we will be pleasantly surprised. It has cost us well over 500 pounds to collect all of the documents to marry here and validate that marriage in order to leave and I could probably scrape together another 500 pretty quickly if I have to, but if we do end up going that route, I will still pursue this with complaints to the EU Commission as it really just isn't right.

If I go the UK Immigration route, I have no UK history to substantiate anything at the moment because I was legally resident in Spain for the last 4 years. I returned to the UK and started a job 2 months ago which is at the moment part time until if and when the business improves; have no savings or months of regular income to show anyone and quite frankly, although the plan is to stay in the UK and live happily ever after, things may not work out with the family business and then we will return to Spain.

But, I am tired of the fight, so I will look into it, get informed and keep it in mind as an option.

[Ben]

Tracy, I feel for you both.

Do I read correctly that in a week's time (or less), Rachid will have an EEA FP, and will also have a visa for Spain?

If so, and especially in the case of the latter, I'd love to be there when you subsequently arrive at the Ceuta border with it. Hope the same immigration officer is there.

[TracyCK]

Tracy, I feel for you both.

Do I read correctly that in a week's time (or less), Rachid will have an EEA FP, and will also have a visa for Spain?

If so, and especially in the case of the latter, I'd love to be there when you subsequently arrive at the Ceuta border with it. Hope the same immigration officer is there.

All things are possible, but I am trying not to have expectations and be disappointed. (again!)

Rachid's passport is with the UK Embassy in Rabat and my impression from them was that it might just be issued this time - we will call on Monday to see if it has been processed yet as they marked it urgent and implied that it might be.

The Spanish Consul has personally told us that he will help sort out both the Visa and the issues with the alert in the SIS system once we return with UK Embassy proof that our marriage is considered legal and valid. This we have and it is being translated into spanish to be ready Monday. It doesn't make too much sense to go there before Rachid has his passport back in his possession though, but we can prepare everything else ready.

In the interim, I had booked flights for my son and I to return to the UK yesterday, but obviously these were cancelled due to the volcanic ash situation so we are still all together here in Morocco. I now have flights booked for Tuesday evening from Spain, but it is looking quite possible that these also will not fly. I am not a religious person at all, but I can't help but think about divine intervention here....

Quite a few things still to fall into place, but always optimistic, I can't help myself but wonder if we will be able to return to the original plan and drive back to the UK together, this time with all visas in place and still a job to go back to as it has been out of my control that I am not there now. If so, I will have great pleasure in approaching the Ceuta border and giving them the 2 fingered wave if only in my mind.

But, we shall see.....

[marm1te]

Tracey, what an ordeal. I have had some frustrations of my own as a British person married to a Moroccan national. I have only just found this thread and was about to offer my 2-bits to you about the recognition of marriage document required by the Spanish but your story has already reached this point.

I have not suffered your anguish in that, for the time being, we live together here in Morocco however I have experienced some of the frustrations of the consulate mentality. The French (and you say Spanish too) do not accept the Moroccan marriage certificate with certified translation however they do accept a piece of paper from the British drawn from a glance at the same paperwork. Talk about being difficult.

Anyway, I had this same letter prepared for me in early March. I requested specific wording concerning the validity of our marriage and that it must include clear and indisputable references to the EU Directive about freedom of movement. The British are still very good at adding a load of disclaimer at the bottom - for you too?! I have not tested this letter on the Spanish yet, however, friends in Spain who are immigration specialists with many years experience of Moroccan cases say that this wording should be fine. They told me that the most important thing, apart from the marriage reference, is that it is from and signed by the British Consulate in Rabat or Casablanca (not an Honorary Consulate, as in Marrakech).

Anyway, I don't think I have offered you anything except that sometimes there is a small comfort in knowing you're not the only one in a maze of 'border' people and paperwork!

Wishing you the very best of luck for what I hope is the conclusion of the test of your love. I am sure that anyone reading this forum thread will agree that you have passed!

PS If you have a moment, please do send me details of your translator (by Private Message is okay, if you prefer). Official, turnaround time, cost?

[TracyCK]

Tracey, what an ordeal. I have had some frustrations of my own as a British person married to a Moroccan national. I have only just found this thread and was about to offer my 2-bits to you about the recognition of marriage document required by the Spanish but your story has already reached this point.

I have not suffered your anguish in that, for the time being, we live together here in Morocco however I have experienced some of the frustrations of the consulate mentality. The French (and you say Spanish too) do not accept the Moroccan marriage certificate with certified translation however they do accept a piece of paper from the British drawn from a glance at the same paperwork. Talk about being difficult.

Anyway, I had this same letter prepared for me in early March. I requested specific wording concerning the validity of our marriage and that it must include clear and indisputable references to the EU Directive about freedom of movement. The British are still very good at adding a load of disclaimer at the bottom - for you too?! I have not tested this letter on the Spanish yet, however, friends in Spain who are immigration specialists with many years experience of Moroccan cases say that this wording should be fine. They told me that the most important thing, apart from the marriage reference, is that it is from and signed by the British Consulate in Rabat or Casablanca (not an Honorary Consulate, as in Marrakech).

