citizen of finland in uk, can I....................

[amserve]

My friend is a citizen of finland, he has a finnish passport.
Question is, he's been in the UK for over 3 years, can he sponsor his mother to join him in the uk for a visit ?
would it be the same as if he was british ?

[Frontier Mole]

Bit confused - are you saying his mother does not hold a Finnish passport?
If his mother is Finnish why would you be asking this question? Finland is in the EU!!!

[sakura]

Bit confused - are you saying his mother does not hold a Finnish passport?
If his mother is Finnish why would you be asking this question? Finland is in the EU!!!

Maybe the friend is a naturalised Finnish citizen, maybe married a Finn (or is that Fin??). In which case it would be the EEA family permit application, I believe, for a visit visa?

[Frontier Mole]

I think it is a waste of time assuming what they might or might not be.
There are some terminally dense individuals out there; not saying amserve is one of those before you jump off the deep end.
Let the question be answered and then we can point the individual in the right direction.

[amserve]

sorry for not clarifying this earlier!

The mother is an indian national, lives in India.
my friend wants to bring her to the UK for a visit. My friend is finnish his mother, indian.

Thanks guys

[Ben]

Assuming your Finnish friend is exercising an EU Treaty right in the UK (working / studying / self-sufficient), then as sakura said - an EEA Family Permit should be applied for by your friend's mother at the British consulate in India.

[amserve]

benifa thanks for the reply

Yes my friend is exercising treaty rights. So you say he should apply as an EEA family permit ? is this the same as applying for entry clearance as a family visitor ? what's the difference ?

cheers

[Ben]

So you say he should apply as an EEA family permit ? is this the same as applying for entry clearance as a family visitor ? what's the difference ?

An EEA Family Permit is a type of visa issued to the non-EEA family member of an EEA national, who is seeking to enter the UK in the company of, or to join, his EEA national family member.

This helps to facilitate the holder to enter the UK, in the circumstances mentioned above.

Once in the UK, the family member can remain for up to three months without any further conditions or formalities being imposed. Should he wish to remain longer than three months, the family member should apply for a Residence Card, using form EEA2, as confirmation that he is a family of an EEA national (who is exercising Treaty rights in the UK). This Residence Card is valid for five years.

[amserve]

would my friend need to show the same documents as are necessary in entry clearance rules, e.g. maintenance and accomodation, intention to return, etc. ? and, is it true the permit is free ?

and you mention the non-eea citizen can stay for more than 3 months, but a visit visa is required not settlement.

[/quote]

[Ben]

would my friend need to show the same documents as are necessary in entry clearance rules, e.g. maintenance and accomodation, intention to return, etc. ?

No. The applicant (your friend's Indian mother), is required to evidence that she is a family member described in Article 2(2) or in Article 3(2) of Directive 2004/38/EC, and that her daughter is exercising a Treaty right in the UK. Intention to return is not a requirement - she has the right to remain in the UK for as long as her son does.

and, is it true the permit is free ?

Yes, it's free.

and you mention the non-eea citizen can stay for more than 3 months, but a visit visa is required not settlement.

The visa required by the UK authorities, to "get her in" as it were, is the EEA Family Permit. Once in the UK, your friend's mother can remain for more or less than three months. It does not matter at this stage. Once in the UK, and if intending to remain longer than three months, your friend's mother can, at that point, apply for a Residence Card using form EEA2.

[amserve]

thank you benifa.

OK you say the only requirement is that the applicant proves her relationship to the sponsor (mother-son), what about maintenance and accomodation and other supporting documents ?

so theres no advantage in using immigration rules ? why do people bother applying via immigration rules when they can apply as non-eea citizens if there are less rules.

[vinny]

Under the Immigration Rules, I think that anyone may sponsor a visitor. However, applying for a dependant parent's settlement visa is not easy.