EEA Family Permit

[Hellybear]

Hi there

My Husband and I are both NZ's, but my Husband has an Irish passport for the last 13 years. We lived in the UK from 2005 till 2015. We had to come home to NZ for family Illness in early 2016. I have applied for EEA Visa on the 9th November 2016. I got the standard letter everyone gets, but haven' heard anything since, it has been 2 months now and we thought it was only going to take around 3 weeks, bit optimistic I know! We are desperate to get back to the UK, my question is, has anyone had success with calling the number we are given that costs 1.37 (pounds) I do not have a pound symbol on my keyboard. Ours is a fairly straight forward application, we have been married for 26 years, so I don't understand why this is taking so long. It is so frustrating.
Thank you for any help/advise anyone may have.

[eeaprneu2]

Calling the number is a waste of money, they will only tell you that your application is in process, as if you don't know that. To annoy you more, they will ask you to call back after 15 working days only to hear the same.

I would rather send them an email, at least you don't have to pay for chasing them again.

The delay in application though is due to the fact that all EEA applications are sent to Sheffield for decision and there they have to wait in the queue, its not localized decisions anymore, at least not for the majority and I am surprised NZ is being one of them.

Good luck

[Hellybear]

Thank you so much. Maybe an email is the way forward.

I will give that a go. So annoying!

[dan1988uk]

Calling the number is a waste of money, they will only tell you that your application is in process, as if you don't know that. To annoy you more, they will ask you to call back after 15 working days only to hear the same.

I would rather send them an email, at least you don't have to pay for chasing them again.

The delay in application though is due to the fact that all EEA applications are sent to Sheffield for decision and there they have to wait in the queue, its not localized decisions anymore, at least not for the majority and I am surprised NZ is being one of them.

Good luck

There is not a proper queue, there are people waiting since June and my wife’s daughter applied on the 8th of December and received her FP on the 3rd of January. It’s pretty random.

[Hellybear]

Hi there
Me again. Has anyone received this letter. This is the home office response to my email. It looks like just another standard letter to me. Calling and emailing seems futile to me. I think it is just the home office making money out of us. I don't think our application has even been looked at. 3 months we have waited, has anyone out there waited longer than 3 months from NZ waiting for an EEA Visa??

Thanks everyone for you help.



Thank you for your enquiry.

As we have previously advised the processing of your application has not been straightforward, we continue to work on the application and will make a decision as soon as we are able.

This may mean we hold to the the application for longer than normal, but in some cases it is essential that we do so. Our published guidance states that additional; checks may be carried out in certain cases and soon as we have completed our checks we will notify the applicant of the out come of the application. We cannot give a time scale for when a decision will be made.

We apologise for any delay to your application.

[eeaprneu2]

That, and a few others, are standard response they have been sending to people.

Read this thread when you have time,

eea-route-applications/sheffield-visa-s ... -1920.html

People waiting for months and months.

I don't think there is much you can do except waiting and hoping for best.

[Hellybear]

Thank you, yes you are right. Maybe I will ask for our passports back and just do that and apply for my 5 year Visa when we get to the UK.

[Hellybear]

Hi there,

I know I have to be patient, however 4 months has passed by now. still no passports with my EEA Visa. I did receive an email, not sure if it is a standard or not, saying my application has been made/sent to the superior team.

Does anyone know what this means?

Thank you for any help/advice you have,

[Richard W]

I don't think there is much you can do except waiting and hoping for best.

Short of just flying back to the UK. If time permits, ask for your passports back and just fly to the UK. A New Zealander does not normally need a visa to fly to the UK. On entry to the UK the OP should explain to the Immigration Officer that she is returning in her capacity as the spouse of an EEA national, not as a tourist. She should present her husband, her marriage certificate, and his Irish passport, and evidence used for the family permit application may be useful.

The OP probably already has/had permanent residence under the EEA Regulations. That will expire after two years' absence from the UK. The same applies to her husband, though it is less important.

[Hellybear]

Thank you for that. We were thinking about asking for our passports back actually, we have all the relevant documents to enter the UK, and are aware that as a Kiwi we can enter easy enough. I was just hoping to have the EEA visa already in my passport as it means I can start working straight away upon arrival in the UK.

Anyway, I didn't realise this was going to cause so much anxiety applying from NZ. It really is infuriating, but nothing we can do about it.

Thanks Again

[haseeb198]

Hi,

First of all sorry if it is in the wrong place. I have got a question relation to filling out online EEA family permit. I am currently filling an online family permit form for my Mother and Younger brother on behalf of my father who is Italian national living in UK.

I am bit confused do i need to fill two separate forms one for my mother and other for my brother or my younger brother can be included in the same form. It gives the option to add dependent children and asks if they will be travelling with you. Does this mean he will be included in family permit form and i do not need to fill another application form. Any urgent response will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Has

[Hellybear]

Sorry Has, I do not know, I am thinking surely it would be all on the form.

[eeaprneu2]

Hi,

First of all sorry if it is in the wrong place. I have got a question relation to filling out online EEA family permit. I am currently filling an online family permit form for my Mother and Younger brother on behalf of my father who is Italian national living in UK.

I am bit confused do i need to fill two separate forms one for my mother and other for my brother or my younger brother can be included in the same form. It gives the option to add dependent children and asks if they will be travelling with you. Does this mean he will be included in family permit form and i do not need to fill another application form. Any urgent response will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Has

You haven't mentioned how old is your younger brother but unless he is a child, you will need two separate forms.

[Hellybear]

Hi there team

One last question if anyone can help me at all. I would be so grateful. I have just this moment got an email re my EEA Visa. I hoping like heck it is another standard letter. Basically it says, they have made a decision and my passports will be with me soon. The part that is worrying me now, is the fact that it says also, we cannot discuss the outcome of your application over the phone or on line. You can track your passports on line etc,

Has anyone had this letter, I am Praying that it is just a standard that is sent out.

Thank you for any information anyone may have.

[citizenadvise5]

Hiya!

Would you mind sharing your timeline and what was the decision? How soon did they send you your passport back after this message?

Hi there team

One last question if anyone can help me at all. I would be so grateful. I have just this moment got an email re my EEA Visa. I hoping like heck it is another standard letter. Basically it says, they have made a decision and my passports will be with me soon. The part that is worrying me now, is the fact that it says also, we cannot discuss the outcome of your application over the phone or on line. You can track your passports on line etc,

Has anyone had this letter, I am Praying that it is just a standard that is sent out.

Thank you for any information anyone may have.

[jrow]

Hi Hellybear,
I have a couple questions about your EEA family permit application.

1. Can you tell me if you finally received your passport with the visas?
2. Also you mentioned maybe asking for your passport back and going to the UK without the EEA visa, do you know how you would go about getting it once in the UK? I have tried to do some research but am a bit confused/lost.

I am a Irish citizen and we are going to get my Kiwi wife a EEA visa from NZ. We are hoping to book flights soon for October but after reading how long it has taken you to obtain the visa, we are hesitant to book.

Would be good to hear back.
Thanks