EEA Family Permit

[yankeegirl]

Ok, here's a quick rundown of my situation. I'm an American citizen engaged to and Irish citizen and we are currently in northern Ireland. We have been here since 2004; I came over on an Irish visa waiver and then overstayed. We have a 21 month old daughter that was born in NI. We have been advised that the best way to rectify my status is to return to the US, get married and apply for an EEA Family permit. I am aware we could also apply for UK spusal visa but #1 its costly, #2 I don't mind waiting longer for citizenship, #3 I was told that under EEA laws they cant refuse solely on my immigration past.

So, now I'm trying to work out the particulars. I was looking ath the VAF1 form, and it asks for things like my permanent address...which would be in the UK. Is it ok to put that? I have no permanent address in the US. Also, the consualte states that in order to make an appointment for the application, the application must first be made online. Is it ok for me to apply online from the UK before the marriage and then provide marriage certificate at the in person appointment once we have been married? Does anybody know how long it takes to issue the family permit in the US? I'm trying to get an idea of how long to plan on being in the States so we can arrange for my fiance's family to watch our daughter, how much time he need to take off work etc. And lastly, I was told that I obviously can't purchase a return ticket for myself. So does that mean that I have to wait til I'm in the US before I can purchase the one way to come back to the UK?

Oh I forgot one more thing. We were planning to fly out and in to Dublin. Provided I have the family permit is it ok to fly into Dublin and then present myself to an ECO in Belfast or do I even need to bother with that?

Sorry in advance for all the questions. Cheers!

[JAJ]

Ok, here's a quick rundown of my situation. I'm an American citizen engaged to and Irish citizen and we are currently in northern Ireland. We have been here since 2004; I came over on an Irish visa waiver and then overstayed. We have a 21 month old daughter that was born in NI. We have been advised that the best way to rectify my status is to return to the US, get married and apply for an EEA Family permit. I am aware we could also apply for UK spusal visa but #1 its costly, #2 I don't mind waiting longer for citizenship, #3 I was told that under EEA laws they cant refuse solely on my immigration past.

If you do decide to go for the EEA family permit, there is still a possible way to get your citizenship sooner. If your husband becomes a British citizen and by that point you then have at least 3 years legal residence in the UK, you can (apparently) bypass the need for ILR by making an application for naturalisation outside the UK - eg at the British Embassy in Dublin.

See this thread (from another forum), starting at post #15:
http://www.ukresident.com/forums/index. ... entry54004

Oh I forgot one more thing. We were planning to fly out and in to Dublin. Provided I have the family permit is it ok to fly into Dublin and then present myself to an ECO in Belfast or do I even need to bother with that?

Did you overstay your visa in the Republic of Ireland? If so, be prepared for the risk of problems with Irish immigration on arrival. A United Kingdom visa may not necessarily help.

Can't help with your other questions, sorry.

[yankeegirl]

I was just wondering what to expect if I fly out of Belfast? I have no UK stamps in my passport, just the VW from ROI. Do they check passporst when you leave?

[JAJ]

I was just wondering what to expect if I fly out of Belfast? I have no UK stamps in my passport, just the VW from ROI. Do they check passporst when you leave?

Systematic exit controls are not yet in place at UK ports of entry/exit but they are being introduced. So your passport could be scanned.

All that said, the implication of exit control on the continued operation of the Common Travel Area (CTA) has not yet been thought through. One presumes the Irish will have to integrate their border systems with the UK system.

Otherwise the CTA would likely come to an end and the border between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom would increasingly resemble the Canada-US border : not fortified, but closely watched.