EEA Family Permit inquiry

[sergiyko]

Hello everyone,

First, thanks everyone for making this forum such an interesting place, full of interesting discussions and useful information.

I have a question regarding the application for EEA Family Permit. Our situation is a little bit special: me and my partner who is EEA citizen, are goint to get married and apply for EEA permit. We have lived together for two years, mostly in UK where we both have been students. The question is related to our financial situation and the definition of financial dependency. My partner has recently graduated University and is currently looking for a job in UK (yet she has not really worked since the moment of her graduation, except for a small part-time job). During our common life in UK, de-facto it is me who was maintaining us financially, thanks to my scholarship and a certain financial support from my family. I have also some small savings on my account.

As it is obvious from this situation, she can hardly figure as my sponsor/me being financially dependent on her. Would it be an insurmountable obstacle to succeed with our application for EEA family permit? Should I be necessarily dependent on EEA family member or would be sufficient to prove that jointly we could maintain ourselves withour recourse to public funds, and what amount would UKBA require?
Or should we wait until the EEA family member finds a (stable) job? That could require several months, and we really don't want to stay separated from each other - we want start our family together.

Many thanks in advance for any advise with regard to our situation!

[86ti]

I don't think there is anything special in your case. Sponsorship (that term doesn't even exist in EEA regulations) and financial dependencies are irrelevant as long as the EEA national exercises treaty rights (I understand from your case that your partner is currently resident in the UK). If she is not working she could be self-sufficient, e.g. through the income of yours and/or savings, but you both would require separate comprehensive sickness insurance (not NHS). Job seeking may be another possibility (but she would have to demonstrate that). There is no fixed amount the UKBA could use.

[sergiyko]

I don't think there is anything special in your case. Sponsorship (that term doesn't even exist in EEA regulations) and financial dependencies are irrelevant as long as the EEA national exercises treaty rights (I understand from your case that your partner is currently resident in the UK). If she is not working she could be self-sufficient, e.g. through the income of yours and/or savings, but you both would require separate comprehensive sickness insurance (not NHS). Job seeking may be another possibility (but she would have to demonstrate that). There is no fixed amount the UKBA could use.

Dear 86ti,

thank you so much for your kind and helpful comment. It reassures us that we can make an application and hope to get a permit, even though our situation is a bit complicated.

I have another question:
my EEA partner has been living in UK for almost three years - studying for her degree for two years, and making job applications and applications to continue her studies at the post-graduate level for the last several months. As far as I understand, at this moment she would not be considered as 'qualified perons', because in the last months she has not been working or studying, but making applications to work or continue her studies, am I right? Of course, we have proofs of these activites (letters of application/acceptance/refusal). To be sure, these activities should, in principle, be viewed as a form of exercising Treaty's right. Yet, there are also categories, prescribing who should be considered as a 'qualified person', and, it seems, my partner does not easily fit into any of these categories.
Also, if she is not eligible for the status of 'qualified person', could we make an application as if we were travelling together and not me joining her in UK? Anyway, she is going to be with me in my country of origin for a month or so for our marriage. We also plan to look for a new place to live in UK. So, in principle, it seems, we can apply under 'travelling together' category, can't we? In that cas, the 'qualified person' requirment will not concern us, will it?

Very many thanks in advance for your kind help with these numerous questions!!

[86ti]

A job seeker is a qualified person. That would also require a registration with the job centre. Your partner is a resident in the UK and as such must be a qualified person in order to stay lawfully (under EEA regulations) in the country. I can't see how you could 'pretend' to just freshly relocate to the UK. The UKBA won't see it that way.

[Obie]

You partner might still be a qualified person. She has completed her first educational course and proceeding to a post-graduate level, which she has applied for. Her situation could be assimilated to that of a Jobseeker. So long as she holds her European Insurance and have sufficient resource, she is still a qualified person.

I am not entirely convinced/ it is questionable whether EU national who come into the UK does not have an entitlement to a fresh three months unconditional right of residence each time they enter. I strongly believe the clock start ticking for them each time they enter the UK.

I know this does not make sense, but an EU national who is removed from the UK, for reason other than Public Policy, Public Health or Public Security, can immediately return to the UK, and there will be no restriction on their entry.

This above paragraph might go a distance in supporting my view that they have a right to a three months unconditional residence each time they enter a member state other than that of of which they are a national. This is not dependant on whether they were previously a qualified person or not, or how long they previously lived in a member state, without being a qualified person.

[86ti]

I am not entirely convinced/ it is questionable whether EU national who come into the UK does not have an entitlement to a fresh three months unconditional right of residence each time they enter. I strongly believe the clock start ticking for them each time they enter the UK.

I know this does not make sense, but an EU national who is removed from the UK, for reason other than Public Policy, Public Health or Public Security, can immediately return to the UK, and there will be no restriction on their entry.

But being removed means that residence "is broken". The only reason I can see for being removed in your scenario is that the EEA national was not residing lawfully, i.e. has become an unreasonable burden to the state(any other possible reasons?). Such times could not be counted towards PR obviously.

Also, if the clock could arbitrarily be reset with each reentry what's the point of requiring whether the EEA national is a qualified person or not? The OP's wife is obviously resident in the UK and her current activities show that. You may be right with your analysis but I strongly doubt the UKBA would see it that way when seeing the facts.

[tombr]

Hi All

I am new to the site but have been watching for a while and wanted to say thank you all for making this a very helpfull and interesting site.

I hope someone could help me please - Urgent

I am South American, and have been married to a portuguese citzen for over 5 years, also we both live and work in the UK.

My visa expires in 4 weeks, and I have sent all my documents to Portugal together with an application for portuguese citzenship about 3 months ago, hoping that wouldn`t take too long and would come back before my UK visa runs out.
So far it hasn`t and I am starting to get a little worried about it.

Anyone knows how long it takes?
Also how could that affect my stay in the UK?
Any and all help would be most appreciated.


Thanks

[86ti]

I am new to the site[...]

Please, keep you enquiries in one thread and do not hijack other people's thread.

[tombr]

Apologies for hijacking...



Sorry my bad....

[Obie]

Also, if the clock could arbitrarily be reset with each reentry what's the point of requiring whether the EEA national is a qualified person or not? .

That is a good question, and i suspect the answer to it is, a Union citizen does not need to be a qualified person in order to be living in the UK lawfully.

The treaty provide for the right of all union citizen to move to, and/ or reside in any member state other than that of which they are a national, subject to conditions laid down in the treaty and measure adopted to implement them.

In actual fact, i think so long as a Union citizen does not become an unreasonable burden to the state, they will be allowed to reside. Even if they don't meet the conditions of the directive or EEA regulations. Which essentially means an EEA national is not required to have a COmprehensive sickness insurance to live in the UK. However if the want to sponsor non- EEA family member, then they are required to fulfill administrative requirement, ie being in possession of sickness insurance or exercising treaty rights in other capacity.


http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary