Employer has requested EEA FP

[eniseg]

Hi everyone,

My husband (Australian citizen, resident in Melbourne) and I (German national, studying in Scotland) are currently waiting to hear on our EEA FP application, submitted in Melbourne, on May 25, 2016. We provided our original marriage certificate, his original passport, certified copies of my passport/national ID/EHIC, proof the the relationship is real – we got married after only 6 months, so we thought to show we aren't a marriage of convenience, showing photos etc. is a good idea. We did not include proof of my finances...
Does anyone know if waiting longer to hear means higher likelihood of rejection?

I've just read on this forum that the EEA FP will not allow him to work, only the CoA will?
His employer specifically requested the EEA FP as proof of his ability to work, which is why we are applying for it in the first place. Australians are non-visa nationals, technically he could just come here.

We are waiting with the RC application until he starts his job because with his job we receive private health insurance for the both of us, which we need for the RC.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Many thanks,
eniseg

[noajthan]

Hi everyone,

My husband (Australian citizen, resident in Melbourne) and I (German national, studying in Scotland) are currently waiting to hear on our EEA FP application, submitted in Melbourne, on May 25, 2016.

...

Does anyone know if waiting longer to hear means higher likelihood of rejection?

I've just read on this forum that the EEA FP will not allow him to work, only the CoA will?
His employer specifically requested the EEA FP as proof of his ability to work, which is why we are applying for it in the first place. Australians are non-visa nationals, technically he could just come here.

...

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Many thanks,
eniseg

You were well-advised to include a selection of photos & etc in your application for a FP.
Some applicants who simply submit a marriage certificate alone (even long-standing, time-served married couples) have faced rejection.

You can't really read anything into the delay or lack of delay.
HO processing of such applications appears to outsiders (such as most members here) to be a law to itself.

My understanding is that a FP, (although primarily an entry visa if you will), can be used to intimate a right to work.
So if you have a clued-up employer who will accept it as such (not all do, apparently) then all good.

[eniseg]

Thank you very much! That, and the fact that the employer specifically requested the EEA FP make me feel better. At least that's what my husband told me, I haven't read the actual email from the employer.

We are both extremely anxious about the EEA FP arriving. The time apart has really taken a toll on us, especially because he is very unhappy where he is. I'm dreading to think what will happen if they reject us because I didn't prove any of my finances...

[noajthan]

Thank you very much! That, and the fact that the employer specifically requested the EEA FP make me feel better. At least that's what my husband told me, I haven't read the actual email from the employer.

We are both extremely anxious about the EEA FP arriving. The time apart has really taken a toll on us, especially because he is very unhappy where he is. I'm dreading to think what will happen if they reject us because I didn't prove any of my finances...

Well HO does play hardball, there have been some surprising rejections reported here recently.
(Often around proof of relationship, I don't recall any cases with refusals over finances).
But people can and do succeed the next time.

You can say one thing about dealing with HO - it makes you feel alive and living on the edge.
(Who needs bungee jumping, shark wrangling, whitewater rafting or etc).

Did you follow the guide?
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... permit.pdf

[eniseg]

Yes, it does...I'm (we are!) just very, very exhausted by this. The whole EEA FP just puts an extra strain on our relationship, in addition to the extreme distance between Melbourne - Edinburgh.

We did use the guide. We supplied:

His original passport;
his bank statements (showing how he can pay for his trip);
our marriage certificate;
certified copies of my passport, national ID, EHIC (to show identity & CSI);
certified copy of my MSc degree and original PhD enrolment letter (to show my being a student since 2013 until 2018);
original council tax and electricity bill statement (to show I'm actually living in the UK);
plus a 'proof of relationship' document containing photos of us in Australia, on Isle of Skye, in Iceland, in Scotland, flight tickets when visiting each other and when traveling together, screenshots of how we met on Tinder (haha ), postcards we sent each other;
passport photographs.

We didn't submit my financial statements or a letter to the secretary of state assuring him of my finances. My German EHIC costs me 90 euros per month though...that's the only thing that has me worried. And that they may claim that ours is a marriage of convenience because we got married after 6 months.

[noajthan]

Yes, it does...I'm (we are!) just very, very exhausted by this. The whole EEA FP just puts an extra strain on our relationship, in addition to the extreme distance between Melbourne - Edinburgh.

