EEA EFM Residence Permit - Irish Partner and NZ applicant in the UK

[Ruth1987]

Hi all,

I am an Irish citizen living and working in the UK - my partner is from NZ and has been here on a youth mobility visa for the last 2 years.
We have just applied for the EEA EFM Residence Permit for him and I have two questions I'm hoping someone might have an answer to.

His current visa (youth mobility from NZ) expires in May, but we are not expecting a decision on the EEA EFM permit until end of August - can he remain in his current job while the application is pending? We have a certificate of application - does this cover him?

Secondly, if we get the residence permit how long after that can he apply for ILR or a citizenship? The reason for this question is we are planning to leave the UK for one year in the future, and want to know what are the conditions on the EEA EFM permit - can you leave the UK for an extended period of time or would you void your permit if you did so?

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide!
Any people in similar circumstances that could give an idea of timelines of the EEA EFM permit would be really appreciated too - is it definitely 6 months??

[New on forum]

Hi all,

I am an Irish citizen living and working in the UK - my partner is from NZ and has been here on a youth mobility visa for the last 2 years.
We have just applied for the EEA EFM Residence Permit for him and I have two questions I'm hoping someone might have an answer to.

His current visa (youth mobility from NZ) expires in May, but we are not expecting a decision on the EEA EFM permit until end of August - can he remain in his current job while the application is pending? We have a certificate of application - does this cover him?

Secondly, if we get the residence permit how long after that can he apply for ILR or a citizenship? The reason for this question is we are planning to leave the UK for one year in the future, and want to know what are the conditions on the EEA EFM permit - can you leave the UK for an extended period of time or would you void your permit if you did so?

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide!
Any people in similar circumstances that could give an idea of timelines of the EEA EFM permit would be really appreciated too - is it definitely 6 months??

Were you born in Northern Ireland?
Do you currently live in Northern Ireland?

[Ruth1987]

No, I was born in the republic of Ireland and am currently living in London since May 2016.

[Ruth1987]

Does this impact the process/timelines?

[secret.simon]

Do you have proof of residing together in a relationship akin to marriage (shared mortgages, shared bills, bank accounts etc) for at least two years?

His current visa (youth mobility from NZ) expires in May, but we are not expecting a decision on the EEA EFM permit until end of August - can he remain in his current job while the application is pending? We have a certificate of application - does this cover him?

No. An EFM only has the right to reside and work in the UK after the issue of a Residence Card. From the time his youth mobility visa expires until the time the Residence Card is issued, he will be an overstayer. And that can have consequences for any future applications.

if we get the residence permit how long after that can he apply for ILR or a citizenship?

He will acquire Permanent Residence (PR) five years after the issue of the Residence Card, provided he does not have any absence from the UK of more than six months in a year. He can apply for naturalisation as a British citizen after one year of having held PR, unless you have acquired British citizenship in the meanwhile, in which case, he can apply for naturalisation immediately after acquiring PR.

we are planning to leave the UK for one year in the future

Absence from the UK of more than six months in a year breaks continuity of residence and resets the clock for acquiring PR down to zero.

[Ruth1987]

"No. An EFM only has the right to reside and work in the UK after the issue of a Residence Card. From the time his youth mobility visa expires until the time the Residence Card is issued, he will be an overstayer. And that can have consequences for any future applications."

Thank you so much for you help.

One question on the above - does that mean he just cannot work or that he must leave the country during this time, as you have said he would be an "overstayer"? As he has no passport while the decision is being made how does he leave the county?

Really appreciate the advice.

[Ruth1987]

Hi all,

I would really appreciate some advice on the above case.

We have completed the employers check and received an email that says "While the person named above MAY have a right to work in the UK, the Home Office has not issued a Certificate of Application to provide you with a statutory excuse against a civil penalty".

Does this mean my partner definitely cannot work, or is there anyone we can contact to get this confirmed further? If he cannot work, can he stay in the country? I am so confused and there is no advice online

Secondly - does anyone have any idea of timelines for an EEA EFM application currently?
It seems the EEA FM applications are getting done in a matter of weeks - is it much different for an extended family member? I had to apply via post - does this slow it down?

