EEA Spouse visa

[CR001]

One question...or two actually... when does your Tier 2 visa expire and when do you intend to marry?

Think I sent you the link previously, not sure. Left job back in April, no curtailment letter received as yet. Getting married next month from what I can see.

uk-tier-2-employer-sponsored-visas/chan ... 31634.html

Ah! In which case as you've already been advised, you don't qualify for an EEA Residence permit as your fiancee holds dual Spanish and British nationality. For the purpose of immigration she is only considered to be British and you can only apply for a spouse visa under the UK Immigration Rules

It does get confusing and I think the OP has been using the wrong terminology originally and across numerous topics. Future spouse holds PR as far as I can tell.

eea-route-applications/do-dual-eu-uk-ci ... l#p1498170

[confusedandsad]

Dear Casa, sorry for confusing you and thank you for reading and giving consideration to my queries.

CR, also, thank you for understanding my dribble and poorly written notes!

My situation is summarised below:

1.My fiance is a Spanish national. She has been in the UK for 5 years and received her Permanent Residency recently.
2. She is going to hold off applying for her British passport until I receive my Permanent Residency
3. I am on a Tier 2 visa
4. I am a New Zealand national
5. I have resigned from my job with my last day of employment being 1 April 2017
6. I still have not received a curtailment letter
7. I am marrying my fiance in 2 weeks.

I am essentially trying to determine if I should:

1. Apply for Residency directly here in the UK; or
2. Return home and apply for EEA family permit then return to UK and apply for Residency.

I am looking for work now and want to get proof of right to work the quickest route possible. I would prefer to not sit around in the UK without a passport. If I am going to wait I would prefer to go home and visit family and have a holiday while I wait for the EEA family permit.

However, I get this permit, then I come back UK and it becomes dormant when I apply for the Residency; I am effectively back to square 1 and it is better to just stick with applying for the Residency in the UK.

[Richard W]

However, I get this permit, then I come back UK and it becomes dormant when I apply for the Residency; I am effectively back to square 1 and it is better to just stick with applying for the Residency in the UK.

It seems that some employers accept a family permit and other do not. It would seem that there is no case law on whether an apparent family permit affords an employer a legal excuse against a fine and loss of sponsorship licence if it is not valid and the apparent holder does not actually have the right to work.

[confusedandsad]

So once I have the 6-month family permit vignette in my passport, can this not be used as proof of right to work in the uk for that 6 month period? As it is in the passport it effectively becomes dormant the moment application for Residence is made as you have to send the passport off as part of the Residence application?

Is there a way I can apply for the Residence permit in the uk without sending my NZ passport or having it returned? This way I could still travel back home while the Residence is being processed. Or are you prohibited from travelling while the Residence permit is being processed?

[Richard W]

So once I have the 6-month family permit vignette in my passport, can this not be used as proof of right to work in the uk for that 6 month period? As it is in the passport it effectively becomes dormant the moment application for Residence is made as you have to send the passport off as part of the Residence application?

Having submitted your application for a residence card, you may then ask for your passport to be returned; it may be advisable to wait until you have received the CoA. I think you are likely to have it returned fairly quickly, especially if you request it well within 3 months of entering the UK, for you two would be allowed to stay in the UK for 3 months even if she were only a Spanish visitor.

[confusedandsad]

How do you request the passport back?

If I go back home and apply for the Family Permit I can get a document showing proof of right to work in the uk within 30 days based on guidelines on the home office website which says 100% got response in 30 days. It seems most people applying for the Residence card in the UK are getting their CoA in around 4-12 weeks. So if I go home and apply for the Family Permit, I receive a document evidencing proof to work in the UK quicker than if I stayed in the UK and applied for the Residence permit. I don't mind going home to apply for the Family Permit as I need to have a holiday. If I was to apply for the Residence card in the Uk I would go home after I received my passport anyway for a holiday after I received my passport back anyway. This way I can also travel and have visit family at home while I wait for the Family permit to come. I understand if I go home and apply for the Family Permit I will have to come back and apply for the Residence permit but also but this way I could be back in the UK within 30 days and have a proof of right to work. Going down the Residence route directly in the UK I am running a risk I could be waiting for 2-4 months for a document showing I have the right to work in the UK which means i would have to sit around doing nothing the whole time while I wait.