We did use the guide. We supplied:

...

We didn't submit my financial statements or a letter to the secretary of state assuring him of my finances. My German EHIC costs me 90 euros per month though...that's the only thing that has me worried. And that they may claim that ours is a marriage of convenience because we got married after 6 months.

I suppose accommodation detail is missing too.
Otherwise, looks great - you've given it your best shot.

Good that you have EHIC so that your student years are counting towards your eventual acquisition of PR.

You may need to get CSI for hubby too when he arrives or by "EHIC" do you actually mean you have a joint CSI at 90 Euros pm? (as well as perhaps a German EHIC in your name)

[eniseg]

What do you mean by 'accommodation detail'? Doesn't my council tax/electricity bill serve for this? We submitted those to show I am living in this flat. We also wrote in the application that we plan to live there initially, but then find a larger flat for our family life – in the form you have to indicate the number of rooms and we only have 1 bedroom and 1 living room.

My hubby will have CSI as soon as his job starts. His CSI will be a private healthcare insurance from the UK, and it will cover me, too. So for my student years, I will have my EHIC and for the period following our marriage/his arrival in the UK, the private CSI mentioned above.

I asked my German insurance to include him in mine, but they say he needs to have a permanent address in Germany for this purpose. I have an address in Germany (my parents' house) to which my EHIC is registered, and an address in the UK where I live for studies.

[noajthan]

What do you mean by 'accommodation detail'? Doesn't my council tax/electricity bill serve for this? We submitted those to show I am living in this flat. We also wrote in the application that we plan to live there initially, but then find a larger flat for our family life – in the form you have to indicate the number of rooms and we only have 1 bedroom and 1 living room.

My hubby will have CSI as soon as his job starts. His CSI will be a private healthcare insurance from the UK, and it will cover me, too. So for my student years, I will have my EHIC and for the period following our marriage/his arrival in the UK, the private CSI mentioned above.

I realise you had bills related to housing.
All good then if utilities cover the housing angle as well as simple proof of address.
I suppose in a sense they indicate you have housing (but they perhaps don't suggest how big it is - except maybe indirectly by the size of the bill ).

Excellent foresight regarding CSI/EHIC. Its still remarkable how many people that still catches out.

[eniseg]

The electricity bill & council tax exemption form (because I'm a student) both have my address and name on them. What exactly were they meant to prove, if not that I do in fact live there and pay bills?

So the one thing missing is my finances...

Thank you re. CSI!

[Noetic]

Excellent foresight regarding CSI/EHIC. Its still remarkable how many people that still catches out.

Quite - I have several German friends who can't shoot for PR yet because they didn't know about CSI/foreign EHIC to get their student years to count. Mind you several of them have also never got round to notifying Germany that they are living abroad so they are clearly not ready to make the commitment yet!

[eniseg]

Excellent foresight regarding CSI/EHIC. Its still remarkable how many people that still catches out.

Quite - I have several German friends who can't shoot for PR yet because they didn't know about CSI/foreign EHIC to get their student years to count. Mind you several of them have also never got round to notifying Germany that they are living abroad so they are clearly not ready to make the commitment yet!

This seems strange to me! In Germany, we are required to hold health insurance by ourselves. Either, you hold public health insurance or private one. Mine is public, and initially (from my birth in 1990- until I became 25 in 2015) I was insured with my father's public insurance. Now, after turning 25, I continue with the same company & policy but in my own name, with a student discount. This health insurance issued me with an EHIC when I moved to the UK. Last year or the year before, Germany changed its insurance ID cards, so now the EHIC is printed on the back of my normal insurance card. The fact that your friends didn't have an EHIC does not mean they did not have CSI. If they held any insurance from Germany covering the relevant PR time, they could just get a letter stating from when to when they were insured and what the insurance covered. Your friends may simply have forgotten to ask for the EHIC initially.

My PR time has theoretically passed - I entered the UK as a student in September 2010. But I spent 9 months working abroad in-between my undergrad and postgrad in 2013.

Also, I have not notified Germany that I live abroad because then I would lose my German healthcare insurance. And quite frankly, I do not consider the NHS healthcare, I'd consider it palliative care at best. So all of my preventive healthcare is done in Germany (a pneumologist for my asthma, a gynaecologist for cervical cancer prevention, etc.).