Any advice is really appreciated!
We are getting quite stressed as his current visa expires in a month and if he has no right to work for potentially 3 months he will lose his job and we will not be able to afford rent

Thanks.

[DerickChu]

Hi Ruth1987,

With EEA Permit your partner is legally allowed to work but some employers are scared of civil penalty, therefore they feel much safer when they see the Certificate Of Application.
So it means some employers worries while some doesn't worry about the COA.

In conclusion, this COA usually arrives 3-6weeks after making receiving your application by Home Office, its depends on individual circumstances. EEAFM Residence Card are completely done between 3 to 6 months maximum.

[CR001]

Hi Ruth1987,

With EEA Permit your partner is legally allowed to work but some employers are scared of civil penalty, therefore they feel much safer when they see the Certificate Of Application.
So it means some employers worries while some doesn't worry about the COA.

In conclusion, this COA usually arrives 3-6weeks after making receiving your application by Home Office, its depends on individual circumstances. EEAFM Residence Card are completely done between 3 to 6 months maximum.

The non EU partner does not hold a EEA Family Permit. As an unmarried partner, the non-EU partner does not have automatic rights and if HO do not issue a COA with right to work, then once the OPs partners Tier 5 YMS visa expires in May, the non EU partner cannot work.

[Ruth1987]

Hi DerickChu and CR001,

Thank you so much for your replies.

It has been 6 weeks since we posted the application - will we definitely receive a CoA at some stage or is there a chance that we wont get anything? Do we just assume at this stage that he cannot work?

I find it so strange that the HO puts people in the position where they cannot work but also cannot leave the country for anywhere up to 6 moths - how do they expect people to live!? It seems unethical.

Finally as we applied online we do not have a contact email address or even a case worker that we know of, so if we needed to contact them to request passports back etc do you know who we could contact?

And is there any way to see the progress of our application?

Thanks again for your help!

[CR001]

It has been 6 weeks since we posted the application - will we definitely receive a CoA at some stage or is there a chance that we wont get anything? Do we just assume at this stage that he cannot work?

If you get a COA, it will possibly state your partner cannot work. As long as the Tier 5 is valid, partner can work.

And is there any way to see the progress of our application?

Nope, none unfortunately.

[Ruth1987]

Thank you CR001,

Do you have any idea why some unmarried partners would get approval to work and some don't?

I would understand if it was a blanket rule but it seems some can and some can't? does it depend on what country they are from or what visa they had before?

Both the CoA we received and the email from the Employers Checking Service both just say that he may not have work rights - but no definitive answer!

It's confusing and frustrating!

[Noneabout]

Thank you CR001,

Do you have any idea why some unmarried partners would get approval to work and some don't?

I would understand if it was a blanket rule but it seems some can and some can't? does it depend on what country they are from or what visa they had before?

Both the CoA we received and the email from the Employers Checking Service both just say that he may not have work rights - but no definitive answer!

It's confusing and frustrating!

I’d like to know this too. When I applied 5 years ago I got right to work and now this time when applying for PR there was “cannot confirm right to work” which is ambiguous, misleading and mean spirited.

I am an unmarried partner to an Irish National as well.

[DerickChu]

I'm not an immigration lawyer but i think if all requirements and conditions are met he will get CAO and will have right to work. Sometimes, it take little time but will get it unless there are problems with the applications. Meanwhile, what type of visa is about to about to expire?

I also think it doesn't matter what type of visa he or she has, even an overstayer will get his or her application approved once the conditions are met..

Very importantly, been a EU Family Member or applying for EEAFM Residence card doesn't give you automatic right to work..

The key words are the (You must meet the Home Office Requirements).

[Ruth1987]

Hi DerickChu,

When you say the HO requirements do you mean the requirements for getting the residence permit?

Or are there particular requirements to have the right to work while your application is pending?

Because if it's the 2nd then i'm not aware what they are?

[DerickChu]

The requirement for getting a permit is completely different from requirement for getting residence card.

Yes, the full requirement to work is when you received CAO from Home Office stating that your (Right To Work). There are Home Office requirements to getting RIGHT OR WORK.

This is why some gets right to work while some gets nor right to work..

