Family Unity - the European Way
Guest Post by Chris Mead. Chris is the sponsor of a non EEA spouse and founder of the Family Immigration Alliance. After his own experiences as a Brit re-entering his home country he set up the blog in 2011 to promote the experiences and perspectives of families under the new immigration rules.
It must be no surprise to the UKBA and immigration observers that since the July changes to family migration, sponsors and applicants for family visas have sought alternative routes to legitimately enter the UK. As European citizens, British sponsors’ attention has been drawn increasingly towards the ‘EEA Family permit’ as the long way round to achieving a family life in the UK.
The EEA family permit makes it possible for British citizens who have been “exercising treaty rights” in another EEA country (i.e. having lived and worked in another EEA country) to return to the UK with their non-EEA spouse. It is also free, being a part of European free movement legislation and is enabled by a European court judgement called ‘Surinder Singh’, which allows a person to exercise their treaty rights not only in other member states, but in their country of origin too.
Clearance
The family permit is essentially a visa for entry clearance, which lasts for 6 months and also entitles the non-EEA holder to live and work – in fact, these are rights they then have for as long as they remain in the UK, even after the family permit expires. So with increased discussion about this route I want to share my experience on this route with my New Zealander wife, with the aim of attracting clarifications from others who have been on this route too.
We got married in Feb 2011 and applied for an EEA family permit in March2011. We were living in Germany at the time.
In applying for an EEA permit; the only evidence required was to show that I, as the sponsor, had lived and worked in Germany. This was on the UKBA’s website detailing the evidence requirement, and was confirmed over the phone with them too.
In the wake of a Panorama investigation on sham marriages, to prove the integrity of our relationship, as we had not been married long, we took extra precautions. We also submitted a letter from my dad confirming our living costs would be taken care of while we lived with them – 3rd party support being acceptable on top of some small savings.
We compiled wedding cards, Christmas cards and photos of us together over the years in support of the application. We then went to submit all the documents and were advised by the staff not to bother sending the additional evidence of our relationship. They were apparently never requested for EEA family permits, and could complicate the process as evidence of my exercising treaty rights was all that was necessary. So we omitted the cards and photos from our application.
Rejected
After a month we were finally informed that our application had been rejected on the grounds that we were party to a sham marriage – with no evidence of a genuine or subsisting relationship. We were rejected for not providing evidence that hadn’t been asked for online, by phone or in person.
This threw us into a tailspin, we opted to apply again (rather than wait 9 months to appeal), this time plying our application with a 2 year time-stamped facebook conversation, on top of the previous evidence we were originally discouraged from sending. We appeared, again, to submit this information to the surprised expression of WorldBridge staff; who had never seen an EEA family permit applicant be rejected before.
After 6 weeks we were successful.
When we arrived at the airport, the Immigration Officer was confused; not knowing how to respond to an EEA permit. Then, realising I was British, she argued that we had been given the visa by mistake and that we shouldn’t have been eligible. We spent the next hour answering the same questions on the application form, about my time in Germany. When they finally let us through, the Immigration Officer didn’t miss the chance to make her opinions clear; suggesting it was just a clever way to avoid UK immigration rules.
Support
In the 6 months that followed, we both successfully got work and applied for EEA2; so my wife could continue to prove her rights to work here after the family permit expired. I had only temporary work and no other means of income. So in order to prove I could continue to support my wife (in a similar way to a spousal visa, only my income qualified), I submitted payslips and revised contracts throughout the 6 month processing period. The key difference here between the spousal route and EEA route (besides no risk of overstaying), is that 3rd party support could be sent in support of the application, as well my wife’s income – which was permanent. The main similarity between this and the spousal route is that the onus is still on the sponsor to prove they can support the spouse, where it was more likely at that stage that she would be supporting me. Luckily I got a permanent job a year ago, and we finally got the EEA 2 permit in March 2011. Had we have failed, my wife would have been allowed to stay and continue to work – but proving that would have been harder than it was with an Immigration Officer.
In 4 more years we shall probably apply for settlement – my only anxiety being how the status of EEA nationals in the UK may change in the meantime.
Treaty
Due to the upheaval involved in exercising treaty rights, Surinder Singh and the EEA family permit is something of a path less trodden for British citizens. It offers a strong rights protection for family life, that we are now fighting to restore for the spousal route, but it comes with practical confusion. In spite of the oft cited ease that EEA nationals have to live, work and claim benefits here, obtaining documentation still requires an equivalent responsibility to demonstrate support for a non-EEA spouse, without recourse to public funds.
