Long Distance Relationship Advice / EEA2 Residence Card

[James3]

Hi everyone,

I (25, male, UK) met my girlfriend online (23, USA) in Arpil 2013. Since then we've been in a genuine and fulfilling long distance relationship. We talk via Skype and email, and have only missed three days in that entire time.

I have to be in the UK for at least a year to finish my PhD. During this time (Jan 15 - Jan 16) we would like for her to come to live (and ideally work) in the UK, after which we would like to return to the USA to start our life together.

We have been looking at the EEA2 UK Residence Card, and would like to get more advice on the following;
1. What constitutes a "durable relationship"?
2. 'Living together' implies in the physical sense, but we have been heavily involved in each other's lives throughout this time, so much so that I would regard us as 'living together'. Will UKBA see it this way?
3. How likely is it that our application will succeed?

Given that you feel the EEA2 Residence card is the correct approach,
4. Is it best if she comes here on a visitors visa to apply within the UK, or should she apply from the US? (bearing in mind that for the application they require our original passports)?


Other information:
-Every single word of our Skype history has been recorded
-We have lots of pictures together from the US, UK & Paris
-I've spent nine days in the US with her, she then came to live with me in the UK for three months and now I am due to visit her again for two months (in two weeks!)
-She has a US bachelors in Biological Sciences, I have a UK masters in Mechanical Engineering
-Between us we have approximately £30K in savings and I am earning £16.8K (tax exempt)
-We are ready for marriage
-Neither of us have kids, previous marriages or criminal records
-If we fail to secure a year together, I will start the process in reverse (me move the US) and quit the PhD

Thanks so much for reading, any advice you can offer is really appreciated!

[MPH80]

An EEA2 card only applies if you have exercised your treaty rights in another EU country - have you done that?

[James3]

An EEA2 card only applies if you have exercised your treaty rights in another EU country - have you done that?

I had assumed that is what I'm trying to do now, since I am an EEA citizen (UK is a member of the EEA)?

[Rayking]

No,it doesn't work that way or may be I should say they didn't design it that way. You must have lived in another EU country for a while(months) to exercise treaty right.
Though your girlfriend can come here as a visitor, she can't work except you're married and you need to fulfill the financial requirements of 18600 if she's coming alone or more if she's got kids.
Your mails,Skype,pictures and all that are also vital as you need to show proofs of your relationship.
1. A relationship is durable as long as it's genuine in my opinion and you have evidence to back it up.
2.You don't necessarily need to have lived together,as long as you can prove your relationship with those communication stuffs you've got.
3. Your application will be 100% successful IF you follow to the letter what they want.e.i ask what's not clear to you,no assumption in dealing with them and just present what they want even if it's not sensible which we all know at times.
*financial requirement is your income b4 tax,so I think you should be fine.
* if you want her to work,the only or let's say viable way is to marry.
*if you love each other,why not just go ahead.
Hope my little advice helps.

[MPH80]

Rayking is correct - since you are a british citizen - you cannot exercise your treaty rights in Britain. You have to be in another EU country. It's a bit odd - but it applies everywhere. A german citizen is subject to german immigration law if they remain in Germany - but if they cross the border to France - they are subject to EU immigration law.

Your options are:
1) Get married - bring her on a spouse visa - requirements already outlined
2) Plan to get married within 6 months, bring her on a fiancee visa - same financial requirements - but you don't have to be married yet. However, the visa is only 6 months long, you have to marry within it. and you then have to convert to a spouse visa (which is doubling the cost of the one above). She won't be able to work while she's on the fiancee visa (don't underestimate how hard this is for someone in a new country) - but will once the conversion takes place.
3) Bring her on a visitor visa for 6 of the months you want. She won't be able to work or access the health service during that time. See above for caveats.
4) Get her a student visa - this would require a place on a course, which is almost certainly too late given term time is starting shortly. She'd only be able to work 20 hours a week and would have to keep up with her studies.
5) Deal with the separation for another year - you've already done it for over a year. It can be done - I did with my wife when she was in South America.
6) Drop the PhD and move to the US. However, I would strongly advise against this - you might not see it now - but you may desire to move elsewhere in the future - having the highest possible qualification makes this a lot easier. I've got through various visa forms as a 'Uni drop out' and each time I have to have immigration advisors fudge around my educational history. Thankfully I'm now higher up in companies so it doesn't matter so much. It isn't just about the job and education right now - it's about the whole of the future.