[Ruth1987]

Advice for anyone in similar boat:

We have now confirmed that my partner will not have work rights while the decision is being made on his residence permit ( i'm pretty sure EFM's are not allowed work while decision is pending in general).

Next step (apart from struggling to live on one wage for the next few months!) is to prepare for what happens if the application is refused - the only reason i can think of is that although we have evidence to show we had been living with family for 4 months prior, we only have proof of living together (lease) from Aug 2016, and our application was made in Feb 2018 - but I want to prepare.

If it is refused can we apply straight away again - using all of the same info - but just with a longer timeline for living together?
Does anyone know will this take a whole 6 months again while my partner is still not allowed to work?

Secondly, my partner and I would plan to get married in the next year - can we do this while an application is pending or will this impact it in any way?
And as a non-Eu national, can he legally get married here while his current visa has run out and he is awaiting a decision on his EEA EFM residence permit?

Thanks for any help you can give.

[justanotherchilli]

Kia Ora Ruth1987,

My partner (Irish) and I(NZ'er) are also applying via an EEA(QP) with an my EEA(EFM) attached. I was also on a Youth Mobility Visa which expires today!
We applied last month and I have just received my COA (talk about timing) with the right to work. I'm not sure what would be the different circumstances between mine and your application, but I was told by my lawyer prior to applying that I would probably not have the right to work.

I suppose they must have some sort of process or guidance which lets them decide who gets a right to work and who doesn't. There are other threads in this forum where people have said EEA(EFM) applicants definitely don't get a COA with right to work. This is obviously not true. If I were you I would request for this in a freedom of information inquiry in the gov.uk website as I certainly couldn't find any readily accessible information on this.

We were also told by our lawyer than getting married and then changing our EEA(EFM) to an EEA(FM) application would be a way of circumnavigating around a potential COA without the right to work, as apparently, you would automatically get this if you're applying as a direct Family Member.

If you choose to go down this path, you'd have to give notice to your local registrar. The standard is 28 days notice but since your partner is on a Youth Mobility, the registrar will have to refer your case to Home Office. They then might decide your pending marriage needs investigating and extend that notice period to 70 days. In our case, they didn't extend it (we're not married yet by the way, just going to get married).

Your circumstances might have changed since you last posted (for the better I hope) but if not, I hope this can be of some help.

Best of luck!

A quick edit to the above post: when we gave notice for our marriage the 28 days notice would've put me past my visa date, but they still let us go ahead, so I presume it's on a case by case basis.

[Ruth1987]

Thank you so much for your answer.

We actually got the residence permit granted a few weeks ago, almost 3 months to the date of application so all good.

I hope your application goes smoothly!

[rjmcguire]

Hi All,

Have been reading the above and have found some of the advice useful. Still have some clarification points.

I am Australian who was on a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa. My partner is Irish so have applied down the EEA (EFM) route. We satisfy all the timelines etc.. My Youth Mobility Visa expired on 02/08/2018, however I submitted the EEA EFM application in late July. I have now received a Short COA with no rights to work which will detrimentally affect my ability to remain in the UK as I cannot simply afford to 'wait and see'. Is there any point in fighting the COA? Has anyone had any luck with having this revised?

Secondly due to the nature of my employment I travel a lot so have managed to get a second concurrent Australian passport which is valid for three years. Obviously my original passport sits with the UK Home office. I have a trip coming up to France if I leave the country will they let me back in as I have read on the forums that I may be considered an 'overstayer' until the visa application is decided.

Any help, words of advice would be fantastic. Thanks in adavance

Rich

[Ruth1987]

Hi Rich,

We were in the same boat - we did query this but unfortunately we were told that no COA meant no right to work.
My partner had to quit his job and was unable to work for 3 months - luckily we were able to survive using our savings but this was a really hard time for us.
Unfortunately I cant give any advice only i think you have no options here regarding this.

If I was you I would not attempt to travel while the home office have your passport - as your electronic visa may alert them to this at immigration.

Sorry I don't have more positive response - I know how difficult this situation is

Light at the end of the tunnel - we got ours approved in 3 months rather than the predicted 6 months and is all sorted now - hang in there.