Comments
Does this route just apply to spouses, or does it also apply to parents?
Does the sponser have to be living and working in another eu country (not the uk) or is it possible for a spouse to join their partner in the uk if the sponser lives and works in the uk. Simply are you required to move abroad to apply using this visa?
Hi BritCits, it's not the same rules for other family members, but we understand there are possibilities in this direction. other family members living as part of your household. However we haven't had experience of applications or appeals yet.
Phoebe, Yes you do need to move to another EU country to 'exercise your treaty rights. - and work there.
Thanks admin - any idea as to why it doesnt apply to other family members, given I thought the UKBA would have to treat you like an EU citizen, if you had exercised your treaty rights in another country already? [EU citizens and their spouses can both bring in parents, grandparents, siblings, children and extended family!]
But if the UK leaves the EU, then this will also be upheaved. Is there any light at the end of the tunnel for families?
[EU citizens and their spouses can both bring in parents, grandparents, siblings, children and extended family!]
How does this work? I've been living in the UK with my Irish and British partner for over 5 years. He has an Irish passport(as well as British one), so he is EU citizen, he has worked in Netherlands for 1 year, long time ago before we met(dont think that helps). I applied to bring my parents for a short family visit here and they got rejected even though my partner proved he could support them for the whole duration of their stay. I read many times that EU citizen can bring their extended family here but I can't find any information on it explaining how it works.
Is there any where I can find more information about this route?
Check out "What is a family member?" : http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/eucitizens/eea-family-permit/
The situation with your husband may be a little different as he is a British citizen (in cases of dual nationality, British and other EU, I think British rules have to apply). Having said that, if he has lived and worked in Netherlands, then he could ask to be treated as an EU citizen rather than British, visa Surinder Singh route..HOWEVER..I'm not sure on time gap; and likely will also require him to having exercised his treaty rights there, to have you or other non-EU family members living with him there, before returning to the UK.
and this: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/mod...
Britcits - you say the criteria is to 'live and work' in an EU country, then you can get UK entry with your non EU spouse. What would the situation be if you was retired, you had adequate income, and lived in an EU country as a retired person ( did not work) - then you and your spouse wanted to return to the UK?
Geronimo, I'm not a lawyer..but from my understanding, having read whatever I can get my hands on, as British citizen you can only exercise your right to return to the uk with your non-EU family if
a) you have been ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE in another EU/EEA country - so working or self-employed. Part-time is fine. There is no specification of income or how long for, although the EU country may require a minimum income before they allow your non-EU family member to stay there with you to ensure you won't just be on benefits there, and
b) If the non-EU family member is your spouse/civil partner, then they need to have been living with you in the EU/EEA country..so ensure all names are on the tenancy agreement/utility bills etc, or
c) If the non-EU family member is a parent, grandparent, sibling or child, you can also use this route to return to the UK - but whether or not its called Surinder Singh route for these family members I'm not sure. The consensus seems to be this isnt Surinder Singh, but this is a valid route, as long as you were working in the overseas country.
For those who want to read the regulations rather than UKBA policy guidance: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/eci...
I draw attention to
a) Article 2, 2) specifies the family members this applies to
b) Article 7 - indicates the conditions under which you can live in another EU country for over 3 months with your family
c) Article 10 - which confirms that the overseas country you go to reside in must issue you and family with a residence card within 6 months
and then, section 2.1 (family members) and 2.5.1 (Surinder Singh): http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/eci...
Many thanks for the links, Britcits.
BritCits thanks for the information. I wonder if some enterprising Brits could go to Romania or Bulgaria set up an employment agency to find skilled workers for British employers and so help to frustrate Ms May's immigration policy even more?
