Immigrationboards.com

Hello,

I've used this forum extensively whilst applying for this hellish thing we call the EEA family permit. I've recently been refused the permit and would appreciate any feedback anyone can provide!

I am American, my "partner" is French. We have a pacte civil de solidarity which is France's version of a Civil Partnership and acknowledged under UK law as such. We met while studying for our master's degrees in London.

The PACS is very recent (although we've been together about a year and a half) so I completely thought we might be denied as it could appear to be a "marriage of convenience." I went in armed with tons of proof of our relationship. Letters from friends, travel documents, photos, literally anything and everything I had.

After waiting 4 weeks I received notice of my denial today. It states:

You state that your sponsor is your Civil Partner. However, you have not submitted a certificate of any other official documentation to confirm that a Civil Partnership ceremony has take place. Without this confirmation I am not satisfied that you are related to your sponsor as claimed.

 Given the above, I am led to question the credibility of your claim to be a family member of an EEA national. I am therefore not satisfied that you are a family member in accordance with Regulation 7 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006.

 I therefore refuse your EEA Family Permit application because I am not satisfied that you meet all of the requirements of regulation 12 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006.

what.What.WHAT

Along with my copious amount of support documents to put any of the usual doubt to bed, I also obviously submitted the original PACS certificate and a translated copy, so what does this mean?? What else could I possibly supply? This is not one of the usual reasons for denial so I am completely stumped.

The wording seems to be a bit vague. I know I sent the certificate with the application as it is included on the checklist given to me by the application center. So does that mean that the certificate of PACS is not enough? Is the translation not good enough? Is it because the words do not say "Civil Partnership"?

In the cover letter we even pointed out the legislation which acknowledges the PACS as a civil partnership. Check it => http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/200 ... -c20592181

Sorry this is a marathon post but I'm just so confused and really didn't expect to be denied as I did extensive research and sent everything possible.

Is it worth it to appeal or should we reapply? I've also still not gotten my passport back which is also highly concerning in it's own way.

I appreciate anyone who has read all the way to the bottom of this post and/or anyone who can possibly help

Thanks in advance

Welcome to Brexit Britain!

Ridiculous isn't it? Something vaguely similar happened to my colleague.
I suppose re-apply with a cover letter referencing the rejection letter, explaining their mistakes, and once again citing the relevant law as you did before. Could you get a letter from a French authority verifying that your certificate is the legal equivalent of what the UK would issue?
Is it possible there were so many documents they overlooked the certificate? Especially since it appears they think there wasn't one, not that they rejected its form or content. Maybe send it back in its own dayglow orange folder with tassels on it. I'm clutching at straws here since you really did appear to cover all your bases.
If stupid becomes an Olympic sport, it's all gold for UKVI.

rooibos wrote:Welcome to Brexit Britain!

Sometimes I m looking for the 'like' button. It's seems as if they are wasting time I til brexit and then everybody will get kicked out. Just reapply. Don't even appeal. They may tell you to leave the country

GMB wrote:Ridiculous isn't it? Something vaguely similar happened to my colleague.
I suppose re-apply with a cover letter referencing the rejection letter, explaining their mistakes, and once again citing the relevant law as you did before. Could you get a letter from a French authority verifying that your certificate is the legal equivalent of what the UK would issue?
Is it possible there were so many documents they overlooked the certificate? Especially since it appears they think there wasn't one, not that they rejected its form or content. Maybe send it back in its own dayglow orange folder with tassels on it. I'm clutching at straws here since you really did appear to cover all your bases.
If stupid becomes an Olympic sport, it's all gold for UKVI.

Thanks so much for your response! Glad to know we're not the only ones in such a ridiculous situation. It seems like they're just inventing reasons to say no. But I guess it's possible that it was overlooked, or lost by the application center. I've decided to appeal in hopes that they can't invent some new BS reason to say no, and will be forced to accept as I will send the certificate again complete with bells and whistles.

And on the topic of stupidity, in my refusal letter there are two typos! If you're making a major life-changing decision for someone, the least you can do is proofread!

ShannenW wrote:And on the topic of stupidity, in my refusal letter there are two typos! If you're making a major life-changing decision for someone, the least you can do is proofread!

In the highly relevant words of Avi from the film Snatch: "...English...I thought this country spawned the f---ing language, but so far nobody here seems to speak it."

Hello Shannen,
I am in a similar situation than yours. I have applied for EEA family member 6 weeks ago and to date and have not received any feedback from UKVI despite the several escalations we have done through hotline, prepaid emails..My partner is French, we are in a civil partnership through a PACS done in France.
I'd like to know if by re-applying the same documents, you managed to get your EEA visa? that would be very helpful for me in case of a refusal.
Thanks,

Hi Biba2012,

Sorry for my delayed response, I've not been active on the forum for some time.

Under legal advice, I lodged an appeal with the home office back in June. I still have yet to hear back about a decision.

From what I have gathered, the UK does not acknowledge the French PACS for opposite-sex couples. The case I made with the help of my lawyer is that under EU law, it only needs to be lawful in the country of origin. I used case studies of when other marriages which are not permitted in the UK were eventually recognized as lawful (e.g. proxy marriages) along with a massive dossier of other supporting documents and relevant court cases.

I personally wouldn't suggest reapplying especially if you haven't heard back yet (which I assume by now you probably have, hopefully).

I'd love to know if you eventually received your EEA family permit. Fingers cross it worked out for you!

Bonne chance !