SUCCESSFUL EEA2 Residence Card; A8 national, self-employed, unmarried couple | what we did
Our application was dependent on the A8 national who is self-employed.
We are in an un-married durable relationship for several years.
Timeline:
Mid-October 2014: Application sent.
End of October (a week after applying): Letter confirming the arrival of our application.
Mid-November (almost a month after applying): Received COA (with no work permission).
Early February 2015: Received Residence Card together with our application.
Total of almost 4 month.
Our approach divides into proving 3 main points:
1) A8 national exercising treaty rights in the UK as self-employed (including evidence that we will not need support from the government).
2) Durable relationship for more than 2 years.
3) Build our case as a professional serious couple.
Details:
1) In order to prove that the A8 national is exercising treaty rights in the UK as self-employed we supplied the following documents:
- HO official letters (such as NINO number and tax reference).
- CV.
- Letters from employers; as much as we could gather. Indicating our work, professionalism, employer’s intention to hire in the near future.
- Invoices and contracts as well as documents for future works.
- Self-evaluation document stating income; sums, date, employer and linking to bank documents proving money deposit.
- Bank statements.
- Document showing our joint budget: Our savings, current income, monthly expenses. Also we’ve stated our expected income for next year (all of this to show that we can support ourselves).
- Letter from guarantor: Letter from family guarantying support in case we will need help (include guarantor bank statement to show s/he has the ability to support).
2) To prove our relationship is genuine and durable for at least 2 years we supplied the following documents:
- Joint bank accounts (including past documents).
- Joint lease agreements (past and present), including letter from landlord.
- Joint utility bills - past and present (also non-joint bills are effective, given they are on the same address in the same period of time).
- Joint comprehensive medical insurance (IMPORTANT). Our was through in WPA.
- Letters addressed to both of us (from bank, commercials, personal letters, purchased goods).
- Supporting letters: Letters from acquaintances, family and friends, detailing their relationship with us. We attached 10 letters in total, half from the groom side and half from the bride side. We’ve tried to gather people that have impressive job titles (government employees, PhDs, lawyers, directors, etc.). In the letters we’ve asked everyone to state how they see our relationship, when did they first got to know the other half and other detail that will show our relationship is durable.
Attach passport scan of writer when possible.
- Joint vacations: Scans of passport stamp and dates from join vacations abroad (also where passport haven’t been stamped).
- Photo album: Prints of joint photos since we’ve known each other (also photos with family). Organize photos by date. Mark names of photographed people.
Send all the photos you have. Don’t stop in twenty. Sending 400 photos is legitimate and will help your cause.
3) To build are case as a serious professional couple we supplied the following documents:
- Details of our accommodation: pictures of where we live including floor plans to show our life quality.
- Academic education certificates, CV and professional publications of the EEA2 applicant.
- International travels of EEA2 applicant in the past 10 years.
- English exams (IELTS). Not required for every country, but helpful to show ability of integration in the English society.
Additional information:
- Cover letter from EU national, stating what we prove in this application (exercising of treaty rights, X years of relationship).
An introduction for her/him and her/his work. Feeling about the relationship. Introduction of the EEA2 applicant and her/his work.
- Request of your passport back: we’ve asked for our passports back and received them in less than 10 days. You can do so in the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/visa-documents-returned
- Right to work: As to what we understand - married EEA2 applicant will receive COA with right to work, whereas unmarried EEA2 applicant will not.
- Be organized, clear and check your spelling. Appear professional.
Most important - don’t get too frustrated.
This process is time consuming, but if you are working and in a durable relationship you are eligible.
Keep your romance and have lots of love¡ ♥
