PR and landing card

[Marco 72]

My wife obtained her permanent residence stamp after 5 years of residence as the spouse of an EEA citizen. Does she need to fill in a landing card when entering the UK?

[Smallfamily]

Yes

[Marco 72]

Yes

Why is it that as an EEA Family Permit holder she didn't need to, but now she does?

[Marco 72]

Yes

According to this document, you are wrong.

[dasjoker]

Yes

According to this document, you are wrong.

I don't fill up landing card and I am holding EEA2 and i am also using EU Queue and so far no problem at all.

[lubeji247]

No ,PR holders do not need to fill a landing card.I havea PR card too issued to me 9 months ago.Below is the conversation btw me & the IO that scrutinised me when I arrived Heathrow Airport from Lagos last January.
I.O- You don't have to fill this(refering to the LC I handed to him)
Me- Really?i thought as a holder of PR card in a non-eu passport I have to fill one.
IO-You now have Permanent Residence in the Uk,so there is no need for u to fill it...but u still need to be in d queue meant for non-eu passport holders because your spouse's name is no more in your passport.
That was how d whole conversation went.So next time u arrive any UK airport don't fill it.

[Punjab]

No Sir you don't


http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=53149

[ca.funke]

...permanent residence stamp after 5 years of residence as the spouse of an EEA citizen. Does she need to fill in a landing card...

Article 5
Right of entry
1. Without prejudice to the provisions on travel documents
applicable to national border controls, Member States shall
grant Union citizens leave to enter their territory with a valid
identity card or passport and shall grant family members who
are not nationals of a Member State leave to enter their terri-
tory with a valid passport.
No entry visa or equivalent formality may be imposed on
Union citizens.

2. Family members who are not nationals of a Member State
shall only be required to have an entry visa in accordance with
Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 or, where appropriate, with
national law. For the purposes of this Directive, possession of
the valid residence card referred to in Article 10 shall exempt
such family members from the visa requirement.

Your wife has a passport (section 1) and the "valid residence card referred to in Article 10" (that´s the EEA-permit you mention, section 2). This final list of papers grants her entry into the UK, no landing card needed.

3. The host Member State shall not place an entry or exit
stamp in the passport of family members who are not nationals
of a Member State provided that they present the residence
card provided for in Article 10.

So not even a stamp is allowed, however this section is widely unknown/ignored.

Happy re-entering into the UK for you!
Rgds, Christian

[Marco 72]

Many thanks for your replies, especially ca.funke. Yesterday, when flying back to the UK from Vienna, my wife had a bad experience with an immigration officer at Heathrow (see this thread). In the end, she agreed to sign the landing card they had filled in for her, but we will be making a complaint about the officer and her supervisor.

This kind of thing has happened to us several times in the past. It's amazing how little UK immigration officers know about the law.

[flames]

Many thanks for your replies, especially ca.funke. Yesterday, when flying back to the UK from Vienna, my wife had a bad experience with an immigration officer at Heathrow (see this thread). In the end, she agreed to sign the landing card they had filled in for her, but we will be making a complaint about the officer and her supervisor.

This kind of thing has happened to us several times in the past.

It's amazing how little UK immigration officers know about the law

.

I refuse to believe that they don't know the law. i believe some IO (not all) do it deliberately just to try and give you a subtle reminder that even though you may have EEA residence cards you still aren't European at the end of the day. I know it may sound far fetched but i refuse to believe that up to now IO's don't know that passports with EEa residence cards aren't supposed to be stamped, they even have their own manuals stating so and i just can not believe that they don't know about this provision.

In October i was coming from an African country and i have an EEA2 residence card and i joined the EU line. The IO i encountered had been cheerfully greeting travellers untill my turn when i presented my passport with the residence card page open, then she had a sullen annoyed look on her face when she saw my citizenship at the back page. She then said to me aren't you supposed to be using the other queue (Non EU). I politely told her that i can use this queue and then she said ''no you aren't supposed to use this queue it's for EU passport holders only''. Just before i asked for her supervisor her colleague next to her said that it's ok, resident card holders can use the EU queue. She then proceeded to ask me a series of relevant and irrelevant questions of which i answered the relevant ones and declined to answer the irrelevant ones. After 5 minutes of pointless back and forth she let me go without stamping my passport. Now for me to believe that this lady didn't know about residence card holders being able to use the EU queue, that i simply don't believe.

Anyway i am off to Austria in 2 weeks time and will use the EU queue at Stanstead on my way back and will see how they react.

[Punjab]

i was told that I can stand in any Q EU/Non EU. But why to waste your time standing in the long EU Q??? I always choose non eu as there is either no one or 4-5 people in the row so i just get finish earlier get in my car and there we go..

My last conversation with IO.

IO- Passport please
Me- Here you are officer.
IO- Thanks
ME- Have a nice day Thanks

[Marco 72]

I refuse to believe that they don't know the law. i believe some IO (not all) do it deliberately just to try and give you a subtle reminder that even though you may have EEA residence cards you still aren't European at the end of the day. I know it may sound far fetched but i refuse to believe that up to now IO's don't know that passports with EEa residence cards aren't supposed to be stamped, they even have their own manuals stating so and i just can not believe that they don't know about this provision.