So, my previous worries were though:

What am I missing regarding the details for accommodation? Don't my bills & council tax exemption form prove that I do live there? Is there anything else in regards to accommodation that I need to prove?

And could the missing finances bit break our neck regarding the EEA FP?

[noajthan]

This seems strange to me! In Germany, we are required to hold health insurance by ourselves.

...

Last year or the year before, Germany changed its insurance ID cards, so now the EHIC is printed on the back of my normal insurance card. The fact that your friends didn't have an EHIC does not mean they did not have CSI. If they held any insurance from Germany covering the relevant PR time, they could just get a letter stating from when to when they were insured and what the insurance covered. Your friends may simply have forgotten to ask for the EHIC initially.

My PR time has theoretically passed - I entered the UK as a student in September 2010. But I spent 9 months working abroad in-between my undergrad and postgrad in 2013.

...

So, my previous worries were though:

What am I missing regarding the details for accommodation? Don't my bills & council tax exemption form prove that I do live there? Is there anything else in regards to accommodation that I need to prove?

And could the missing finances bit break our neck regarding the EEA FP?

Yes, astute German members have previously reported doing exactly that; requesting such a letter from German health authorities in order to retrieve the situation when faced with a crisis of no UK CSI policy = no PR.

Normally continuity of residence in UK would be lost by an absence of over 6 months in a 12 month period.
However in extremis (eg childbirth, military service, placement for study or vocational training or oversea posting) a one-off exemption of up to one year outside UK may be accepted.
You may wish to dig into this further. (But if what you mean was just a kind of gap year then that may not be exceptional enough).

Ref http://www.eearegulations.co.uk/Latest/ByPage/part1_3

I'm not sure you have missed a trick regarding accommodation.
Its just that the guide (linked above) mentions optional evidence such as a letter from landlord & etc (rather than bills).
(Utility bills are often used here as a 'proof of address' or a 'proof of residing' over time. They may not speak so much about the size and type of accommodation).

[eniseg]

Thank you, noajthan!

We do have a certified copy of the first page of my tenancy contract. However that also states none of the above (flat size etc). And my landlady has refused to accept my hubby into the contract and forbidden me from having him there permanently. So he'll arrive, he'll be at mine for a few weeks (~2 weeks) and we'll go find our own place asap. So because she was being so complicated about him moving in, I decided to submit my utility bills/council tax exemption notice.

They are both recent, from over the past six months. Surely I didn't have to prove where I lived the whole years (2013-2016) where I lived? (I mean my MSc & PhD letters show I was enrolled in a course that requided me being in the UK...)

Yeah, I know about the one absence for childbirth etc. reasons. My 9 months in 2013 were not a voluntary gap year – my final exams at my English uni concluded in December 2012 and my new uni course, my MSc, started in Scotland in September. So I went to volunteer in an MSc-relevant hospital in Germany at the time - precisely because I didn't want to live off British welfare if I could just stay with my family for a bit. Followed by 1 month volunteering in Athens. Followed by 1 week conference attendance in China. Etc.

[eniseg]

I just saw that it says "letter from the occupant" among the "accommodation details". I've proven that I'm the occupant of my flat through a recent utility bill and a council tax exemption notice covering 2016-2017.

The cover letter I wrote for his application states "He thus qualifies as my spouse under Regulation 7(1a) and I would like him to join me in the UK under Directive 2004/38/EC, so that we may live as husband and wife in the UK." and "We hope that we have satisfied you that I am a German national exercising treaty rights in the UK and that our relationship and marriage are genuine. We kindly request that in accordance with Regulations 12(1)(a)(i) and 12(1)(b) of the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006, you will issue My husband with the EEA Family Permit. This will allow him to exercise his right of free movement as my husband under Directive 2004/38/EC and join me in the UK for the duration of my studies."

So I hope this counts as "letter from the occupant stating he can stay there"...

[eniseg]

Hello, anyone?

[noajthan]

I just saw that it says "letter from the occupant" among the "accommodation details". I've proven that I'm the occupant of my flat through a recent utility bill and a council tax exemption notice covering 2016-2017.

The cover letter I wrote for his application states "He thus qualifies as my spouse under Regulation 7(1a) and I would like him to join me in the UK under Directive 2004/38/EC,...
...

So I hope this counts as "letter from the occupant stating he can stay there"...

Looks like it.