Non-EEA married to EEA: Resident Document and Permit

[alice121]

Hello everyone, I am a non-EEA national married to an EEA national. I entered the UK about 5 month ago with EEA family permit and am now applying for Residence Document. My husband has lived in this country for a decade but never applied for any sort of permit/document. He is a "self-employed" person (freelance worker) and also self-sufficient. Obviously I need to submit certain documents that verify these facts, but I am not sure what sort of documents I should provide to demonstrate his self-employed status. EEA form suggests 6 types of documents for example, including contracts (of free-lance work), a lease on business premises (in my husband's case he works from home mostly) and bank statements. My husband insists that he does not want to reveal his financial status by submitting bank statements and I cannot really force him to do that. So I am worried that they might refuse my application without financial evidence and whether contrants of his free-lance work would not be enough to convince them.

Also, does my husband also need to apply for his residence permit (EEA1) since he does not have one? I mean separate from my EEA2 application?

I would be very grateful if anyone has any information about these concerns and could share that with me. I am starting to get really worried now Thanks for your time.

[John]

does my husband also need to apply for his residence permit (EEA1) since he does not have one? I mean separate from my EEA2 application?

Given that he has been here for over five years he could actually use form EEA3 to apply for Permanent Residence.

However since the new EU regulations came into force on 30.04.06 he does not have to make an application for either Permanent Residence, or a Residence Permit. He can apply if he wants to, but cannot be forced to.

However in the absence of having one of those you need to prove that he is exercising his treaty rights in the UK. Hence the need to prove that he is indeed self-employed.

As a couple, why not go for it? Your husband applying on form EEA3 and you on form EEA2.

[alice121]

As a couple, why not go for it? Your husband applying on form EEA3 and you on form EEA2.

Thank you John. I did not mention this but my husband was once (partly) dependent upon public funds for a while although he is self-sufficient at the moment. He has been unable to get free-lance work regularly over the years, so obviously there were times when he was virtually "unemployed". Does this affect his application for Permanent Residence (EEA3) /Residence Permit (EEA1) and even mine for Residence Document (EEA2)?

Also, when applying for both EEA1 (or EEA3) and EEA2 at the same time, with which application am I supposed to enclose my husband's passport? I mean, both of them seem to require an EEA family member's passport and yet each of them has got a different division to send to.

Many thanks for your time.

[JAJ]

As a couple, why not go for it? Your husband applying on form EEA3 and you on form EEA2.

Thank you John. I did not mention this but my husband was once (partly) dependent upon public funds for a while although he is self-sufficient at the moment. He has been unable to get free-lance work regularly over the years, so obviously there were times when he was virtually "unemployed". Does this affect his application for Permanent Residence (EEA3) /Residence Permit (EEA1) and even mine for Residence Document (EEA2)?

Also, when applying for both EEA1 (or EEA3) and EEA2 at the same time, with which application am I supposed to enclose my husband's passport? I mean, both of them seem to require an EEA family member's passport and yet each of them has got a different division to send to.

Many thanks for your time.

You should find yourselves a good immigration lawyer to discuss your options. First step is to work out if your husband is a permanent resident.

That allows you to decide whether to go for the EEA Family Permit (as John suggests) or to instead apply for a spouse visa under standard UK rules. Lots of people go for the EEA permit without realising that it's a lot longer to permanent residence - 5 years rather than 2.

Does your husband want to apply for British citizenship? (which EEA state is he from?). It may shorten your time to get British citizenship if he does do so.

And do you plan to have UK-born children in future?

[alice121]

Thank you for your advice JAJ.

That allows you to decide whether to go for the EEA Family Permit (as John suggests) or to instead apply for a spouse visa under standard UK rules. Lots of people go for the EEA permit without realising that it's a lot longer to permanent residence - 5 years rather than 2.

Unfortunately we cannot really afford a lawyer right now... And since my EEA Family Permit expires in a few weeks, I thought it's easier for us to apply for Residence Permit/Document. Also, 5 years you mentioned will give us more time to think about our future (whether or not we stay in this country and so forth).

Does your husband want to apply for British citizenship? (which EEA state is he from?). It may shorten your time to get British citizenship if he does do so.

And do you plan to have UK-born children in future?

My husband is from (Republic of) Ireland and neither he or I want to apply for British citizenship in the future. As for children, we are not sure about that yet but yes maybe...

So I am afraid there are so many uncertainties at the moment, but one thing for sure is that I want to remain in the UK with my husband.

Any further advice/information would be much appreciated.