At the same time earn credentials to get their family / Non EU spouse back into the UK with them. Got to find ways to get back at May!
hi everybody,
after what i read from the article above and after what i understood is that the sponsor have been and is worried about the process off the EEA2 application and after that for the permanent residency card,well just to make something clear,when a brit is using singh case to come back and bring his/her spouse to sponsor her,he already exercised treaty rights in the country he used to live in with the spouse so in coming back to his initial country of nationality he doesn't have to worry about a thing..!!!what he need to do is to use the same proofs (payslips exercising treaty rights,proofs of residency with his spouse) that its been used for the family permit.
for his non EEA spouse to apply for the EEA2 residence card,there is a section in the form,section 5 surinder singh,his spouse need just to fill up this section plus submitting the same proof as i explained above,they will ask u in the form to supply the the details of where the sponsor exercised his treaty rights as worker or self employed and that's all u need,she needed to fill up her details too.and his payslips and work contract were not needed..
the british citizen doesn't have to do anything else and what he does in the uk doesn't matter for the outcome of the residence card,and 3rd party is not needed,as its not under uk rules but under eu regulations,the spouse income is not relevant too,what is relevant is what the british citizen did in the other state where he exercised his treaty rights and his spouse could apply for the residence card from the first week of arrival to the uk.
after 5 years residency,she can apply for permanent residence and citizenship afterwords,and also just to let u know,after the 5 years residency the spouse can submit her EEA4 application for permanent resident,and guess what,she need to submit the same documents she did send in the first place for her residence card application EEA2,so it doesn't matter what the british citizen will do in the 5 years of her residency,because he used to exercise his treaty right in another country and as a british to support her application he can't possibly submit his work details,payslips as he can't as a british citizen exercise his treaty rights in his own country.
to be honest,i was confused at the OP's comments,even when he asked for the family permit,3rd party support wasn't needed,what u need to apply for the family permit is:
*sponsors passport
*non-eea passport
*marriage certificate
*proof of joint residency in the other state(tenancy agreement,bills,join account)
*and proof of exercising treaty rights(payslipswork contract)
holborn mighty interesting stuff. it just goes to show how much Brit citizens with a NON EU spouse are being discriminated against in our own country by our own Coalition government led by Cameron and May and the toxic Tory party in the interests of their own political careers!G.
Just to make it clear, this post was not intended to be a "how to..." guide of using the Surinder Singh route. We do not try to give such a guide, or advice to people struggling for family unity through this blog - to do so would be irresponsible, because there are so many whys and wherefores that each individual needs individual advice. The post is the story of one couple's experience in their struggle to live together in the UK as should be their right.
We would be interested in publishing further posts that might help to shed further light in the struggles that so many people are facing, both by way of helping people seek pertinent advice and to influence policy by pointing out the ridiculousness of the situation.
Apologies, didnt mean to change the tone of the post..but couldn't help responding to questions asked, and seemed more prudent to provide links to UKBA stuff rather than just stating my understanding. If anyone has a story similar to Chris, and is affected by the immigration rules, please email me at britcits@gmail.com
I had massive problems getting my husband into this country from Lebanon. I lived outside EU for 4 years and married and had a daughter. Situation in Lebanon was tough - I returned to UK thinking (as we had a daughter who has dual nationality) that because we had been married for 2 years that my husband would be allowed a spouse visa. NO WAY. Became a human rights issue in the end and took 20 months through the appeal courts. 20 months my daughter was not allowed her daddy in her life. The whole system sucks. He has been here for nearly 2 years and we have to apply for ILR. Not looking forward to this process!!!
Afamily Member of an eea maried to British Can i use set m form or what form can I use am getting deferent advice
That last comment wasn't aimed at you, BritCits!
BritCits - Admin / Guy Taylor has done his thing before on JCWI. Last year on a JCWI one lady was getting a bit upset and used a couple of four letter words. Nothing you can't read on other websites. Admin recommended she used JCWI lawyers - to which she commented she had asked but they were too expensive! She was banned from blogging again. Others on that site went over to MRN and one man set up his own site. What Admin doesn't see is he is curtailing freedom of speech and the right of expression. Perhaps he just wants to show us 'he is in charge'. I am in my 70's and have worked all round the world. I met my NON EU wife when I worked in Arabia in the early 80's. She has a degree in business studies and worked for 2 international companies as a stock controller. We have our own home in the UK - paid for. My income is over the required minimum.. My wife speaks good english - not perfect but enough for her to live and keep house in the UK. We have a joint UK bank account and credits cards. We are completely self sufficient. But we got caught out in Jan 2010 by the new computerised English test - that even my doctors practise manager failed - and she is a born and bred Brit in ger 40,s. So my wife went home and has lived there and I go to stay with her.These test are designed to fail the applicant so that the UKBA can continue to charge their high fees!
