'EEA family Permit' to 'Family of settled person'?

[SoutieZA]

Hi guys

We will be entering the UK at the beginning of April to settle. I have an Irish Passport and already have EEA family permits for my wife and daughter. My big worry at the moment is Brexit and the uncertainty of what is going to happen should they pull rights of EEA citizens and their family members.

I do qualify for citizenship through form UKF but decided that going in on my Irish passport was a much better option due to the ease compared to the british Spouse Visas and the fact that it is a helluva lot cheaper
.
I was wondering the following:

- will it be a problem for my wife and daughter to be able to change Visas from the 'EEA family visa' to a 'Family of a settled person' visa should it come to that? would that be possible from within the UK or do you need to apply from outside the UK?
- I take it we will need to prove minimum income requirements even if we are living in the UK or would it be more in line with the surinder Singh route where we don't need to prove that as we are entering as EEA?
-Does time spent in the UK under the EEA family permit count toward the 5 years required to ILR?
-Are there any pitfalls I an not considering doing this?

I will ultimately get a lawyer if need be to assist but knowledge power when it comes to these types of things

.thanks in advance

[CR001]

I was wondering the following:

- will it be a problem for my wife and daughter to be able to change Visas from the 'EEA family visa' to a 'Family of a settled person' visa should it come to that? would that be possible from within the UK or do you need to apply from outside the UK? Possibly but there have been refusals of members trying to do this as an EEA Family permit is not 'leave to remain' under the UK immigration rules.

- I take it we will need to prove minimum income requirements even if we are living in the UK or would it be more in line with the surinder Singh route where we don't need to prove that as we are entering as EEA? Yes, you must meet the minimum income required of £22,400pa to appkly for the spouse visa. Irish citizens are considered 'settled' on arrival in the UK due to the agreement between ROI and the UK.

Not sure where you are at the moment before travelling, but based on your username, I will hazard a guess that you are still in South Africa. If this is the case, Surinder Singh is not relevant to you I don't think, but I stand corrected.

-Does time spent in the UK under the EEA family permit count toward the 5 years required to ILR? No it does not. For ILR after 5 years residence, your spouse and child will require 5 years on a spouse visa.
-Are there any pitfalls I an not considering doing this?

I will ultimately get a lawyer if need be to assist but knowledge power when it comes to these types of things A lawyer will only relieve you of your hard earned cash for what is in effect a form filling function and many of them get even the simplest of immigration applications horribly wrong.

.thanks in advance

[SoutieZA]

Possibly but there have been refusals of members trying to do this as an EEA Family permit is not 'leave to remain' under the UK immigration rules.
We intend to get residence cards for them as soon as we land, I don't know if this would change anything? The last thing we want is to be forced to leave and then come back, hence the fact I want to nip this in the bud before it has a chance to become a problem.

Yes, you must meet the minimum income required of £22,400pa to appkly for the spouse visa. Irish citizens are considered 'settled' on arrival in the UK due to the agreement between ROI and the UK.

Not sure where you are at the moment before travelling, but based on your username, I will hazard a guess that you are still in South Africa. If this is the case, Surinder Singh is not relevant to you I don't think, but I stand corrected.

Yes we are still in south Africa at the moment but flying out later this month. The income requirement wont be a problem but it would be nice to have the process as simple as possible.

A lawyer will only relieve you of your hard earned cash for what is in effect a form filling function and many of them get even the simplest of immigration
Thanks I will be sure to avoid them. We had one assist us in south africa and, although a little pricey, they were able to give us some great advice. That is where it stopped though, the advice.

[CR001]

Possibly but there have been refusals of members trying to do this as an EEA Family permit is not 'leave to remain' under the UK immigration rules.
We intend to get residence cards for them as soon as we land, I don't know if this would change anything? The last thing we want is to be forced to leave and then come back, hence the fact I want to nip this in the bud before it has a chance to become a problem.

There have been a couple of success but there have also been refusals due to what I stated above about it being two completely different routes.