I would strongly advise going with option 5 if your intention is not to remain in the UK. Options 1 and 2 require a lot of effort to get the visa and a good amount of money. It also means you have to hurry with getting married in order to achieve it rather than on your own pace and with the ceremony your future wife would (no doubt) like. Option 3 is just a pain for her, especially with you working on the PhD. Option 4 is probably impossible and I don't think option 6 is a good long term idea.

M.

[Obie]

What is your nationality OP?

Are you a British?

[James3]

Rayking & MPH80, thank you both so much! You have no idea how welcome and motivating your advice is in this challenging situation.

MPH80, its very helpful to see all the options laid out like that,
1) As we're only seeing each other on visitors visas, how can we do this legally? I believe we have to agree not to get married when entering either the US or UK on a visitor visa?
1a) I am very scared that if I bring the necessary documentation for marriage (e.g. birth certificate) into the US when I visit, I will be turned away at the border for fear that I will do exactly what I'm planning to do.
3) We think our visitor visa luck is about to run out. Last time she came to visit for three months they gave her a hard time at the border (about 20 minutes of questions). We feel that given she has limited ties to the US (no kids, living with parents, part time job, no property etc) the UKBA will consider her a high risk of overstaying or working (since she has limited savings) and refuse her entry. What are your thoughts on this? Being turned away like that would be an immensely traumatic experience for us both.
5) We're more than prepared to do what it takes, but this route would mean my family and friends have very little chance to get to know my future wife before I leave here indefinitely, it's not ideal.
6) My girlfriend, and family life outweigh any perceivable benefits of a PhD to me. During the application process I can hold onto the PhD, if granted, we're pretty sure we will only ever live in the US or UK so I don't see this as being a problem. It would be a shame to have to give it up, but then you can't have everything I guess. I'll still have the engineering masters to fall back on.

We have also been considering this option "Apply to join family living permanently in the UK" https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk/overview
I believe we meet all of the eligibility requirements for that one, with the only risk being a difference in UKBA's and my interpretation of,
"(You must also prove that:) your relationship to your family member is genuine and recognised in the UK" and,
"(You must be one of the following:) living together in a relationship for 2 years"

And lastly, your comments around 5) suggest you are finally together with your wife. In which case I'm so pleased for you! It's inspirational to learn of successful cases such as yours.

James

[James3]

What is your nationality OP?

Are you a British?

Yes, British and living in the UK since birth.

[Obie]

Then neither you nor your girlfriend qualify under EU law.

Even if you had qualified as an EEA national, which you don't, i would have had immense difficulty in reasonably concluding that the relationship you have with this American lady can be classified as Durable in accordance with the letter and spirit of the word.

[Wanderer]

We have also been considering this option "Apply to join family living permanently in the UK" https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk/overview
I believe we meet all of the eligibility requirements for that one, with the only risk being a difference in UKBA's and my interpretation of,
"(You must also prove that:) your relationship to your family member is genuine and recognised in the UK" and,
"(You must be one of the following:) living together in a relationship for 2 years"

Do you pass the financial test?

[James3]

Then neither you nor your girlfriend qualify under EU law.

Even if you had qualified as an EEA national, which you don't, i would have had immense difficulty in reasonably concluding that the relationship you have with this American lady can be classified as Durable in accordance with the letter and spirit of the word.

Thanks for the clarification, this one can be ruled out then.

