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Hello! This is my first time posting anything ever, but amrunning out of time and options so could ise some advice!
I am a British Citizen (I have a passport). My wife moved over here close to 2 years ago from Canada on a 2 year youth mobility Visa. After 6 months of her living here, we met, dated and have now been married for 6 months. Her youth mobility Visa will expire this January. We applied for a residence card, EEA2 form at the beginning of October. Home office requested her biometric details around 2 weeks ago now.
We are super stressed, and confused about her getting her residence card!
First of all, will she get it before mid-January? If not, will she have to go back to Canada despite being my wife?
We read on the .gov website, that the family member of an EEA national does not have to apply for a residence card, but it helps with some things. What does this mean?! Does she even need a residence card?
If someone could PLEASE help that would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

Welcome.

How do you qualify to sponsor wife on EU route? (as you are British!).

British nationals aren't considered EEA Nationals (Within the UK) unless they are returning from another EEA Country having excised their rights there.

Scroll down to Surinder Singh cases (Its right at the bottom)

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-uk-resid ... ligibility

If (as it seems) you don't qualify to sponsor your wife under the EEA Regulations, you should submit a FLR(M) application before your wife's current visa expires.

The refusal of the EEA2 application may well not be received until after the visa expiry date, which would result in your wife having to submit a spouse settlement visa from outside of the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/remain-in-uk-family/apply

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _04-16.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _11-15.pdf

quilterconnor wrote:We read on the .gov website, that the family member of an EEA national does not have to apply for a residence card, but it helps with some things. What does this mean?! Does she even need a residence card?

This is correct; direct family members of EEA nationals are not required to have residence documentation; it is optional. Under EU law certain rights are derived automatically based on the status of the EEA national.

However as stated above, in this context you are not treated as an EEA national as you cannot exercise treaty rights in a country which you are citizen of. Put simply, British citizens cannot avail themselves of the EEA migration route for non-EEA family members in the UK (except for Surinder Singh route which you do not appear to have activated).

It's an almost certainty that your wife's RC application will be rejected. Your wife will need to switch to FLR(M) visa under UK immigration rules if she wants to stay. See Casa's first link above.

Thank you for getting back to me so promptly!! As you can tell, time is not on our side at the moment!!
What does it mean to have exercised rights in an EEA country? I lived in German and Switzerland for 2 years... Probably doesn't make a difference but I'm desperate for anything!!
So my wife and I need to apply for an FLR(M)?
Why was her application not declined immediately? Why would they still request that she send off her biometric details, if they knew it was the wrong application?
My wife's Visa expires Januaru 13th. Will she be forced to leave the country?
Is there anyway to make a successful application in the little time remaining?

As long as your wife submits a FLR(M) application before her current visa expires she will continue to have legal status while the application is being processed.

Do you have a minimum income of £18.600 p.a

Biometrics are only the first stage of an application, before the Case Worker begins to make an assessment.

I'll leave others to advise on whether your previous time spent in Germany will qualify you to use the SS route.

quilterconnor wrote:Thank you for getting back to me so promptly!! As you can tell, time is not on our side at the moment!!
What does it mean to have exercised rights in an EEA country? I lived in German and Switzerland for 2 years... Probably doesn't make a difference but I'm desperate for anything!!
So my wife and I need to apply for an FLR(M)?
Why was her application not declined immediately? Why would they still request that she send off her biometric details, if they knew it was the wrong application?
My wife's Visa expires Januaru 13th. Will she be forced to leave the country?
Is there anyway to make a successful application in the little time remaining?

Now you tell us vital information on which the RC application will pass or fail

You need to make a case that you had moved centre of life to whichever EU state and so have (perhaps inadvertently) undertaken what is known as the Surinder Singh route.

That is assuming you were working or running selfemployed business in Germany/Switzerland. Were you
This needs to have been made clear in your application.

When did you return to UK from continent? or did you come from Canada?
Was wife in Germany/Switzerland with you?
Does wife have any EU documentation from Germany/Switzerland?
How/when did wife enter UK?

If caseworker is unaware you have been exercising treaty rights abroad you will be failed as a mere Brit.

If you persuade caseworker you have done SS somewhere in EU then you will be treated as a proxy EEA national and RC could/should be granted.

This means wife could continue her migration adventure on EU route.
However be aware that with Brexit looming there is unlikely to be time to now acquire PR in the 'normal way'. (It takes 5 years).

quilterconnor wrote:So my wife and I need to apply for an FLR(M)?

No, just your wife. If she overstays her current visa, she is setting herself up for a world of pain (among other things, a 10 year ban on any citizenship application she may have ambitions for). I believe there is a 28 day grace period after the visa expires where she won't be deported but you should not treat it as an extra month. The Home Office will ask her to leave the country.

UKVI normally always send out the biometric enrolment invitation letter immediately, even before payment is taken. The application doesn't begin to get processed until you have done it so it's likely that someone has literally just read the name and address on the first page and sent the invitation out. As soon as a caseworker picks the file up, you can expect the refusal to be in the post pretty quickly.

The Surinder Singh route is a mechanism which allows British citizens who have been living and working in other EEA member states to bring non-EEA family members back to the UK on the EEA route. https://www.freemovement.org.uk/surinde ... ion-route/

I lived between Switzerland and Germany for 24 months. My current salary is £12,000pa.
While living in Europe I did not earn any money, I was a missionary for my church, so it was only for humanitarian work!

We have decided to withdraw our current application for the EEA Residence Card and apply for the FLR(M). They do a premium service that is a little pricey, but normally returns a response on the same day of application.
Is this the right move? Her Visa expires in less than 8 weeks, and the application can take up to 8 weeks to complete?
Should we request our documents back and do that?
Thanks for all of your help! You're all life-savers!!

quilterconnor wrote:I lived between Switzerland and Germany for 24 months. My current salary is £12,000pa.
While living in Europe I did not earn any money, I was a missionary for my church, so it was only for humanitarian work!

We have decided to withdraw our current application for the EEA Residence Card and apply for the FLR(M). They do a premium service that is a little pricey, but normally returns a response on the same day of application.
Is this the right move? Her Visa expires in less than 8 weeks, and the application can take up to 8 weeks to complete?
Should we request our documents back and do that?
Thanks for all of your help! You're all life-savers!!

Voluntary work is treated by UKVI/HO as falling in the selfsufficient qualified person category that would require CSI to have been in place.
Under the current flavour of SS recognised by UK selfsufficiency in another memberstate is not accepted. (This is changing soon but too late for you).

So your sojourn in Europe can't help you; UK domestic route is the way to go.

Is £12,000 your current salary in the UK? As Casa mentioned above, FLR(M) has a minimum earning threshold of £18,600. How much does your wife earn?