It's true that the first immigration officer who dealt with my wife yesterday took an instant dislike to her - this was obvious from the way she talked to us and her body language. However, her supervisor seemed like a very nice, easy going guy, who just didn't know the rules.

[Punjab]

when i was coming to the UK through dunkirk, two times IO asked me to fill the landing card.

Guys its not a big deal to fill it. why to argue for a stupid piece of paper.

i understand it might be agaist the law to fill the landing card in some occasions but who cares at the end of the day its just a paper./....

[Smallfamily]

Yes

Why is it that as an EEA Family Permit holder she didn't need to, but now she does?

Yes

According to this document, you are wrong.

Yes

According to this document, you are wrong.

I don't fill up landing card and I am holding EEA2 and i am also using EU Queue and so far no problem at all.

No Sir you don't


http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=53149

See guys you all said I was wrong but I wasn't I have heard recently that now EEA Family Permit holder does need to fill out a landing card

[Jambo]

See guys you all said I was wrong but I wasn't I have heard recently that now EEA Family Permit holder does need to fill out a landing card

Your statement would be more credible if you say where you heard that.

There is a difference between EEA Family Permit and holders of RC or PR.

EEA Family Permit holders on their initial entry are required to fill in a landing card so a record of that person would be created in the UKBA system. Any entry afterwards, should not have the passport stamped or a landing card to be filled in.

[flames]

when i was coming to the UK through dunkirk, two times IO asked me to fill the landing card.

Guys its not a big deal to fill it. why to argue for a stupid piece of paper.

i understand it might be agaist the law to fill the landing card in some occasions but who cares at the end of the day its just a paper

./....

If we go by your thinking, then what is so difficult for an IO to let a non EU person with a residence card use the EU queue?, after all it's not like it's illegal for a person to do so.

My overall point is that ''The law is the law'' and it's there to be followed not at the whim of an IO.

After all their Border force operations manual is very clear on that.

[a.s.b.o]

In October i was coming from an African country and i have an EEA2 residence card and i joined the EU line. The IO i encountered had been cheerfully greeting travellers untill my turn when i presented my passport with the residence card page open, then she had a sullen annoyed look on her face when she saw my citizenship at the back page. She then said to me aren't you supposed to be using the other queue (Non EU)....

I personally dont think that this has to do with your African origin. Any person in his/her position like as little variation (and as fewer problems as possible). Being on the EU queue she was hoping for a clamer ride, therefore your case took her off her routine. No more, I pressume

[flames]

In October i was coming from an African country and i have an EEA2 residence card and i joined the EU line. The IO i encountered had been cheerfully greeting travellers untill my turn when i presented my passport with the residence card page open, then she had a sullen annoyed look on her face when she saw my citizenship at the back page. She then said to me aren't you supposed to be using the other queue (Non EU)....

I personally dont think that this has to do with your African origin

. Any person in his/her position like as little variation (and as fewer problems as possible). Being on the EU queue she was hoping for a clamer ride, therefore your case took her off her routine. No more, I pressume

Maybe you misunderstood me. I am not trying to say she acted that way because i am of African origin. I only mentioned the trip from Africa in my post because i wanted to give a bit of flesh to my post..... Otherwise i don't care about being greeted cheerfully or being given a plastic smile when i enter, i just prefer them to do their job and apply the law as it stands.

In any case, her serving EU queue should even make her life easier as she was obviously trained on exceptions of people who use that queue.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

See guys you all said I was wrong but I wasn't :lol: I have heard recently that now EEA Family Permit holder does need to fill out a landing card :!:

Your statement would be more credible if you say where you heard that.

There is a difference between EEA Family Permit and holders of RC or PR.

EEA Family Permit holders on their initial entry are required to fill in a landing card so a record of that person would be created in the UKBA system. Any entry afterwards, should not have the passport stamped or a landing card to be filled in.

Not quite right, I know where you read this, but if you read it again it applies to those who come with no family permit. Even then, there is no basis in law for someone to fill one in.

EEA family permit holders, residence card holders and permanent residence card holders NEVER have to fill in a landing card.

An EEA family permit will be stamped on first entry and MAY be stamped on subsequent entries.

Residence card holders can never have their passports stamped.

[Jambo]

Not quite right, I know where you read this, but if you read it again it applies to those who come with no family permit. Even then, there is no basis in law for someone to fill.

You are right. I read it again and I got it wrong.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Not quite right, I know where you read this, but if you read it again it applies to those who come with no family permit. Even then, there is no basis in law for someone to fill.

You are right. I read it again and I got it wrong.

I have to say I had to read it a couple of times before it was clear to me. It could be clearer.

[zubby007]

In my own case I enter with EEA FP for more than 30times and i got 31 stamp, it's just funny to deal with taken up your passport pages really

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

In my own case I enter with EEA FP for more than 30times and i got 31 stamp, it's just funny to deal with taken up your passport pages really

Did you complain? If not, you've 31 complaint letters to write. Moaning here won't change things, you need to complain to effect change.

[zubby007]

Knowing what I know today I should've complain.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Knowing what I know today I should've complain.

You still can and would get a response if it was relatively recent. You know what to do the next time you're not satisfied.