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Hi,

I have a few questions about the PR/EEA4 process. I had a look through the forum and found a few nuggets of information, but still have a few questions.

My husband (South African, on a EEA2 since July 2008) and I (German, excercising treaty rights) are living in the UK since September 2007. My husband's EEA2 permit expires in July this year and from September this year, he would be eligible for naturalisation.

My understanding is that he won't need to apply for his PR as he has already obtained his PR status in September last year (5 years after we have entered the country). However, I have a few questions about this

1) Would not having an EEA4 stamp make his application for naturalisation more complicated?

2) Would he be able to leave the UK and be allowed entrance again without the EEA4 stamp?

3) Would he be able to get a Schengen visa without an EEA4 visum in his passport (after July)?

It seems crazy that we need to apply for the EEA4 to cover a visa gap of 3 months. Applying for the EEA4 might also drag on post September which means that his application for naturalisation might be pushed back by a few months

It seems equally crazy that he won't be able to leave the country from July until he gets his British passport if we don't apply for the EEA4 permit.

I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and how you have handled it?

Many thanks for your help!

1) Would not having an EEA4 stamp make his application for naturalisation more complicated?

It is possible to apply for BC without EEA4, but similar evidence is required.

2) Would he be able to leave the UK and be allowed entrance again without the EEA4 stamp?

As a visa national, he would need a visa. This could be applied for when abroad.

3) Would he be able to get a Schengen visa without an EEA4 visum in his passport (after July)?

As above, but some shengen states appear to expect passport holders to have a valid visa. You would need to check that out. This may be contrary to the directive.

You may find that obtaining BC is not as quick as you might expect. Perhaps you should study that part of the forum.

Same boat. Mine is different or slightly better.

Residence Card expires in July 2014 , same time I qualify for Naturalisation. so no issues with travelling etc.

Still not decided on waiting for naturalisation or applying for confirmation of permanent residence.

It is possible for your husband to apply to naturalise without confirmation of PR. What might help make this a fairly straight forward decision is if you the EEA national have confirmation of PR. This way there will be little doubt that your husband has attained it as well provided he hasn't had excessive absences from the UK.

For his BC application he would need to supply evidence - like P60s, employer's letter(s), self assessment statements - to show that he has satisfied the UK residential qualifying period, attained PR and held it for 1 year. This is in addition to him satisfying other criteria so do have a good read of the AN guidance and booklet on eligibility.

At the moment, on average, BC applications seem to be approved fairly quickly within 1 -2 months. I applied without confirmation of PR and received my approval in 3 weeks. Use the NCS service if there is one in your locality as they will check that the form and supporting docs. are all in order before forwarding to the UKBA.

Hi all,

many thanks for your very prompt help!

How easy would it be to apply for a visa (while my husband doesn't have a EEA4) when we are abroad?

I think I am so confused about what the best option would be for us because the processing times seem to vary widely and it seems like a real gamble to apply for his EEA4 as it might postpone his BC, but on tyhe other hand it could also mean that he can't leave the country for quote some time? I have seen on this forum that some people have been waiting for over 6 months and others have got their PR back within weeks. The same seems to apply for the BC.

Is there anywhere where you check current processing times?

I was also wondering if it is possible to get your passport back once you have sent your application for PR?

If we sent the EEA4 application and won't receive the PR until PR, could we request the application to be withdrawn and once we have the documens back we apply straight for his BC?

A friend has also told me that you can apply for your ILR in person and get it on the same day. Is there a similar procedure for PR or can you only apply via post?

EEA Family Permit processing time varies. Where would you apply from? The UKBA visa processing page indicates that in Pretoria for example all the applications for EEA FP have been dealt within 15 days.

You can ask for the passports back in any stage and it will not affect your application. You can only apply by post.

If the goal is BC and your partner would like to apply for that as soon as he is eligible and your evidence of treaty rights is straightforward (employed for 5 continuous years), then the PR confirmation doesn't have a lot of value unless you plan to travel a lot in those months / employer asks for proof of eligibility of work.

If he applies in September, he might get it all done by Christmas. However, there are some new requirements coming in in October. In the past, that usually meant a large influx of applications just before so there might be a large backlog and applications might take longer if applied around that time.