EEA - non EEA marriage steps

[mary_jane]

Hi everyone,

I would like to thank you all for taking the time to help those in need. I know you do it on your own time and without any gain, so this makes it even more heartwarming to see that people like you still exist.

I have spent the past couple of days reading topics on this forum, looking to untangle some of the things that are still unclear to me. Thanks to all of you, I managed to partially find the answers I was looking for. Unfortunately, I still need a little bit of help with some things to which I found contradictory answers.

I am an EEA national, arrived in the UK in 2016, and I just completed my MA here. I met my bf in May, while he was also studying at the same university. For five months (up until the end of Jan, when his visa expired and had to return to India) we even moved in together and we have the tenancy agreement + bills to prove that. Right now we are trying to find a way to get back together. So we decided to get married and I would like to go over the steps that I understood are required. Please correct me or guide me where you think I might be wrong.


1. I need to apply for a registration certificate (QP) - and make sure I have a CSI when I do it (applying as jobseeker, so self sufficient)

2. He has to apply for a marriage visitor visa in order to come here and for us to get married (I know about the min 7 days in the UK + 28 days notice)

3. -the tricky part- On the gov.uk site it states that one is only eligible for the marriage visitor visa if one does not plan to stay or settle in the UK after the marriage (which it is obvious that he does, as we will be living together). However, on other forums I found something related to applying for a residence card as non-EEA spouse from within the UK. Does anyone know if that is possible while on a marriage visitor visa? Or is it mandatory for him to return to India after the marriage and apply from there for a non-EEA FP (followed by applying for the residence card)?

4. By the time he applies for a RC I will have a job. Is the £18.600 income threshold still mandatory for me as a sponsor? And does he need to provide proof of minimum savings in his account when applying?


Sorry for the long post, and thank you in advance

[dan1988uk]

Hi everyone,

I would like to thank you all for taking the time to help those in need. I know you do it on your own time and without any gain, so this makes it even more heartwarming to see that people like you still exist.

I have spent the past couple of days reading topics on this forum, looking to untangle some of the things that are still unclear to me. Thanks to all of you, I managed to partially find the answers I was looking for. Unfortunately, I still need a little bit of help with some things to which I found contradictory answers.

I am an EEA national, arrived in the UK in 2016, and I just completed my MA here. I met my bf in May, while he was also studying at the same university. For five months (up until the end of Jan, when his visa expired and had to return to India) we even moved in together and we have the tenancy agreement + bills to prove that. Right now we are trying to find a way to get back together. So we decided to get married and I would like to go over the steps that I understood are required. Please correct me or guide me where you think I might be wrong.


1. I need to apply for a registration certificate (QP) - and make sure I have a CSI when I do it (applying as jobseeker, so self sufficient)

2. He has to apply for a marriage visitor visa in order to come here and for us to get married (I know about the min 7 days in the UK + 28 days notice)

3. -the tricky part- On the gov.uk site it states that one is only eligible for the marriage visitor visa if one does not plan to stay or settle in the UK after the marriage (which it is obvious that he does, as we will be living together). However, on other forums I found something related to applying for a residence card as non-EEA spouse from within the UK. Does anyone know if that is possible while on a marriage visitor visa? Or is it mandatory for him to return to India after the marriage and apply from there for a non-EEA FP (followed by applying for the residence card)?

4. By the time he applies for a RC I will have a job. Is the £18.600 income threshold still mandatory for me as a sponsor? And does he need to provide proof of minimum savings in his account when applying?


Sorry for the long post, and thank you in advance

Marriage visa and the income threshold are for UK immigration laws, you are EEA so you can sponsor him under EU laws, so you can not apply for a marriage visa. The best option is to get married in India or in your country if he can get a Schengen Visa. Then after the marriage apply for an EEA family permit.

[mary_jane]

Marriage visa and the income threshold are for UK immigration laws, you are EEA so you can sponsor him under EU laws, so you can not apply for a marriage visa. The best option is to get married in India or in your country if he can get a Schengen Visa. Then after the marriage apply for an EEA family permit.

Thank you for your reply, but I do not understand what you meant.

I am currently in the UK, so I believe that the UK immigration laws do apply to our situation? By the time he applies for the marriage visitor visa (I understood that the non-EEA has to apply in order to be granted access in the UK - and not me from within the UK), I will have received the registration certificate as qualified person. So this means that I will be able to exercise my Treaty rights in the UK as a QP. Based on this, he will be able to apply for a residence card with me as a sponsor.

[dan1988uk]

Marriage visa and the income threshold are for UK immigration laws, you are EEA so you can sponsor him under EU laws, so you can not apply for a marriage visa. The best option is to get married in India or in your country if he can get a Schengen Visa. Then after the marriage apply for an EEA family permit.

Thank you for your reply, but I do not understand what you meant.

I am currently in the UK, so I believe that the UK immigration laws do apply to our situation? By the time he applies for the marriage visitor visa (I understood that the non-EEA has to apply in order to be granted access in the UK - and not me from within the UK), I will have received the registration certificate as qualified person. So this means that I will be able to exercise my Treaty rights in the UK as a QP. Based on this, he will be able to apply for a residence card with me as a sponsor.

You can not use UK immigration laws because you are not a British citizen or a permanent resident.

[mary_jane]

You can not use UK immigration laws because you are not a British citizen or a permanent resident.