The comments about the UKBA / Home Office fees are all correct. 'We' are easy pickings to make money - by the Govt and HR Lawyers!
So if Admin/ Guy Taylor wants to be a bureaucrat thats OK - as I say there is MRN and other web sites we can all blog on. good luck G
BritCits / others - I made a mistake in my blog. The Computerised English tests were introduced in December 2010 - we got caught out in January 2011.
All these tests have deliberately been made more diffictlt. Medhi Hassan wrote in the New Stateman that he and the NS editorial staff took the Life In the UK test and failed - miserably!
Medhi commented the tests are being used as a 'weapon' to curb immigration - rather that a means of integration - all these restrictions are now big HR business - and I read that - a lawyers comments on the Free Movement website!
Britcits & all - there is a post on the Free Movement website this morning that -
''The Upper Tribunal has yet again rejected the Govt's contention that new immigration rules define and deliniate the extent of the United Kingdom's human rights obligation.
These cases represent a demolition of the Govt's attempts to gain exclusive ownership over articles 8 of the European Convention in Human Rights, the right to a private family life.
The cases do however recognise the hard official line against private and family life has an impact on the way the tribunal must assess proportionality''.
These are direct quotes from the Free Movement website - suggest you all look it up yourselves OK. good luck to all G
Admin..thanks.
Geronimo...I don't at all have an issue with Admin,Guy Taylor or JCWI.im actually grateful to them for their work on this, not just over the last 8 months or so, but for the 30 odd years they have been working to stand up for basic human rights.
I also think the owner of a blog has the right to rein things in if the topic veers away from the main one. Admin made a point politely..didn't just go and delete posts. That's respectful. I'm quite happy to return the favour.
On a positive note, look forward to seeing you at the APPG event.
BritCits OK but people blog on this site, and others, to express their concerns about the situation they are in because of May's rules.
So I suggest they should be given that freedom of speech and expression that is a British Human Right under UK and ECHR Law.
I go on other JCWI sites as well as MRN to pick up information and the way you get that information is to read understand and empathise with people and not try to shut them down. I have come across trolls on some sites and they haven't been shut down even when they expressed their racist and anti immigration setiments. So I suggest we need some perspective and tolerance we have too many bureaucrats in Govt especially the UKBA and Home Office right.
May has gone over her Home Office budget by hiring more lawyers to fight us. She has increased her six figured salary bureaucrats by 50%.
She uses British public money to destroy the family lives of British men women and children. I suggest this is the most important matter in our situation.Many of the people who blog on here struggle for a voice some understanding and sympathy. We shouldn't shut them down should we? I spent a large part of my life overseas managing people of all nationalities. Britain needs to lead not close its mind and become insular. Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants should mean what it says on the label - the welfare of immigrants - give them their voice! G
Just to say no one has ever been banned from commenting on this site. We have deleted the occasional bit of purely offensive posting, spam and advertising, but never ever banned anyone. Or deleted anything that would be deemed appropriate for such a site.
We do recommend JCWI lawyers as the people (and i's not just Guy, Geronimo!) administering this blog are not qualified to give legal immigration advice - for unqualified people to give immigration legal advice is in fact illegal. This is why we mentioned earlier in the thread that this post and indeed this blog are not intended to provide such a service.
Admin OK so your not Guy Taylor whose name comes up on JCWI connected to this site. Perhaps thats a reason to identify yourself then?
No one has been banned from this site? Maybe not this site but last year a lady from up north was banned from another JWCI site which many of us were posting on. Admin on that site touted her to use JCWI Lawyers. She stated she had tried JCWI lawyers and found them too expensive compared to a provincial lawyer she had used. Now I remember that ladies name very well and her case so I am not making it up. Plus the thread / blog on other JCWI I log onto have similiar posts that you have just commented about. I am in touch by phone with another blogger who is in turn in touch with other bloggers and we all compare notes with what is happening. We do not ask JCWI to provide legal advice - because JCWI want paying and are too expensive. But we are perfectly entitled to share our experiences knowledge and leads with each other for mutual benefits - and if not on JCWI then MRN and other sites. No other blogger complains and its standard practise on MRN.
So if JCWI is in business for the welfare of immigrants and not to promote its own legal services business what is wrong with bloggers giving each other their experiences and knowledge? Something which you appear to want to stop! So your interpretation of this JCWI site is that limits of freedom of speech and expression is down to your personal decision which is very undemocratic if not unlawful and autocratic then?
