EEA and Japanese spouse

[jean_louis_bob]

Hello,
I am a french citizen and my wife is Japanese.
Right now we are living in Japan but we want to move to the UK.
What is the process for her to be able to live and work in the UK?
I couldn't find any clear answer to that question. I read about Surinder Singh but I don't really understand how it works.

PS: I don't know if that makes a difference but we both used to live and work in the UK a few years ago. At that time she had a working holiday visa.
PS2: I know that with the brexit things might change but it will take a while hopefully.

Thank you very much for your help,
Jean

[noajthan]

Hello,
I am a french citizen and my wife is Japanese.
What is the process for her to be able to live and work in the UK?
I couldn't find any clear answer to that question. I read about Surinder Singh but I don't really understand how it works.

PS: I know that with the brexit things might change but it will take a while hopefully.

Thank you very much for your help,
Jean

Salut!
Just come to UK with your wife. She is a visa-free national so no visa required.

You have a 3 month grace period to get settled in.
Once you start exercising treaty rights in UK (for example, by working) it confirms that your wife may continue to reside with you;
she can work or study here too (if she'd like to).
Wife may then apply for her optional RC (just to confirm her status).

You can get up to speed on free movement here:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/doc ... 013_en.pdf

Bonne chance.

[jean_louis_bob]

Hi noajthan,
Thanks a lot for your reply!
So my wife doesn't need any visa?
How can she prove her status at the border or to potential employers?

And you are saying that before working, she has to wait for me to exercise treaty right.
Do I need to do some kind of process for that?

Thanks again,
Jean

[noajthan]

Hi noajthan,
Thanks a lot for your reply!
So my wife doesn't need any visa?
How can she prove her status at the border or to potential employers?

And you are saying that before working, she has to wait for me to exercise treaty right.
Do I need to do some kind of process for that?

Thanks again,
Jean

As Japanese nationals are visa-free for UK just show up in UK.
That is the elegant beauty of EU free movement.

The process for you to become a qualified person by exercising treaty rights is simply to get a job or start a business or become a student or else be self-sufficient. (You have a 3 month grace period after you arrive).

Once you are a qualified person in UK your wife may apply for a RC. That confirms her status in UK, she can show that to landlords, colleges or potential employers.

Get up to speed here:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/doc ... 013_en.pdf

[jean_louis_bob]

Thanks noajthan,

RC is residence card I suppose? https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-uk-resid ... d/overview

There is also the EEA family permit (https://www.gov.uk/family-permit/overview).

They both have the same "Eligibility" list but the RC is better because it last longer.
So I wonder why anyone would choose to get a family permit over a RC.

Do you know if she can apply for the RC from outside the UK?

[noajthan]

Thanks noajthan,

RC is residence card I suppose? https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-uk-resid ... d/overview

There is also the EEA family permit (https://www.gov.uk/family-permit/overview).

They both have the same "Eligibility" list but the RC is better because it last longer.
So I wonder why anyone would choose to get a family permit over a RC.

Do you know if she can apply for the RC from outside the UK?

Yes that's the RC.

The FP is an entry visa, you don't need one being visa-free.

A FP gets someone (not fortunate enough to be visa-free) into the country in first place.
Once in the country a RC confirms their status (when they have one).

No, one cannot apply for a RC from outside UK because at that time the applicant wouldn't have a status in UK (eg a sponsor exercising treaty rights)!

Don't worry about EU document fees (less than £100 all in for non-EEA!);
you should see the costs for those soldiering on on the UK migration trajectory.

Have you read the linked EU doc that will give you a steer on all this?

[Richard W]

Do you know if she can apply for the RC from outside the UK?

She should be able to get a stamp in her passport saying 'Admitted under the EEA Regulations' (or similar) on entry if she asks for it She will need evidence that you two are married - a British marriage certificate would be an excellent document if you have one. This stamp, which is valid for 6 (!) months, should be good enough for employers, though a residence card (RC) will be better. It takes at least a month from application to get the Certificate of Application, and about 6 months to get the RC.

[Richard W]

As Japanese nationals are visa-free for UK just show up in UK.
That is the elegant beauty of EU free movement.

Strictly speaking, as she is coming for settlement, she needs a visa to enter the UK, though not to board the plane. The visa she gets is the EEA Regulation stamp I spoke of above, which is a free visa on arrival.

[noajthan]

Visa-free nationals do have a visa.

No hard evidence OP is coming for settlement, residence yes but not necessarily settlement;
who knows (perhaps not even themselves) whether they may stay a few months or a year in UK and then flit off to another memberstate.

That is the elegance and beauty of free movement.

[Richard W]

No hard evidence OP is coming for settlement, residence yes but not necessarily settlement;
who knows (perhaps not even themselves) whether they may stay a few months or a year in UK and then flit off to another memberstate.

We've heard of American visitors being refused admission and detained because Immigration believe they have come with the intention of settling. The couple should have evidence of their marriage with them even if they intend to say they're just visiting. Do you recommend that the wife not ask for an EEA Regulations stamp?

[noajthan]

We've heard of American visitors being refused admission and detained because Immigration believe they have come with the intention of settling. The couple should have evidence of their marriage with them even if they intend to say they're just visiting. Do you recommend that the wife not ask for an EEA Regulations stamp?

Americans are classic overstayers regardless of EU route.

I didn't go into the script for entry into UK, I rely on both OP and the IO on the border to have some initiative about them.
But even stamped in as a visitor is good. EU free movement is a broad church.