Anyway, I don't think I have offered you anything except that sometimes there is a small comfort in knowing you're not the only one in a maze of 'border' people and paperwork!

Wishing you the very best of luck for what I hope is the conclusion of the test of your love. I am sure that anyone reading this forum thread will agree that you have passed!

PS If you have a moment, please do send me details of your translator (by Private Message is okay, if you prefer). Official, turnaround time, cost?

Thank you for your kind words. I can give you specific translator information if you like - just let me know which you need and where, we have had several documents translated from one language to another between french, arabic, spanish and english in all combinations... lol We have paid between 70 DH and 250 DH per document and definitely seem to pay more when english is involved. We have used 2 different translators in Tetouan, but only the one for english, and one in Tanger for our marriage certificate to english which cost 250 DH but was done within 2 hours. Normal turnaround appears to be 1 to 3 days though. The letter from the Consulate that we droped in last Thursday, he couldn't do before today (Monday) at 4pm as it was from English to Spanish which is trickier for him, I guess. We paid 200 DH for this one in Tetouan.

The letter itself is perfectly worded and yes, does have a slight disclaimer at the bottom, but nothing to worry about. I am actually grateful that we were not able to get something when we were in Tanger as the document that I was shown there was not nearly as 'good' as this one. The UK Embassy knew exactly what we needed and said it was what they issued for the Spanish and French and I am positive that it will be acceptable at the spanish consulate. We will see tomorrow when we drop by there with it.

A call to the UK Embassy this morning to inquire on the status of the EEA FP actually yielded some positive news in the disguise of bad. While they are waiting for information and therefore the Permit not processed, I learned that they are waiting for information to confirm that the 'stuff' that seems to be on Rachid's profile and giving us all the trouble at the Spanish border is being resolved. Apparently, they have heard back from the Spanish and UK authorities and are waiting for the Italians (!). The ECO confirmed that they have, with the fingerprints that they have, deduced that it is somebody else and said to me that in the long run, this will benefit us as the 2 records will be separated. Since (my) Rachid has never set foot in Italy, I am hopeful that this will be sorted quickly now.

Am I be being over-optimistic to think that if they are running these checks and the ECO is talking to me about how as it is an EEA FP, they are giving it top priority, that they may actually now be processing this application under EU law and acknowledging that we are eligible and therefore may actually get it? I do hope so.... I will call them again tomorrow.

The spanish consulate, we will drop by in the morning with all but Rachid's passport which they probably wont like, but I think it will be worth the short trip to Tetouan to talk to them about what is happening with the UK consulate and verify that with the Embassy letter, they are going to be happy now to treat us as a married couple under the Directive.

[marm1te]

I can give you specific translator information if you like...

I hope you will very soon be receiving good news in the form of good news...

I've never translated a document at "official" level in Morocco so I don't even know if one is obliged to present the original document in person (as opposed to scanned and emailed or photocopied and posted). I'm in Southern Morocco so Tetouan, Tangier & Nador are quite a long way yet the only ATAJ listed translators I found, who are certified for both English and Spanish, are in Northern Morocco.

[TracyCK]

I am now back in the UK, no Rachid yet. Daily calls to the UK Embassy in Rabat result in the same reply that they are still waiting for information and can give me no indication of when they will be able to make a decision.

Because they still have his passport, the Spanish Consulate advised us to wait until he had the visa for the UK before requesting a Schengen Visa. This opens up more options for him to travel here, but if the UK FP is refused again, I no doubt will have to return to Morocco to get the Spanish one sorted out......

So, we shall see - hopefully it wont take them 5 weeks this time, and that it is approved, not refused again.....

[TracyCK]

I can hardly believe that I am posting this, but I got a phone call from the UK Embassy in Rabat this morning telling me that they received the information that they were waiting for, all was now fine and he was issuing the EEA Family Permit!

Rachid is travelling to Rabat tomorrow to collect his passport and I have him booked on a flight to Gatwick on Thursday.

We will skip the Spanish/Schengen visa for now as we will be too busy staying put here for a while and will welcome the reprieve, but assumedly, since Rachid's records have now been sorted, there will be less issue. We will apply for his residency here in the UK as soon as he gets here.

I am so very grateful to this forum, and will remain a frequent visitor to further my knowledge and try to help others when I can.

[ejw4h9]

Congratulations, Tracy. I'm glad to see that something, somewhere has managed to work out for you. It seems to be that your persistence has paid off! Take a deep breath and pat yourself on your back. Congrats!

[brownbonno]

Congratulations Tracy,
This is a pure test of knowledge and perseverance.
Wish you the best further.

[Wanderer]

Agreed, i didn't think you could pull it off, i take my hat off.