"Renewing" EEA Family Permit

[kimarie606]

Hi there,

We have a few questions about an unusual (as far as I can tell) situation. My visa-national husband joined me in the UK in November on an EEA Family Permit (it took two applications for it to be accepted as we didn't provide enough financial information the first time). His EEA FP is set to expire at the end of April, but I'm here as a student and my program ends in September. We wish we had known to start applying for the EEA2 immediately; alas we didn't realize how long it would take and thought you applied for it when the EEA FP expires. We absolutely must be able to travel in July, so waiting 6 months without a document in his passport allowing him to re-enter the UK is not an option (I did lots of reading and traveling with the letter you get while waiting for your EEA2 seems precarious, though it is our Plan B).

It might be a creative solution, but our current plan is to travel together to Belgium this week where he has family and we can stay for free, and apply for a new EEA FP in Belgium. I confirmed that you can apply for FPs anywhere as long as its outside of the UK (no need to be resident). I did read about some other people doing this in the forums, but I only saw Americans/Australians mention it - no visa-nationals. Anyway, here are our questions:

1) In what country should we say he is resident? His home country? (He has an NI number, address, bank account in the UK now... whereas no technical address in his country, aside from family)
2) How transparent should we be in the supporting letters? What I WANT to write is "He has a right to and already lives here - we need this document to demonstrate that for border control reasons," though I might not be so blunt. Right now I actually have:
"As my masters program ends in September 2017, xxxx is now applying for a new EEA family permit to facilitate his entry into the UK and legal right to work, as stipulated per EU law [cite the directive], for the remaining months of my postgraduate program. This new EEA family permit will allow him to reside, work, and leave and re-enter the United Kingdom as needed as I complete my postgraduate program.
3) Should we broach the topic of the EEA2 application/residence card in our letters (why we didn't apply/might apply, etc.)?

Thanks in advance for any insight/help!

[Dea_V25]

1) In what country should we say he is resident? His home country? (He has an NI number, address, bank account in the UK now... whereas no technical address in his country, aside from family)

I remember applying for the family permit outside the UK though I was technically resident in the UK (I was just switching visa categories). The online form is frustrating because although you can technically apply from anywhere in the world, once you complete the online form, it only allows you to book an appointment in the country where you listed your current address. So I would put Belgium if that's where you want to apply from. It's not entirely accurate but I was told by UKVI to do that when I called their helpline to ask.

2) How transparent should we be in the supporting letters? What I WANT to write is "He has a right to and already lives here - we need this document to demonstrate that for border control reasons," though I might not be so blunt. Right now I actually have:
"As my masters program ends in September 2017, xxxx is now applying for a new EEA family permit to facilitate his entry into the UK and legal right to work, as stipulated per EU law [cite the directive], for the remaining months of my postgraduate program. This new EEA family permit will allow him to reside, work, and leave and re-enter the United Kingdom as needed as I complete my postgraduate program.

I think you can say that he was already living with you in the UK (his family permit would have allowed that) and you are now looking to re-formalise his status while you complete your studies. It's not really relevant why you did/ didn't apply for a RC while here.

3) Should we broach the topic of the EEA2 application/residence card in our letters (why we didn't apply/might apply, etc.)?

I don't think this will help or hinder your application.