UK family permit

[bunny80]

I am a romanian national married to an american and would like to settle in the UK so i need the family permit for my wife (we got married in Romania).

We've been in the UK for about 4 months , we flew in together and she was allowed in as a tourist ( so 6 months visa, not family member related). The IO gave us a hard time at first especially since she didn't have a return ticket ( the solicitor we spoke to days before we made the trip told us that we wouldn't need anything since she was my wife from a non-visa country and i was EU). Also, she had a denied UK entry stamp from last year when she tried to join me in the UK (we got bad advice from various people and solicitors and decided to lie about why she was coming here, thinking she'd be sent back had she told immigration she was visiting her boyfriend on a tourist visa).

Our situation is a little different since I play online poker for a living and although I can show UK bank statements for the last 15 months or so I am not sure how the authorities will look at this. I mean some poker sites are monitored by independent sites that show how much any player is up or down, it's not really hard to figure out. The other thing we would need is private health insurance but that's not a real issue.

Should I get a solicitor to do this or could we do it ourselves? From what I know the fee can be as high as 2.000 £ but would it be worth it? Anyone here with similar experiences? How long does it take to get the permit if you apply from inside the UK (also I don't have a residence permit here and I think we would need to apply for that too at the same time)?

Thanks for any input !!

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

What status do you have in the UK, especially with respect to UKBA? Are you registered with them under WRS?

Where is your wife presently and what is she doing?

Note that the EEA Family Permit is only for entering the UK.

[bunny80]

What status do you have in the UK, especially with respect to UKBA? Are you registered with them under WRS?

Where is your wife presently and what is she doing?

Note that the EEA Family Permit is only for entering the UK.

Hi, thanks for replying!!

I am not registered anywhere in the UK because I was told there is no need to do that unless I am working. As gambling pro's are not considered to be working and pay no income tax I am not employed or self-employed here , the bracket I'd fall into is self-sufficient http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/BIM22017.htm.



My wife is with me here in the UK on a regular tourist visa and she isn't doing anything (work , study, etc.) . She doesn't need to work, I can show bank statements going back to last year when I first arrived in the UK as proof that my poker income is more than enough for the both of us.

So she wouldn't need a FP since she is already here? What do we need to get instead?

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

First you need to figure out your status and should likely register with UKBA. http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/worki ... k/eea/wrs/

If you are exempt from registration on the Worker Registration Scheme, you can obtain a registration certificate confirming your status, although you are not obliged to do so.

Once you are registered and have a "Residence Permit", she would need to apply for a Residence Card.

[bunny80]

First you need to figure out your status and should likely register with UKBA. http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/worki ... k/eea/wrs/

If you are exempt from registration on the Worker Registration Scheme, you can obtain a registration certificate confirming your status, although you are not obliged to do so.

Once you are registered and have a "Residence Permit", she would need to apply for a Residence Card.

do you think we'll be able to do this when she only has about 6 weeks left on the visitor's visa? would she get an extension or is there anything we could do to without leaving the UK?

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

For old-country Europeans, if you are here legally (for instance self employed, self sufficient, or working), then your spouse is automatically here legally. The spouse can (and usually would) apply for a Residence Card, but is not required to.

It is somewhat more complicated for you, but in essence I believe that if you are here legally, then she is also.

Does she actually have a visa, or did she just get stamped in at the UK airport on arrival?

I would, if I were in a similar situation, just apply for the Residence Card and see what they say.

[bunny80]

For old-country Europeans, if you are here legally (for instance self employed, self sufficient, or working), then your spouse is automatically here legally. The spouse can (and usually would) apply for a Residence Card, but is not required to.

It is somewhat more complicated for you, but in essence I believe that if you are here legally, then she is also.

Does she actually have a visa, or did she just get stamped in at the UK airport on arrival?

I would, if I were in a similar situation, just apply for the Residence Card and see what they say.

She got stamped in at Heathrow, normal 6 months visitor visa for americans. By ''old-country Europeans'' do you mean western europeans? I'm romanian so that would exclude me

I also found this on the UKBA site :

Family member residence stamps

Residence cards are not immediately available to all family members. Family members who are not themselves nationals of an EEA country or Switzerland, and who are in the United Kingdom with a national of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia or Slovenia, cannot apply for a residence card until the national of that country has been employed continuously in the United Kingdom for 12 months.

Until this 12-month period is completed, a family member who is not an EEA or Swiss national can apply for a family member residence stamp (FMRS) to confirm their right of residence under European law.

I assume this would also apply to us but I can't tell how it would work for self-sufficiency, not working.