Admin.
If we want good up to date usefull legal information we go onto FREE MOVEMENT WEBSITE which is an HR Lawyers website.
This morning Free Movement published an update on Human Rights and the immigration Rules which informed readers that quote -
''the Upper Tribunal has yet again rejected the Govt's contention that new immigration rules define and deliniate the extent of the UKs HR obligations''. FM continues-
''Together, these cases represent a demolition of the Govt's attempts to gaim exclusive ownership on Human Rights, the right to to a private and family lfe ''.
I read from that May has had the Upper Tribunal reject her interpretation of HR rules - which is good news for us whose family lives have been destroyed by May!
totally agree with you G,as we are here to discuss about whats going on right now and the unfairness that we are subject to by this covt's treatment towards its own citizens.
my initial post wasn't to give people a way to get free advice,i'm not a qualified lawyer nor an immigration adviser but as the OP'S post made some mistakes in dealing with his situation and specially with what happened in the uk,i just pointed out those mistakes and maybe some people would find out the same as i found out by looking further in the immigration laws and eu free movement laws and the uk's implementation of those regulations into the uk's laws,so,anyone can find out by the same way i found out on how it suppose to be rather than making the same mistake over again and again,it was just intended to be a token of knowledge that i acquired during the last 2 years and wanted to share with people that might or might not take the same route..so i don't see any harm in doing that,its a blog where we need to feel welcomed and not be restricted on what we want to say,its supposed to be a blog where people share their issues and worries,struggles..on the issues we all face.
i thought by commenting on the issue i would make a contribution and make a difference not create in any way problems,if it was the case when i did comment i did not see any warnings/policy regarding what to say or not to say,as far as i was concerned i was,polite,respectful,helpful and not rude or abusing in any way..anyway,i might not comment any more in this blog,i thought this blog was for the freedom of speech not to tell people what is legal or illegal to do/say..is what this government doing to us is legal..??is it legal that in your own country you have less rights than other EU/EEA immigrants,.how on earth this could even happen?
Holborn thanks for your comment. There are a lot of people who read these websites whoes english is a tad lacking. They are bewildered by May's rules cannot understand whats happening why and will it end. They want to be reunited with their loved ones like us. Therefore we have to speak out against this injustice at all costs - we have to report the facts - we have to have and give hope. I have read women on the point of complete collapse - women with kids who don't know how they will manage who need their husband to help support their families. The hurt May is inflicting is spiteful and totally unjust. So if we can explain, give them some hope as thinking people we should do all we can. regards G.
hi G,u don't have to thank me as i meant every word i said,and to be honest with u,what u were describing in your last post about women with a child/kids are the biggest victims here,i'm a non-eu citizen,married to a british citizen who has a child from a previous marriage,we got married almost a year ago now,we are separated since february 2011,now i'm living in my country since then.what i don't get is how is that this government is saying is putting measures to tackle shame marriages,and that's why they put in places those ridiculous new laws,what about the genuine couples/families who are craving for fairness and family life..!!
what about those women who are married and want to be happy,build a family,make and contribute to the well being of their kids and towards their bright future.
i don't get how and why an EU/EEA citizen can bring his whole household and family to the uk (spouse+kids under 21 who are dependent of the sponsor)without paying a penny or showing a proof of his finance to the ukba ,they have an initial 3 month residency under eu laws and thye can apply for residence cards free of charge as soon as they wish,and they are allowed to abuse and get recourse to public funds as they wish during their 5 years residency and the eu citizen doesn't have to show any minimum threshold to support his family and no english test required ..!!!,he can work 12 hour a week and claim benifits and still his spouse and kids get permanent residency ..
and guess what,while the eu citizens enjoy the free movement,the british citizen have restriction in getting his wife and kids to the uk even with family visit that most of the time is refused for any stupid reason..and even if the brit citizen can get his/her spouse by some miracle to the country(spouse visa £860 fee),there is restriction on claiming benifits during the 5 years(in the passport it will be mentioned that the holder can't acces public funds),
the british citizen needs to be working during the 5 years residency of his spouse/kids and the couples needs to apply after 2.5 years for (FLR) further leave to remain(not sure if u are going to pay another fee,u need to submit the same proof that u did submit in the initial application for the spouse visa,and if u fail to show sponsorship by maybe,u stopped working by becoming redundant or u were sick,u will fail for applying (ILR) and then they will extend your visa by another 5 years and once u prove that u did not claim for benefits or once u finish a continued 5 years residency without claiming any benefits and show that u and the sponsor worked and apyed tax...ect,then you ave to apply for indefinite leave to remain and u have to pay for £900 ish fee for the application..!!!
