Residency Card application

[TeriG]

Hi guys, I'm hoping you can help me.

My boyfriend and I have been in the U.K. for about 4 months now, we arrived with my EU citizenship and he had an EEA Family permit.

We are wanting to apply for a Residency card for him before the Family permit expires. We have a difficult decision to make. I've heard that if we apply before I recieve 3 months payslips that he will receive his confirmation letter with no right to work, which will cause us a problem. If we wait until I have 3 months payslips and then apply, we risk his permit expiring before we receive his confirmation letter.

I've heard that it takes around 5 weeks from application to confirmation letter received, including the biometric registration process. If the 5 week waiting period is accurate, there may be just a few days from when the permit expires till when we get the confirmation letter. If we apply before the permit expires, but do not recieve the confirmation letter by the time it expires, will this cause us a big problem? Is there any way that we can have proof of application before we receive the confirmation letter? If not then is there another way to ensure that he receives his confirmation letter with a right to work?

Your help is much appreciated!