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HI,
MY QUESTION IS IF EEA FAMILY MEMBER CAN TRAVEL ABROAD WITHOUT APPLYING FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE DOCUMENT(EEA4)?

OUR CIRCUMSTANCES: I'M FORMER EEA NATIONAL, AND JUST NATURALISED AS BRITISH CITIZEN( BEEN APPROVED A WEEK AGO).

MY HUSBAND IS INDIAN WITH 5 YEAR RESIDENCE PERMIT VISA(EEA FAMILY MEMBER), WHICH EXPIRED IN SEPTEMBER 2014. NOW, AS HE COMPLETED 5 YEAR PERIOD, AND I HAD MY PR LAST YEAR, AND NOW BC... HE OBTAINED PR BY DEFAULT(CORRECT ISNT IT?)..
SO IF HE DONT APPLY FOR PR DOCUMENT (EEA4) WILL HE STILL BE ABLE TO TRAVEL? OR ARE WE WILL BE IN TROUBLE BY RETURN?

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ALL ADVICE!

Hi!

Non-EU don't obtain PR status automatically. They need to apply using EEA4 form.

Your husband can travel within Schengen area without a visa if he is travelling with you and you are in possession of your EU passport and I would also advise to have your marriage certificate just in case.

If your husband wants to travel alone then he needs to obtain a visa if the country where he is travelling requires an indian national to have a visa for it or otherwise he can travel let's say to India and back to the UK without any problems.

And he can also use the corridor for EU citizens at the airport.

THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY.

HERE IS ADVICE I HAD EARLIER:

Re: EEA family member settlement
Postby Jambo » Tue Aug 26, 2014 5:08 pm

If BC is his goal, my advice would be to skip the EEA4 application and wait until you become BC (attending the ceremony) then apply directly for BC as a spouse of BC.

I would not worry about the RC expiring. Under EEA regulations, those are optional. He probably already have obtained PR status (obtained automatically after 5 years of residence. The dates on his RC are irrelevant).

THE TRAVEL SCENARIO WOULD BE: WE WOULD BE TRAVELLING TO INDIA, BUT I'LL BE TRAVELLING WITH MY BRITISH PASSPORT. AND MY HUSBANDS EEA2 EXPIRED... IS IT ALMOST GUARANTEED TO BE STOPPED AND PULLED ON THE SIDE BY HOME OFFICE AT AIRPORT?
OR IS IT OK AND LEGAL TO TRAVEL IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCES?

I am not sure 100% but I believe that a traveller must be able to present a valid travel document and a visa that is not expired.

The problem will be when you return to the UK and I am not too sure what exactly will happen.

On return the Indian airport authorities will definitely not let him to board the flight without valid visa/rc.

RU55IAN wrote: Non-EU don't obtain PR status automatically. They need to apply using EEA4 form.

No, that isn't true. Non-EU nationals also obtain PR status automatically unless they cease to be a family member before the end of the five-year period (divorce, etc.)

Directive 2004/38/EC, Article 16:

"1. Union citizens who have resided legally for a continuous period of five years in the host Member State shall have the right of permanent residence there. This right shall not be subject to the conditions provided for in Chapter III.
2. Paragraph 1 shall apply also to family members who are not nationals of a Member State and have legally resided with the Union citizen in the host Member State for a continuous period of five years."