so,anyone cares enough to explain to me what the hell is going on..??couples like my wife and i are punished for what..!!!what did we do bad to deserve that.?? as u can see i can write in english,i can speak english not fluently,but i'm very proud of the level i've got already,i have no problem talking to people and maintain a conversation with them in english,i'm always respectful to everybody and i'm not coming to the uk to claim benefits or try to live off tax payers money..!! i work as hard as everybody and not asking for charity,so why i'm not allowed to come and stay with my wife??
i don't know why there is unfairness in the system and good people have to pay the prices and this government and MAY are tearing families apart.
where is the fairness in seeing your neighbor(EU citizen) happy with his family and u don't.
where is the fairness in the case where a british women can't bring her non-eu husband to live with her in her own country but a french/Hungarian/ polish/ u name it,can and FREE of charge.
holborn - you could have fooled me I read your english as excellant. I read your motivation wanting to join and support your Brit wife and child to be a family also excellant. So your intentions are correct and you display responsibility towards your family I find these are all excellant.
I compare that with some of the criminals that May has to allow to stay in the UK who she can't get rid of and where she should be putting her efforts. But then we also have Australians Canadians New Zealanders etc and other Commonwealth citizens being kept out. Countries that sent their troops to fight and die for the British survival in WW2. I don't care about nationality race religion or colour its integrity honesty and good intent that matter and in my job overseas I met people from the US to Asia who were good people irrespective of where they came from.
But misled Brits have now demonised immigrants thro politicians and a press that misinforms a public about immigration to sell their newspapers.
So we have a population of misinformed 'sheeples' being manipulated by an ambitious toxic Tory Home Sec who puts her own career and ambitions first.We have some press like the Guardian and Independent who will print the truth and it seems we have a Judiciary who will work to the Law. But the Home Office and UKBA are totally incompetent and have been found to be 'unfit for purpose' and have misled MPs!
I know a retired Judge / QC. He knows my wife and our case. Talking to him he said to me - 'the UKBA is an open door to corruption''!
But gradually matters are coming to light and in many cases being reported and commented on in websites like Open Democracy. So hang on in there. Just keep telling the truth.All those honest good intentioned people are being wronged OK. best wishes to you and your family G.
thanks G,really appreciate your support,but i'm afraid that passion,desire,motivation,or what we want is not always what we get and it doesn't help u when u are powerless.
like you described may,ukba and co,are corrupted and selfish,they say they promote family values and communities but the facts are they are doing all in their power to make the rich,richer and the poor,poorer..the rich have the right to have a family life and the poor no,because someone poor doesn't have rights...anyway,lets hope we are going all to be reunited again with our loved ones sooner rather then later,what we have left is hope for better days..no matter what happens i'll always keep fighting for my right and my family's rights,and no matter how long its gonna take,we will fight till the end...
respect to all..H
Hello,
It seems I should make a few clarifications. I don't think my experience was necessarily normal on the route, but rather I shared to explain how easily confusion can arise when on it.
While the list of documents Holborn cites is completely accurate - even exhaustive for purposes of being eligible, it still doesn't account for additional problems one can run into (i.e. false accusations of a sham marriage) without additional un-requested evidence during the application for a family permit. Joint tenancy documents and our marriage certificate which we provided, were not enough to prove our recent marital status - but it should have been based on all information we were provided with. My point being, the rules are not as sacrosanct and properly followed, even understood, as they should be. Indeed, we made no mistakes when we first applied, based on the published requirements.
Finally, in the EEA 2 application, again the same list of documents proving my exercising of treaty rights should have been completely sound, but it was on the advice of an immigration consultancy that we submitted additional details of my employment in section 6 (not 5 - the current form is a more recent version than the one I was required to complete, so I can't be sure if it was a mistake on the consultant's side, or an inadequate form in use during our application - I certainly don't remember seeing any references to UK citizens nor Surinder Singh in the form we completed in 2011) - http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/eea/eea21...