Am I looking at this the right way?

[Casa]

Have you noted that prospective employers may not accept your Family Permit as proof that you can be legally employed and may insist on seeing a (long) COA?

Also, don't rely on the 30 days processing claim. This hasn't been updated since May 2017 and supporting documents for applications from NZ are now sent to Sheffield for consideration.
There is a statement under the processing time: Note: actual processing times may vary depending on a range of factors.

[confusedandsad]

I still don't understand why the CoA is more substantive than the family permit?

So then maybe its better I apply for the residence permit straight after i get married, and wait for the CoA then request my passport then go travel home then come back to the Uk?

[Richard W]

I still don't understand why the CoA is more substantive than the family permit?

The acceptability of the CoA is clearly documented in government guidance. There's an explicit procedure for using it. The acceptability of the family permit is not clearly documented.

[confusedandsad]

What government guidance are you referring to? This?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... pplication

The Family Permit has longer guidance notes

Is the CoA a letter? What format does it come in?

I dont understand why the CoA is provided and they dont just provide the Residence permit instead at that point. Very confused.

[confusedandsad]

As I am planning on getting married then going to New Zeland the following week, is this likely to cause issues with the application?

From

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... egulations


10. EUN2.10 What if I suspect a marriage / civil partnership of convenience?
The definition of ‘spouse’ and ‘civil partner’ in the EEA Regulations does not include someone who has entered into a marriage / civil partnership of convenience.

When a marriage / civil partnership of convenience is suspected, the burden of proof is high and rests with the ECO. However, in these cases the ECO is entitled to interview the applicant. Factors to consider include:

an adverse immigration history;
doubts about the validity of documentation;
application follows soon after the marriage / civil partnership;
no previous evidence of the relationship.

Isn't it a given that straight after the marriage you will apply for the Family Permit

arghh so confusedddd

[thsths]

1. If I go home I can get the EEA permit within 30 days (100% received EEA permit by this date)
2. If I stay in the UK it appears most people are receiving their CoA in around 4-12 weeks.

I would certainly stay in the UK. Leaving involves the risk that they refuse your visa for spurious reasons, and then you are stuck for a while.

[Casa]

As I am planning on getting married then going to New Zeland the following week, is this likely to cause issues with the application?

application follows soon after the marriage / civil partnership;

Isn't it a given that straight after the marriage you will apply for the Family Permit

Yes, but it's unusual to take off on a holiday on your own within a week of the wedding....or will your new wife be travelling with you?

It will also be noted that your Tier 2 visa is due to be (or has been curtailed), after you resigned from your employment. You will have to convince the Case Worker that the relationship is genuine and not simply a means in which to remain in the UK.

Also thsths has made a very valid point about absence while the application is under consideration.

[confusedandsad]

I intend to go home by myself and apply for the family permit straight after my honey moon. I will also stop over in asia for a stag with friends. I would have loved to have done it before the marriage but given I have no ability to travel and come back to the uk given my tier 2 visa this was not possible. I would have gone home to NZ to have got married but this was not an option as my fiancee already had another family wedding to attend a week after mine and going home for the wedding for a 24 hour flight was just not an option so we decided to set the wedding in the UK. If I apply for the EEA family permit I can visist my family instead of sitting around in london with no right to work or ability to travel for potentially 6 months.

It seems best thing is to just sit here all dormant and apply for the residence card in the UK. This is really not ideal as my wife will be visiting Spain and because of my situation, I will have to just sit at home with no ability to work or travel for 6 months? Is this my only option? How do I speed up my ability to get my passport back so I can travel again while the residence card comes?

