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I am South African and my husband is Irish. I am currently doing my degree in Dublin and will finish in August. He started a job in London in January. I have just been issued with an EEA family permit which will expire on the 23rd of Dec 2011. I am aware that it is initially issued for 6 months and once I am in the UK I have to apply for a residence card (eea2).

My question is, will I not be able to work until I have recieved the residence card after roughly 6 months? I was hoping to apply to graduate schemes which may still start in September 2011. Is this completely impossible?

If your husband is working in the UK, he is exercising his EU treaty rights and you, as his wife, are allowed to work from the minute you land. You might find it easier to convince employers with a Residence Card. However, both the Family Permit and the Certificate of Application (a letter confirming you applied for a Residence Card) clearly state your employment rights and that should be sufficient for employers. You should not have a problem applying for graduate schemes with the Family Permit.

once I am in the UK I have to apply for a residence card (eea2).

You don't have to apply but it would easier to prove your rights having it.

I thought as much, but thanks for the info! Here is to hoping that companies big enough to have graduate schemes have HR departments that are aware of EU law!

When applying for jobs, don't state the expiry date of the Family Permit and don't use the word "visa". Just put on your CV: "Permission to work: EU family member". Would get you pass the first screening. They will eventually ask to see proof (they are required by law) probably before making you an offer and at that point, you can explain your situation.

Jambo wrote:When applying for jobs, don't state the expiry date of the Family Permit and don't use the word "visa". Just put on your CV: "Permission to work: EU family member". Would get you pass the first screening. They will eventually ask to see proof (they are required by law) probably before making you an offer and at that point, you can explain your situation.

True, you will find that most employers will listen to reason and will understand your situation.

What I find really retarded (my 5 year family permit runs out in August 2011 and I am also going into a new job) is that they would put any such time limit of validity on your EEA family permit as this makes no sense.

The rules state that after 5 years one automatically gets permanent residence and that Non-EEA family members DO NOT need to apply for EEA2 or EEA4 but it helps when travelling or finding employment.