Perhaps the UKBA is tightening up it's act in it's treatment of treaty rights in light of more people considering this route.
Thanks again to the JCWI for letting me post this, absolutely no legal inference should be taken from it, this is purely a personal account (or 'a cautionary tale' considering what went wrong rather than right) and I would invite others to contribute their personal accounts on this route to the FIA blog: http://familyimmigrationalliance.wordpress.com/
Thanks,
Chris
These immigration rule changes must must MUST contravene Article 8 right to family life? From what I've heard, is that the home office is arguing that sponsors can just live in applicant's home countries...this is clearly ridiculous, such in the case of my own:
My husband is from Gaza, and cannot get a visa for any other Arabic speaking country. We don't have anywhere to go; just Europe or Gaza; somewhere I find it very difficult to live. What makes it even more difficult is his general situation with the authorities - he has been arrested multiple times, and i am continually anxious about his safety. Even talking on skype is difficult because there is only power for 6 hours a day there. Additionally, I cannot go to visit him there; we have to rely on his being able to cross over to Egypt on a two month visa.
This isn't a sham marriage, we were living together for a year while we were students in Cairo....I don't know anyone who would go through this for a sham marriage.
Admin, could registration or something be set up, to prevent the poster above imitating others?
For the record, non EU parents can't just come to the UK when they're old and claim a pension. Even Brits can't do that, you must have worked a certain number of years or have sufficient working credits.
NHS..easy way round. Require private medical cover.
In any case, UK has reciprocal policies with several EU and commonwealth countries, whereby British ppl also benefit from the local healthcare system when they are overseas. No reason why that should now be made so that it's just one way. The empire days are over.
The post you refer to has been deleted. It is rare for any post to be deleted on this site, but the poster was assuming the identity of another, regular poster here and misrepresenting his/her viewpoint. Unacceptable.
I am from Jamaica and my husband was born in Ireland but he lived in the UK from he was 19 he has a British passport does anyone know if we will be eligible to get a EEA family permit please help me
i ve EEa family permit member visa acc . currently my spanish wife is living in the UK . i want to join her this day , on my visa is accompany. It posibble to travel to UK and met her at the airport ? or should we use the same fly or not ? can someone help ?
thank u
@shamoya, I think there are now restrictions on dual citizenship - if your EEA sponsor is Irish and British you should contact the AIRE centre.
@kin, written in the visa itself it says something about having to appear together - which usually means flying into the UK together - the UKBA should actually be able to clarify what is stipulated in your wife's eea permit.
Be aware of a new ploy by the Home Office / UKBA to delay and put up the cost to appellants. The ploy is for UKBA Presenting Officers at the First Tier Tribunal to withdraw decisions shortly before or even at the appeal hearing. This delays the appeal hearing for a future time thus lengthening the appeal period. A client waits months and months for the appeal hearing at the First Tribunal for the decision to be withdrawn at the last moment. So the client has incurred legal costs and will have to pay again if the decision is the same. Another way to get the client to pay more money, delay their appeal and further frustrate the course of justice!
goodmorning everybody i know this is no direct advice line on immigration but i have found that your posts have shed a bit of light me and my partner are stuck in a bit of a predicament.
my partner and i have been a relationship for 1 year 4 months prior to us being in a relationship she had been married to another british person(not a sham) when their relationship broke down they never got a divorce we then got involved in that time my visa expired we were in contact with the ukba as they gave me temporary admission now what seemed straight forward then got complicated my caseworker sent me her all the info we needed to regularise my stay including the financial requirements which were relatively reasonable but the divorce was only finalised after the rules changed in july they told us we could not apply untill she had received her decree absoloute is was more like a slow death because we couldnt do nothing about it and had to let it take its course .
since then we have been trying relentelesly to figure out any other alternatives as even if she reached the top end of her career she would only earn 17.000 k which obviously means we cant get 18.000 k what i would like to know is if we were to do the surinder singh route which seems to be the only way we would allow us to be together as she is not keen on emigrating to south africa i have read a lot of blogs but the some questions are still puzzling.