Not sure where you are at the moment before travelling, but based on your username, I will hazard a guess that you are still in South Africa. If this is the case, Surinder Singh is not relevant to you I don't think, but I stand corrected.

Yes we are still in south Africa at the moment but flying out later this month. The income requirement wont be a problem but it would be nice to have the process as simple as possible.

They should be fine to apply for a residence card once here and you are a 'qualified person' and 'exercising treaty rights'. Out of interest, where in the UK are you going to (area)?

A lawyer will only relieve you of your hard earned cash for what is in effect a form filling function and many of them get even the simplest of immigration
Thanks I will be sure to avoid them. We had one assist us in south africa and, although a little pricey, they were able to give us some great advice. That is where it stopped though, the advice.

Lots of free help, 24/7, available here and most of us have done the applications ourselves, whichever route was taken.

[SoutieZA]

They should be fine to apply for a residence card once here and you are a 'qualified person' and 'exercising treaty rights'. Out of interest, where in the UK are you going to (area)?

We are going to be settling in the Reading area, My father and grandmother are settled there as well as a whole helluva lot of other family. Hence the fact I can go the UKF route.

Thanks for all the advice, The laws and nuances of British Immigration can be clear as mud at times. It looks like I am just going to have to stay on top of the news when it comes to Brexit and try mitigate the problems should they arise and carry on with the EEA route for now.

[CR001]

How are you an Irish citizen?

A point to note though, if you become British through UKF, I don't think you can sponsor them under the EEA/EU route as you would then, for immigration purposes, only be considered British and not Irish as a British citizen cannot exercise treaty rights in the country of nationality they hold.

[SoutieZA]

How are you an Irish citizen?
Irish FBR. I spoke to the immigration lawyer here in South Africa and I was advised to go the Irish route over the British route as at the time it was cleaner and cheaper. Now with Brexit looming it is causing a few worries, but i guess the same could be said for millions of people in the UK at this point.

A point to note though, if you become British through UKF, I don't think you can sponsor them under the EEA/EU route as you would then, for immigration purposes, only be considered British and not Irish as a British citizen cannot exercise treaty rights in the country of nationality they hold.

Agreed, it is not something I will consider unless absolutely necessary and I wont go the route of the British citizenship unless I have no other choice. I will continue on with the EEA route but if all goes wrong and i am forced to go the UKF route I need to know what the implications are so i can mitigate them at the time.

[CR001]

EEA route is infinitely cheaper.

I came from SA on UK ancestry visa (only time I used an immigration advisor due to a complex case involving adoption), then switched to spouse visa within the UK, applied for ILR and then citizenship, all applications for both my daughter and myself and the total cost for our journey was roughly just on £9,000 from start to finish, which included all the paperwork ordered etc

[SoutieZA]

OH wow, that's brilliant,

My case for the FBR wasn't exactly cut and dried which is why I got the immigration attournies involved. Boils down to unmarried parents which lead to DNA testing even though my dad has been my dad since i can remember, governments seem to be sticklers for paperwork.

Hopefully the UK portion of it goes easier but the whole Brexit thing is giving me pause. I don't think it will be be too bad but with Theresa May at the helm one never knows. At best case scenario it is just going to get very very expensive.

Have you been back to SA since?

[CR001]

I left in 2008 and only went back last year in August for the first time (only because my sister got married). Saw a massive (heartbreaking) difference/decline. I am from Joburg so it was a shocker and I was very nervous there.

But am going again in June this year for 2 weeks as helping my elderly parents to get their ancestry visa again to come back so need to sort out a few things for them and see my mom.

[SoutieZA]

I'm from Jo'burg myself and I hear exactly what you are saying about the decline, that's pretty much the reason we are coming over that side of the pond. That and i have family abound there, all my siblings which would be great to spend a lot more time with.

all the best with getting your folks over.

[CR001]

Fortunately they have been here on ancestry visa already and left about 2.5 years ago. So don't think there will be any issue getting them back.