The Process After Approval of EEA family Permit ?

[runie80]

Hi Everyone !

Me and my wife are moving to UK in November.
My wife is EEA national <Poland>
I am NON EEA national <Pakistan>
I have EEA family permit for UK valid till 29th December.
We currently reside in Ireland.

What i want to ask is.
What forms i need to fill once we move to UK ?
What documentation is needed ?
What are the requirements when applying for stay in UK ?
My EEA family permit is expiring in December.If we move there in November will there be any problems in extending my stay in UK ?

I believe when we will move to UK and i will apply for residence i will get 1 Year permission to remain in UK and after one year i need to make another application which will enable me 5 years residence visa ?

Please feel free to correct me

Thanking You in Advance

*I know there is some information available on the home office website.
But i would like the opinion of expert members here like JOHN & others if there is anyway i can make this whole process smooth and as less time consuming as i can.

[yankeegirl]

Runie,

As far as immigration-type issues go, when once you are in the UK, you will need to apply for the residence card using form EEA2. They only accept postal applications for EEA2. This is valid for 5 years. Will either you or your wife have a job yet? If so, send in any payslips you get, letter from employer and so on. You will also have to send in both passports and your marriage certificate. The application lays out what documentation you will need based on your circumstances (employed, self-employed, student, etc).

Other practical issues... look into opening a bank account, apply for a NI number, register with your local GP. I'm not currently working (though I am looking) and I applied for my NI number before I sent my passport off with my EEA2 application. My reasoning for this was that the Home Office is taking around 6 months to process these applications. They do send you a letter confirming that you are eligible to work in the meantime, but if I got a job tomorrow, I didn't want to be taxed at a higher rate while waiting for my passport to come back since I would need that for the NI appointment.

Here's the link for the EEA2 application.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/11406/eea2.pdf

[dsab85]

just as a sidenote...you don't necessarily need the passport for the National Insurance number, but it might help. They have a way to verify it directly with the home Office.

My wife applied just with our lease, a household bill, the letter from the home office and some proof that she had applied for jobs. Took them 4 weeks to Issue the number and 2 weeks later the NIS Card arrived.

But you have a point with the Bank Account. It is already almost impossible to open a proper bank account on it's own as a new resident, but without passport you will need a lot of patience. We managed in the end to get a full current account with Visa Credit and Debit Card with Frist Trust, as we have had a AIB account (First Trust is AIB's in Nortrern Ireland) in Dublin for years. but all the other bigger High street Banks wouldn't even look at us without passport or any credit history.

[yankeegirl]

just as a sidenote...you don't necessarily need the passport for the National Insurance number, but it might help. They have a way to verify it directly with the home Office.

When I called to ask about it, they stated it was a must for me to have photo ID and the passport is all I have (other than my now expired US driving license.) so I opted to take care of it before I had to send in the EEA2.

DH had issues getting an account as well when we first came up here. His issue was that we were staying with friends so no bills or anything with proof of address. They wouldn't accept a letter sent to him from his new employer so he finally had his AIB branch in Dun Laoghaire send him a statement to the address in the North; that finally worked.

[runie80]

Thanks yankeegirl & dsab85

Much appreciate your valuable advice.

We are planning to move somewhere near the outskirts of London.
I had a plan to move to N.Ireland but i believe the Job prospects are not great there.


Thanks for the Link to the EEA-2 form.That is very helpful.

Now i just hope that i get a job in 4 to 6 weeks after arriving there.As my visa will be running out in December.

Anyone knows that in worst case scenario if I move to UK and i cannot find a job and my EEA family permit expires than what are my options ?
or It does not matter. Once i am in the UK i can apply extension anytime even after Expiration of my EEA family permit.

If the above makes any sense

The Bank account & NI number worry me.
I am not sure what i am stepping into by moving there with my wife. Fingers crossed I hope it will be fine and We will find a job and finally will be able to return to "normal" life.

* What are the experiences of the people living in N Ireland ? Is it better than what you expected ? is finding jobs easy ? what are the people like ?

Any info appreciated

[yankeegirl]

Anyone knows that in worst case scenario if I move to UK and i cannot find a job and my EEA family permit expires than what are my options ?

To be perfectly honest, it doesn't really matter if YOU have a job or not. You are allowed to stay as long as your spouse is an EU citizen exercising a treaty right in the UK. This can be from your spouse being in employment, self-employment, a student or self-sufficient. What is your wife's situation i regards to this? I found the following from this site.
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front ... 5892134742

"What are Treaty rights?
An EEA national is exercising treaty rights if they count as a qualified person in the UK.

Under what circumstances can an EEA national count as a “Qualified personâ€

[runie80]

Thanks Yankee Girl

I feel now more confident and i have the outline of the whole procedure.
Also thanks for that link for jobs in North.

I will keep you guys updated

Fingers crossed for the best.

