have EEC1 residence permit but been abroad 3 years

[bobby1234]

I am an american married to an european national. My wife and I have an EEA residence permit from 3 years ago, and is still valid for two more years.

Owing to employment opportunities, we have been in the US the past 3 years. But I just got a job in the UK, so we are returning to the UK again. My wife does not yet have a job in the UK but will be looking for one. We can show from our bank statement that we do not need to recourse to public funds.

My questions are:

1. Can my wife and I simply use our existing EEA residence permit to enter the UK, even though she does not yet have a job in the UK, and we have been out of UK for the past 3 years?

2. Or, do we have to reapply for another EEA residence permit?

3. If 2, what do we do about the fact that my wife does not yet have a job lined up?

Thanks very much for any comments you may have on this matter.

[bobby1234]

Follow up post:

As far as I can tell, we should be ok for me to enter and work, because the two-year rule applies only if we want to have perminent residency.

So, the resident permit we have EEA1 should still be valid.

Is this correct?

[John]

Hi, firstly your wife .... an EEA national .... has a right to enter the UK with or without a Residence Permit .... and a change to EEA regulations effective from 30.04.06 means she can enter the UK for up to three months without even intending to exercise treaty rights ... and then start using them later.

However do appreciate that being employed is only one way of exercising those rights. Being a self-sufficient person .... living off savings, or your earnings .... is another ... so the fact that she has no job does not mean that she is not exercising her treaty rights.

You ... given that your wife will indeed be exercising her treaty rights as soon as she gets here .... at the very least as a self-sufficient person .... certainly confirms that you can use your "still-in-date" Residence Permit to pick up where you left off.

The only problem I see is getting Permanent Residence status. Ordinarily you would apply for that after five years in the UK ... near the end of your five year Residence Permit .... but in your circumstance I suspect that both you and your wife will merely get given new five year permits when you apply for an extension .... and will be able to apply for Permanent Residence status only after five years back in the UK.

[bobby1234]

Thanks very much, John, for your helpful comments!

Just a follow up question: During the three years we have been in the US, I've been back to the UK several times for short visits. As my wife was living in the US at the time, I didn't use the Residence Permit, but obtained instead a short term visitor's visa. Will that affect my using the Residence Permit this time?

Thanks again for all your help. Really appreciate it.

[John]

I didn't use the Residence Permit, but obtained instead a short term visitor's visa.

Just to clarify .... did you actually make an application in the States before travelling to the UK? Or did you simply arrive in the UK? If the latter, in what sense did you enter as a visitor, rather than using the Residence Permit?

[bobby1234]

Hi John,

I just showed up at the entry port in the UK, and went through the 'regular' line for people from overseas, and obtained a visitor's visa (usually 6 months but with no right to work).


I did this because I was only going to be in the UK for a few days, and my wife did not live in the UK at the time, so I didn't think that I have the right to the Residence Permit on these occasions.

[bobby1234]

So, John, I should still be alright, I think. Is this right?

[John]

Bobby, I was hoping that someone else would post an opinion! And I still hope that!

Anyway, in the absence of any stamp on the five-year permit, cancelling it, I can't think of any reason why you should not be OK. (Excuse the double negative.)

But other opinions on this very welcome.