Immigrationboards.com

Hi all

My wife has been granted a resident card for 5 years. However I am planning to relocate to saudi and work with an employer there. Would like to keep my family based in uk. I understand although my wife can stay in uk on the visa for 5 years but given i won't be on uk hence not exercising treaty rights .

What are my options can someone please advise ? I would like my family to be based in uk and I can do the travelling if needs to be. I am a British national and so is my daughter.

Yours is a little complicated being a British national. Did you use the Singh route?

In general, an EU national can be absent for up to six months without affecting residence.

This is a very interesting question! The law is a bit unclear.

How much time will you be spending in the UK and how much in Saudi? How long is the employment going to last?

If you are not living and working or exercising treaty rights in any of the other ways, how then can your family live in the UK on the basis of their relationship to you as an EU citizen?

But the other question that some others may know the answer to is, because you are British Citizen, after using the Surinder Singh route, are you required as a British Citizen to still have to be exercising treaty rights in your own home country? If you don't have to, then the presumption is that your spouse's residence card would continue to be valid so long as you keep your primary home in the UK? just a thought!

This OP seem to have several status in the UK.

A spouse on a Spouse Visa, who is due for ILR in 2014, a British Citizen whose spouse has been issued a 5 years residence card.

This cannot be right. In the absence of credible case, it is difficult to give a straightforward answer.

Thanks all. Let me add some clarity to this. I did came through the surinder route. I am not sure how long the job will be as its a permanent job, it's well paid hence I can afford to keep my family in the uk. There is a credible case as I received the resident card for my wife in merely 2 months.

I will be looking to stay out of the country more then 6 months but will be travelling back n fourth but a permanent home in uk. . The only difference being that at the time if the resident card application my employer will be from saudi n not local in uk. Given that I am a British national do I have to exercise the treaty rights?

Can someone please add clarity?

Obie wrote:This OP seem to have several status in the UK.

A spouse on a Spouse Visa, who is due for ILR in 2014, a British Citizen whose spouse has been issued a 5 years residence card.

This cannot be right. In the absence of credible case, it is difficult to give a straightforward answer.

Not sure what your problem here is I may have asked a few questions on behalf of my friends so big deal. Have you not looked at the majority of posts!!.

It's confusing when you did not previously state that you were asking questions on behalf of a friend.

vinny wrote:It's confusing when you did not previously state that you were asking questions on behalf of a friend.

Nothing confusing about it just address if you want to, to the question ablve rather then posting links of posts which I may have asked previously, getting confused and confusing people

@OP, read through directive 2004/38/ec. Pay particular attention to the requirements of residence documentation for non-EU family members and especially that pertaining to permanent residence. Ask yourself how your extended absence from the UK would allow family members to continue living in the UK? See also retained rights of residence and check if any of the circumstances might apply to your spouse.

Having done that, if you still have questions, feel free to ask.

EUsmileWEallsmile wrote:@OP, read through directive 2004/38/ec. Pay particular attention to the requirements of residence documentation for non-EU family members and especially that pertaining to permanent residence. Ask yourself how your extended absence from the UK would allow family members to continue living in the UK? See also retained rights of residence and check if any of the circumstances might apply to your spouse.

Having done that, if you still have questions, feel free to ask.

That's exactly what my question is. What are my options in this respect. I won't be exercising treaty right but then I am a citizen so is there a clause that may perhaps help me in this situation ?

@OP, if you can't find anything in the directive and come up with a scenario by which your spouse can remain while you go and work abroad that suits your circumstances, then perhaps it is not possible.