I am a non-EEA spouse of an EEA (Irish passport holder, born and raised in England) National.
I was granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in March 2002, but we moved to Asia shortly thereafter when my husband accepted an overseas posting. Due to the nature of his job, we have resided in different countries (Taiwan, Philippines, and Ireland) in the past decade or so. However, we come to the UK yearly (sometimes twice) to visit his family, especially his ailing mother. I have never had any problems entering the UK before, as long as immigration is satisfied that I have met the 2-year ILR rule.
Until now. I arrived in the UK for our yearly visit on August 1, 2017, with my husband and minor son, both Irish passport holders. Unfortunately, I left the passport bearing my last UK entry stamp in the Philippines where we have been living for the past 5 years so the immigration officer (IO) can't verify the length of time I was away. Of course, questions ensued and upon determination that we are not currently UK residents, they detained us for further questioning. I was informed that one of the conditions of my ILR is that I am actually, physically residing in the UK and that it shouldn't be used as a tourist visa. I am no expert on this so I accept and understand this position. An option was laid out for me: they will let me enter this time, but they will revoke my ILR and I will be given a 14-day permission to remain in the UK as I appeal it, after which I need to leave. They will hold on to my passport for the duration of my stay.
I explained that my travel plans are a bit more complicated. I have already booked a return flight to and from Marrakech leaving on Aug 19 and returning on the afternoon of Aug 26 via Luton to pick up my son. Our flight to the Philippines leaves at 8pm, the same day. Upon learning this, the IO went off to talk to the Chief IO and came back with another option: they will grant me a compassionate leave to enter and remain in the UK until Aug 19 after which I need to leave. They have forgotten that I need to return to pick up my son. They will hold on to my passport.
There is another complication. I had a pending Irish Tourist Visa application when I left the Philippines, as I intended to travel to Dublin for personal reasons. I needed my passport for stamping in London when the visa does come through. Upon hearing this, the IO went off again and this time came back with a third option: I could be admitted to the UK under Immigration EEA Regulations 2016 and can stay in the UK for 6 months. This sounded the most lenient option to us so we accepted. He stamped my passport with exactly those words and gave it to me but not before I filled up a landing card. He said this will supersede my ILR. When I asked if I can re-enter the country on the 26th from Marrakech to pick up my son using this visa, he said NO. I will have to change my return flight to Heathrow and even then won't be able to go through immigration. Never mind that my son will be waiting for me at the other end.
So now, I have an EEA family permit that allows me to remain in the UK but doesn't allow me to enter when I arrive from Marrakech. Is this correct? Do I have to scrap all my travel plans? The tickets of course are all non-refundable as they were with low-cost airlines. But I don't want to risk leaving the UK and be refused re-entry to pick up my son.
Thanks for listening to my woeful tale. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.