[confusedandsad]

It will also be noted that your Tier 2 visa is due to be (or has been curtailed), after you resigned from your employment. You will have to convince the Case Worker that the relationship is genuine and not simply a means in which to remain in the UK.

Also thsths has made a very valid point about absence while the application is under consideration.

Wouldn't I also have to convince the caseworker of the same thing if I stayed in the UK and applied for the residence card?

[confusedandsad]

I also have not received a curtailment letter yet.

[confusedandsad]

1. If I go home I can get the EEA permit within 30 days (100% received EEA permit by this date)
2. If I stay in the UK it appears most people are receiving their CoA in around 4-12 weeks.

I would certainly stay in the UK. Leaving involves the risk that they refuse your visa for spurious reasons, and then you are stuck for a while.

r

The home office decided not to conduct an investigation into my marriage under S48 of the 2014 Act and my proposed marriage was only subject to the 28 day notice period. Are they still going to do further investigations? Do they have interviews for the EEA family permit? How will they do the interview if my wife will be in the UK and I am in NZ?

I have been in the UK for 4 years now, have known my fiancee for 1.5 years and have paid in excess of 6 figures in tax, no criminal record, genuine age for marriage, own my own flat and my wife will be moving into my flat after the wedding. Surely this is enough to prove my case is genuine?

Is going home to apply for the EEA family permit on my own seriously going to cause issues?

[Casa]

It will also be noted that your Tier 2 visa is due to be (or has been curtailed), after you resigned from your employment. You will have to convince the Case Worker that the relationship is genuine and not simply a means in which to remain in the UK.

Also thsths has made a very valid point about absence while the application is under consideration.

Wouldn't I also have to convince the caseworker of the same thing if I stayed in the UK and applied for the residence card?

Yes, but this may be easier if you haven't left your new wife behind in the UK a week after the wedding and jetted off for a holiday in NZ

[confusedandsad]

I resigned from my job as my tier 2 visa does not allow me to be out of work for more than 4 weeks. I was not able to visit my family back home while employed as it was too difficult to get more than 2 weeks holiday. Travelling over 48 hours both ways for a holiday less than 2 weeks makes no sense.

I needed this period to arrange our wedding, take a break, get married, go home visit my family which I havent done for over 3 years now and then come back and live with my wife.
She can't come to australia as she has no holidays from work or the funds to fly over 24 hours to the otherside of the world. I would prefer to go visit family then come back and start my life instead of sitting around the UK waiting for the Resdience permit then going home. I need to visit my family anyway and would prefer to do this now then come back and start work and work.

If i wait for the residence card, in the UK I am sitting dormant in the UK. I cant travel, I cant work, I cant do anything but sit at home. Going home and apply for the EEA permit just seems like the logical thing to do.

Does my case have some weight?

[CR001]

HO are not interested in your emotional/family at home logistics or that you haven't seen them for 3 years or that you couldn't get leave of 4 weeks to go home.

HO are only interested in facts and rules.

[confusedandsad]

If that is the case, on what fact would they deny the EEA spouse visa if I apply by visiting home and applying?

The argument that it's unusual to take off on a holiday on your own within a week of the wedding comes down to emotion and the notion that a husband cant travel by himself post the wedding.

[confusedandsad]

Could I not just apply for the Residence permit here in the UK then request for my passport back after I submit my application then travel? This solves all my problems right?

eea-route-applications/how-early-can-i- ... 32182.html

[CR001]

Yes you can, it does take a couple of weeks though.

[confusedandsad]

So that solves my problems then. I can apply for the Residence card in the uk. Then request for my passport back go and travel back to Australia while it is processing then return to pick it up.

Will I be let back into the uk though when I return?

[confusedandsad]

Can the CoA be used in conjunction with your passport to travel and then be used to come back to the uk?