I assume that you wouldn't regard our relationship as durable since we lack two years of physical cohabitation. In which case, how do those in long distance relationships ever achieve two years of cohabitation? "UKBA, can we live together please?", "No! you need to have lived together first!".

[Wanderer]

Then neither you nor your girlfriend qualify under EU law.

Even if you had qualified as an EEA national, which you don't, i would have had immense difficulty in reasonably concluding that the relationship you have with this American lady can be classified as Durable in accordance with the letter and spirit of the word.

Thanks for the clarification, this one can be ruled out then.

I assume that you wouldn't regard our relationship as durable since we lack two years of physical cohabitation. In which case, how do those in long distance relationships ever achieve two years of cohabitation? "UKBA, can we live together please?", "No! you need to have lived together first!".

My partner and I did it, at great expense, we arranged a student visa, which bought us the time to apply for an Unmarried Partner Visa, I reckon we spent around £40,000 in Uni fees alone.

For the UPV, you need to have lived together as man and wife for 24 months with documented proof.

The logic is that being unmarried shows a perceived lack of commitment, and to be fair that's largely true, and I think this rule was only brought in originally for Fillipinos - who can't divorce....

[James3]

We have also been considering this option "Apply to join family living permanently in the UK" https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk/overview
I believe we meet all of the eligibility requirements for that one, with the only risk being a difference in UKBA's and my interpretation of,
"(You must also prove that:) your relationship to your family member is genuine and recognised in the UK" and,
"(You must be one of the following:) living together in a relationship for 2 years"

Do you pass the financial test?

Yes I believe so, but it's tricky. I have 30K in savings and (although my salary is 16.8K) I earn above the 18.6K requirement when calculating my "gross equivalent".

I believe it is acceptable to use "gross equivalent" based on "Annex FM Section FM 1.7: Financial Requirement", section 6.1.8 where it finishes "...Where the grant or stipend is paid on a tax-free basis, see section 6.4. of this guidance for further information.". Section 6.4.1 states "Where an academic maintenance grant or stipend is, or will be, paid on a tax-free basis, the amount of the gross equivalent can be counted towards the financial requirement."

My calculation is
£10,000 tax free
£6800 gross equivalent = £8500
Salary Gross equivalent = £18,500 + NI (should take me over this threshold)


Edit* I just used this HMRC 'Quick calculation' here http://tools.hmrc.gov.uk/hmrctaxcalculator/ and my gross equivalent is £20,360.

[Obie]

Getting married is an option open to you.

You are not required to be living all the time, due to work or other commitment, you can be away, but a period of cohabitation is required.

[Rayking]

I think you've got all you need to apply,the best route is either get married or fiancée visa.Any other option is just gonna drag you on and on,it's obvious your girlfriend isn't new to you,even if you've known each other for just 3 months,there's no law that says you can't marry.
You can combine your savings with your salary as well,provided the savings have been held for 6 months or more.

[MPH80]

I wish the OP good luck on this journey - and yes - for reference I am now with my wife - we've been married 5 years, in a relationship for 9. 3.5 years of that were on long distance within various countries.

I think it's important for the OP to understand timelines. If they got married tomorrow (say in the US) - you're then looking at (about) a couple of weeks of document gathering followed by somewhere between a 2-4 month wait on the visa. So assuming they applied first of September - they may know this side of Christmas or not.

But given the fact they aren't (yet) planning to marry - and to do so in the UK would require 15 days notice (where she's already been here for 7 days before giving notice) - or various laws in the US depending on State - I think them marrying before the end of September would be good progress.

There is then, obviously, also a clean up period for her once she knows she's moving - could be a couple of days - could be a few weeks.

So if the OP's wife is here (on a settlement visa) by January - I'd be delighted for him.

But that also means that his partner is likely to be here for 6-9 months of his remaining time in the UK - the rest of the time will be spent waiting in the US.

Our OP should also be aware of the processing times for spouse visas for the US: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/americ ... 30-uk.html

(that's the most up to date I found on my fast google)

M.