Leaving the country for a couple of weeks after an Appeal has been lodged

[greatscott]

*Mods, please do not bury this under an existing thread of mine as it is a new topic requesting information about a different matter* Thank you.

For someone who has lodged an Appeal against a decision, can the appellant (non-visa national) leave the country to visit sick family? Passport holder does not require a visa for the UK.

[secret.simon]

*Mods, please do not bury this under an existing thread of mine as it is a new topic requesting information about a different matter* Thank you.

Your specific circumstances are very relevant to the advice given to you. Therefore I will summarise your specific situation and link to your threads, so that anybody advising is doing so taking your specifics into account.

The OP's spouse returned with the OP under the SS route in 2012 after having exercised treaty rights in another EEA member-state for five months. The spouse was successfully issued a Residence Card in 2012, but was refused a PR Card in 2017.

EEA(PR) submitted 9 Months Ago Still Waiting plus Absence Question

For someone who has lodged an Appeal against a decision, can the appellant (non-visa national) leave the country to visit sick family? Passport holder does not require a visa for the UK.

Under the UK Immigration Rules, a person leaving the UK while an appeal is in progress effectively abandons the appeal. The EEA Regulations are silent on this point. I would presume that a person having the right of entry to the UK as the family member of an EEA national continues to have the right.

However, in your case (as an SS returnee EEA national for the purposes of the EEA Regulations), I would guess that the Home Office has rejected your spouse's PR Card on the basis that your residence in another EEA member-state was not genuine enough and that therefore your spouse does not have the right to reside in the UK.

Therefore if your spouse left the UK, she would of course be allowed to do so. But she may have issues with returning to the UK. While her passport may allow her visa-free arrival in the UK, she may be questioned, detained and returned by Border Force officials, who would have the refusal to issue the PR Card and its reasons on their system.

Have you (or your spouse) applied for an SAR with the Home Office to see what comments have been placed on their file? That may help in planning further moves.

[greatscott]

I would guess that the Home Office has rejected your spouse's PR Card on the basis that your residence in another EEA member-state was not genuine enough and that therefore your spouse does not have the right to reside in the UK.

Thanks but you guessed wrong. The refusal is entirely based on being a 'qualified person' (Eind).

Thanks for advice on SAR- will look into that.

[greatscott]

Can it be true that my spouse is being held captive against their will while having to wait 6-12 months for the tribunal hearing...all based on Eind case law not being followed? And appeal to upper trubunal means another 3-6 months?

And if her family passes away, then they would have had no chance to see them one last time, or attend the funeral.

Is this the correct interpretation of the UK legal system?

[mkhan2525]

As you have appealed the decision, you are entitiled to request HO for a Certificate of application. It will allow the non-eea family member to continue in employment in the UK whilst the appeal is concluded. You may be able to use it to re-enter the UK but you will be at the mercy of the Immigration Officer.

You can also write to the Tribunal to request your appeal to be fast tracked if you have good reasons for it.

[greatscott]

mkhan2525, thanks again, valuable advice