:how would we be able to prove that our relationship is durable as they are not very clear on the ukba guidelines is there a specific list perhaps you would be so kind to share the list .
how long does she have to excercise her treaty rights in another eu country before she can come back to the uk ?.
do i have to got back to my home country before she can excersize those rights for me to join her ?
do i apply for a family permit prior to me joing her in ireland(which is the country we prefer) or do i just go there as a south african passport holder we do not need visas to visit there for a period of 90 days
any help will be much appreciated thank you
Hi Paul,
You're right - this isn't a forum for advice - especially as yours is such a complicated case!
The best places to turn, not for targetted advice but to learn from other people's experiences are:
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook group: EU FREE MOVEMENT DIRECTIVE/2004/38/C
the Family Immigration Alliance
Other blogs on this site
Please note that you should be careful about seeking professional advice as there are a number of rip-off merchants in the sector who will take your money and priovide poor advice, please aks ariound, check with others, research online before paying anyone for their services. Of course, JCWI's solicitors are excellent, but there is precious little legal aid in immigration nowadays thanks to ferocious cuts by the Government, so I'm afraid we have to charge for our advice.
Paul, also check this: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies/citizenship/docs/guide_free_movemen...
and this: http://www.scribd.com/doc/133697288/Journey-to-Dublin
The Bar Council Chairman has said - 'We won't stand by as people suffer' - due to legal aid cuts. Therefore the Bar Council has launched a how-to Guide for DIY litigants. See the Bar Council website.
The 'rollonfriday' lawyers website have announced that 5,000 barristers have now undertaken Public Access Training, Which means you can go to them directly. This is more cost effective than going to a solicitor. See the website.
However Freemovement website reports on 10/04/2013 that appellant advocates have found UK Border Agency Presenting Officers are withdrawing decisions either shortly before or at the appeal hearing.
They say the client waits for months for a decision then for the appeal hearing. The decision is then withdrawn to be put back into bureaucratic limbo of UKBA decision making. Having incurred all legal costs and with the risk of having to pay yet again if the decision is the same. Beware!
I am searching for jobs any where in the EU so to gain my full EU rights so my wife can enter the UK before Xmas, I say to everyone here forget the UK visa system you can not win only way in is through the EU freedom of movement rules as people have said above, save your self and your family the trouble take the forced excile route and return with our loved ones. I read about the EEA family permit and have read if we go work for min 10 weeks for 5.5 hrs then we can go to the border with our wage slips tax paid and wedding certificate and they have to let them in............ so I will try this route and if all else fails I will sail my wife across the channel as we have our first child due October so really would like to be born in the UK. oh and have read the mothers are then under EU law given 5 years resident card in which ever country our babies are born so another way in or to stay here in the UK if she has baby here.
I am a non-EEA family member i lived here for 7 year i have children here, in 2011 i applied for my permanent leave to remain in the UK but the UKBA send my document back to me saying my evidence are incomplete and said i should take my time and gather all evidence before sending back my application. In the process of this i had a call from the SIA that the UKBA ask them to revoke my Security license i dont know why they did that and according to their website it state I DO NOT NEED TO OBTAIN A DOCUMENT CONFIRMING MY RIGHT OF RESIDENCE IN THE UK. This is confusing and misleading and i would like to know why they revoke my license and if what they did is legal
I have been married to a U.S citizen for nearly 3 years. We have a son who was born in the UK and I am a UK citizen. She initially had limited leave to remain, but the new visa rules made it impossible to apply for ILR. We are now in Italy, working and will be for the next 2 years. From everything I have read, we can use the family permit for her to come with me back to the UK in 2015, unless the UKBA gets really nasty.
jamiedickson, hi under the new confirmed rules you have had a baby in the EU including the UK so there by the UK has to give the mother of the baby a 5 year resident card? that is another route my MP confirmed to me under the rules........... everyone needs to forget even trying for the UK visa and put some effort into moving else where in the EU........ Jamie is there any work where your staying?? even a paper round would give more than the 5.5 hrs a week to cover a job under the EU RULES!
Dear all,
Could you help us please. Most of us are former asylum seekers came in this country, ten year ago. Most of us have been granted the ILR last 3 or 2 years; most of us have been married back home and left young children now who have grew up... Applications for family reunion have been rejected for various reasons... Now, what is the future for those families?... What is the future for our marriage?... What is the future for those innocent children?...And, when an application has been rejected, that means over £800 lost; and the solicitor fees and the stress... Could we have any assistance?... Any pro bono solicitor?... Is there any common action?... Who could we contact?... Thank you to assist us as most of us are very desperate now... Thank you.
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