But I would be a qualified person tho, and according to this, both conditions required would be met, as India counts as outside of the EEA: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-uk-resid ... ligibility


2. Eligibility
You can apply for a residence card if you’re both:

- from outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
- the family member, or extended family member, of an EEA national who is a permanent resident OR ‘qualified person’


Also, in the application form present on the aforementioned website I found the following:


Section 2 - Your sponsor

Complete this section with details of your sponsor. In this section, and on the rest of this form
(unless otherwise stated), ‘sponsor’ means the person who is your:

• EEA national family member who is a qualified person or has permanent residence,
• EEA national former family member who was a qualified person or had permanent residence
(if you’re applying in the retained right of residence category), or
• British citizen family member who has exercised free movement rights as a worker, selfemployed
person, self-sufficient person or student, or who has acquired a right of permanent
residence, in an EEA state other than the UK (Surinder Singh judgment).


That being said, I still haven't found out if it is possible for him to apply for a RC while on a marriage visitor visa. The only thing that specifically states that it would be possible is some article (which does not strike me as a credible source or whatsoever), so I am not sure about this:

It is very important to note that one of the main prerequisites for this type of visa is that you do not plan to stay or settle in the UK after getting married in the UK or entering into a civil partnership. It will thus not be possible to stay in the UK after the marriage or civil partnership. If you do decide otherwise, you will have to leave the UK and apply for entry clearance from your home country.

The only exception to this is if you are getting married in the UK to an EU citizen. If the holder of the marriage visitor visa gets married to an EU national, he/she could make an application for an EU Residence card, without having to leave the UK. You will, of course, have to be able to fulfil the requirements of the EU Residence card.

[dan1988uk]

You can not use UK immigration laws because you are not a British citizen or a permanent resident.

But I would be a qualified person tho, and according to this, both conditions required would be met, as India counts as outside of the EEA: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-uk-resid ... ligibility


2. Eligibility
You can apply for a residence card if you’re both:

- from outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
- the family member, or extended family member, of an EEA national who is a permanent resident OR ‘qualified person’


Also, in the application form present on the aforementioned website I found the following:


Section 2 - Your sponsor

Complete this section with details of your sponsor. In this section, and on the rest of this form
(unless otherwise stated), ‘sponsor’ means the person who is your:

• EEA national family member who is a qualified person or has permanent residence,
• EEA national former family member who was a qualified person or had permanent residence
(if you’re applying in the retained right of residence category), or
• British citizen family member who has exercised free movement rights as a worker, selfemployed
person, self-sufficient person or student, or who has acquired a right of permanent
residence, in an EEA state other than the UK (Surinder Singh judgment).


That being said, I still haven't found out if it is possible for him to apply for a RC while on a marriage visitor visa. The only thing that specifically states that it would be possible is some article (which does not strike me as a credible source or whatsoever), so I am not sure about this:

It is very important to note that one of the main prerequisites for this type of visa is that you do not plan to stay or settle in the UK after getting married in the UK or entering into a civil partnership. It will thus not be possible to stay in the UK after the marriage or civil partnership. If you do decide otherwise, you will have to leave the UK and apply for entry clearance from your home country.

The only exception to this is if you are getting married in the UK to an EU citizen. If the holder of the marriage visitor visa gets married to an EU national, he/she could make an application for an EU Residence card, without having to leave the UK. You will, of course, have to be able to fulfil the requirements of the EU Residence card.

To apply for a Residence Card he must be in the UK.
To enter the UK he needs an EEA family permit.
To get an EEA family permit you must be married.
He can NOT apply for a marriage visitor visa.

[mary_jane]

He can NOT apply for a marriage visitor visa.

Ok, so theoretically if he only comes here to get married and returns to India, then we could go for the EEA FM permit route afterwards?

[dan1988uk]

He can NOT apply for a marriage visitor visa.

Ok, so theoretically if he only comes here to get married and returns to India, then we could go for the EEA FM permit route afterwards?

If you will be able to get married in the UK, apparently (but I am not sure because here it's mixing UK laws and EU laws), he can apply straight for the Residence Card being in the UK as a spouse of EU national.

[mary_jane]

If you will be able to get married in the UK, apparently (but I am not sure because here it's mixing UK laws and EU laws), he can apply straight for the Residence Card being in the UK as a spouse of EU national.

Tbf now you actually got me thinking how we'll be able to pull the marriage thing off. because he does need to show return flight tickets when he applies for marriage visa, and also proof of having a home, job and life to return to.

The thing is, before he left to India, he called the local register office and spoke to someone. he explained the situation, and that person assured him it was possible, laying out the steps that needed to be taken in order for that to happen. The only 'if' here is whether his marriage visitor visa application would be granted or not I think.

Do you believe that it would be better to work with an immigration solicitor? I know that this is the ideal solution for applications, but I am not sure if this is such a complicated case t hat would require their assistance.

[dan1988uk]

If you will be able to get married in the UK, apparently (but I am not sure because here it's mixing UK laws and EU laws), he can apply straight for the Residence Card being in the UK as a spouse of EU national.

Tbf now you actually got me thinking how we'll be able to pull the marriage thing off. because he does need to show return flight tickets when he applies for marriage visa, and also proof of having a home, job and life to return to.

The thing is, before he left to India, he called the local register office and spoke to someone. he explained the situation, and that person assured him it was possible, laying out the steps that needed to be taken in order for that to happen. The only 'if' here is whether his marriage visitor visa application would be granted or not I think.

Do you believe that it would be better to work with an immigration solicitor? I know that this is the ideal solution for applications, but I am not sure if this is such a complicated case t hat would require their assistance.

Why aren't you considering the option of getting married in India?

[mary_jane]

Why aren't you considering the option of getting married in India?

We weighed that option, but dismissed it. My parents would not be able to attend the marriage if it was in India, and that is very important to me. Also, we have many mutual friends here in the UK, who again, might not be able to attend the ceremony. Plus I've never been to India before and he told me that it would be too much of a cultural shock for me if I just showed up there and we fast-forwarded the whole process, whereas he is already familiar with the European culture. But you're right, the whole procedure would be easier, paper-wise.