[cb1964]

[quote="yankeegirl"]Runie,

Other practical issues... look into opening a bank account, apply for a NI number, register with your local GP. I'm not currently working (though I am looking) and I applied for my NI number before I sent my passport off with my EEA2 application. My reasoning for this was that the Home Office is taking around 6 months to process these applications. They do send you a letter confirming that you are eligible to work in the meantime, but if I got a job tomorrow, I didn't want to be taxed at a higher rate while waiting for my passport to come back since I would need that for the NI appointment.

Here's the link for the EEA2 application.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/11406/eea2.pdf[/quote]

If a non-EEA citizen has a EEA FP which is valid for 6 months and you are saying that it takes about 6 months for the HO to process EEA2 forms, surely the EEA FP would then have expired. If so, what then is the legal standing ?

[yankeegirl]

The residence card is a confirmation of the right to live in the UK as the souse of an EU citizen. *technically* it's not mandatory to apply for one, but in day to day life it would be difficult to prove eligibility to work and so on without it. In any case, the Home Office sends a letter stating that the applicant is still considered legally resident in the country and is allowed to seek employment and even lists a number for potential employers to call to verify that. I had sent off my EEA2 application on 1 Sept and received the letter from the HO about a week later.

[cb1964]

[quote="yankeegirl"]The residence card is a confirmation of the right to live in the UK as the souse of an EU citizen. *technically* it's not mandatory to apply for one, but in day to day life it would be difficult to prove eligibility to work and so on without it. In any case, the Home Office sends a letter stating that the applicant is still considered legally resident in the country and is allowed to seek employment and even lists a number for potential employers to call to verify that. I had sent off my EEA2 application on 1 Sept and received the letter from the HO about a week later.[/quote]

Ok, I'm obviously being obtuse. If my husband has an EEA Family Permit for 6 months, which expires in March does he not then need something else in his passport after the expiration of his EEA FP in March (if he leaves the country and returns)? My understanding of the process was that he comes in on an EEA FP, then applies for a residence card using EEA2 which is valid for 5 years.

[yankeegirl]

Ok, I'm obviously being obtuse. If my husband has an EEA Family Permit for 6 months, which expires in March does he not then need something else in his passport after the expiration of his EEA FP in March (if he leaves the country and returns)? My understanding of the process was that he comes in on an EEA FP, then applies for a residence card using EEA2 which is valid for 5 years.

If he were to not apply for the residence card, it would not cause him to be out of status as he is still a spouse of an EU citizen exercizing treaty rights in the UK. Though it is technically not mandatory, it's still advisable to do so. It would be an arduous process for him to prove his continuing right to live and work here, and also makes it easier to come in and out of the UK. So at any time between entry into the UK and the expiration of the family permit, apply for EEA2. The letter makes it clear that they would still be able to seek employment while the application is pending.

"Family members of EEA nationals: Such persons may engage in employment without a work permit whilst their application for a residence card or permanent residence card is under consideration. IND anticipates that in the majority of cases this acknowledgement will be sufficient to satisfy a prospective employer regarding a person's entitlement to seek employment in the United Kingdom. IND offers an Employer's Helpline telephone service for employers who have questions and queries about immigration law affecting people's entitlement to work in the United Kingdom."

That's from the letter I received from the Home Office after sending in my application. i hope that helps.

[cb1964]

Hi Yankee girl,

Thanks for the response. How long do they normally hang onto the passports for before returning them?

[yankeegirl]

Well, for EEA2 applications, they're taking 6 months to process. You have a couple of options with this. I've seen people mention that you can send off certified copies of the passports with the applications and send them the passports at a later date. Also, if you need to travel before the application is decided, you can notify the Home Office and they will return your passports without withdrawing the application.

A side note...I've seen a few people post on here and on other sites that if the couple send in the EEA1 (for EU spouse) and the EEA2 (for non-EU spouse) together, it seems that they get processed more quickly, usually within two months.

[cb1964]

Why would an individual send two different applications or have I misunderstood you?

[dsab85]

The EEA1 is the residence Permit application for an EU citizen. This is not really required to have or do, and most people probably wouldn't apply for it. The EEA1 application has a processing time of roughly 6 to 8 weeks.

The EEA2 application is for the Non-EU Spouse, and has a processing time of around 6 months.

So if you send only the EEA2 application it will most likely take 6 months to process. But if you send in the EEA1 and EE2 for both spouses together the Home Office appears to process them together within the EEA1 timeframe, which is only 6 - 8 weeks.

In out case roughly 6 weeks. Would we only have sent my wifes EEA2 we would most likely have to wait another 4 months.

So, if you would like it to be processed in a timely manner, then send them together.

[cb1964]

Thanks

Given that I'm from Northern Ireland and automatically have dual nationality and am therefore considered a UK citizen (I have a UK passport also, but used my Irish one for the purposes of my husband coming to the UK) would they not think it a trifle strange if I applied for a residence permit when I am already a citizen?