Immigrationboards.com

Hey guys

So my husband applied for the EEA Family Permit via Surinder Singh, which was granted to us yesterday

The visa is valid for 6 months and my husband must travel to the UK accompanied by me (as the British Citizen)

I am thankful I have crossed the first hurdle, but i am so clueless of the next steps and looking for some help with some questions I have

* So when we decide to travel together back to the UK, what will happen at the border? Are we likely to get questioned and have to supply any documents? If anyone knows or has experience please advise.
* As the visa states he must be accompanied by me does this mean that once we first arrive here and for shifting over IF he needs to go back, he won't be allowed in without me?
* Does EEA family Permit come with any restrictions for my husband? Can he work with it etc?
* What do we do when we arrive? I am clueless to what we do next? Apply for my husbands National insurance number?
* How do we get the 5 year stay? What do we have to do to be eligible for it? What are the requirements?

Sorry for being quite ignorant in this area. Spent all my energy in mastering the requirements for SS application and didnt look into what do to after getting it.

If anyone doesn't mind advising or pointing me into a direction where I can find out all the information, i'd be grateful.

Many thanks

No other docs needed at border (except passport), the FP is your hubby's Willie Wonka golden ticket.

Bring hubby's foreign EHIC if he has one.

FP holder can work. if you can find an employer who believes you.

Get settled in.
Hubby apply for optional RC in a few weeks time, if he wishes.
- probably a good idea with all this wild talk of Brexit.

Note: as a BC you don't need to exercise treaty rights in own country.
Do keep all such evidence from the SS country (for ever!).

Apply for own NINO via JobCentre.
Register for medical services.

Enjoy the weather - its not always so warm.

noajthan wrote:No other docs needed at border (except passport), the FP is your hubby's Willie Wonka golden ticket.

Bring hubby's foreign EHIC if he has one.

FP holder can work. if you can find an employer who believes you.

Get settled in.
Hubby apply for optional RC in a few weeks time, if he wishes.
- probably a good idea with all this wild talk of Brexit.

Note: as a BC you don't need to exercise treaty rights in own country.
Do keep all such evidence from the SS country (for ever!).

Apply for own NINO via JobCentre.
Register for medical services.

Enjoy the weather - its not always so warm.

Thank you for your reply.

I have some more questions

1) Whats an EHIC? he doesn't have one, but still wonder what it is
2) I have a national insurance number? do i apply for another one? Or do you mean by husband should apply for one
3) Is he automatically eligible to apply for a RC or does he have to become eligible by meeting certain conditions post his arrival? which form is it that he must complete for that? i think i checked some forms they seem to want the same/similar documents as provided in the SS application.

Thanks for the help, appreciate it

All the docs you submitted for EEA FP will be needed for the EEA2 5 year Residence card application.
Plus
After you arrived in UK you must include all the docs showing you reside in UK
E.g. Tenancy agreements, registering kids un school etc.

P.s. You dont need to have a job to apply.
So as soon as you arrived and could gather the above docs APPLY.
It will take nearly 6 months.... For them to come back with the RC

anon87 wrote:

noajthan wrote:No other docs needed at border (except passport), the FP is your hubby's Willie Wonka golden ticket.

Bring hubby's foreign EHIC if he has one.

FP holder can work. if you can find an employer who believes you.

Get settled in.
Hubby apply for optional RC in a few weeks time, if he wishes.
- probably a good idea with all this wild talk of Brexit.

Note: as a BC you don't need to exercise treaty rights in own country.
Do keep all such evidence from the SS country (for ever!).

Apply for own NINO via JobCentre.
Register for medical services.

Enjoy the weather - its not always so warm.

Thank you for your reply.

I have some more questions

1) Whats an EHIC? he doesn't have one, but still wonder what it is
2) I have a national insurance number? do i apply for another one? Or do you mean by husband should apply for one
3) Is he automatically eligible to apply for a RC or does he have to become eligible by meeting certain conditions post his arrival? which form is it that he must complete for that? i think i checked some forms they seem to want the same/similar documents as provided in the SS application.

Thanks for the help, appreciate it

1) European health card. Google.

2) Hubby.

3) Just reside in UK. Not even together!

Form EEA(FM).

Yes, you need to prove you did SS.

Have you applied for SAR yet?

Hi noajthan,

I'm following this too, thanks for the information.

Does SAR = Subject Access Request? (and if so why is this needed?).

Also, say the OP did not apply until month number 5 of her husband's Family Permit duration, would he then be able to stay in the UK the following six months waiting for the result of the Residence Card application?

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us, we are very grateful!

mattk1 wrote:Hi noajthan,

I'm following this too, thanks for the information.

Does SAR = Subject Access Request? (and if so why is this needed?).

Also, say the OP did not apply until month number 5 of her husband's Family Permit duration, would he then be able to stay in the UK the following six months waiting for the result of the Residence Card application?

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us, we are very grateful!

Yes it is.
SAR is not 'needed'; its just a way to see what 'big brother' has filed on you (if anything).
May be useful in OP's case when documents are missing. (Didn't someone say documents were lost).

If a FM then a RC is optional. It doesn't confer any rights, it just confirms them (if applicant has them).

Only EFMs need to hold a RC (in UK).

noajthan wrote:

mattk1 wrote:Hi noajthan,

I'm following this too, thanks for the information.

Does SAR = Subject Access Request? (and if so why is this needed?).

Also, say the OP did not apply until month number 5 of her husband's Family Permit duration, would he then be able to stay in the UK the following six months waiting for the result of the Residence Card application?

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us, we are very grateful!

Yes it is.
SAR is not 'needed'; its just a way to see what 'big brother' has filed on you (if anything).
May be useful in OPs case when documents are missing. (Didn't someone say documents were lost).

If a FM then a RC is optional. It doesn't confer any rights, it just confirms them (if applicant has them).

Only EFMs need to hold a RC (in UK).

Noajthan thank you for all your info
Mattk1 thank you for asking the questions I had aswell. Hope this thread helps you too

I would like to again apologise for my ignorance, most of these abbreviated words I have no idea what they are

So just a few more questions:
* SAR-how do i get one? how does it help me exactly, i'm still abit confused about what it actually is and does?
* As Mattk1 asked, what if I applied in my 5month for my RC card and I went over my FM validity? or maybe just generally what if one stays over the 6 month validity? I was under the impression you have to get the 5 year RC to then be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain. What if i skipped the whole RC section, what exactly would I need to do in the 6 months? THIS really confuses me.
* How does one 'prove' they did SS? we didnt get a letter. We just got our PP back and our supporting documentation returned.

Sorry I know my questions sound extremely dumb, I genuinely don't understand the procedure once my husband and I enter the uk, what happens after 6 months, what do we need to do in those 6 months, what if we exceed 6 months?

Thank you everyone for your patience and guidance.

anon87 wrote:Noajthan thank you for all your info
Mattk1 thank you for asking the questions I had aswell. Hope this thread helps you too

I would like to again apologise for my ignorance, most of these abbreviated words I have no idea what they are

So just a few more questions:
* SAR-how do i get one? how does it help me exactly, i'm still abit confused about what it actually is and does?
* As Mattk1 asked, what if I applied in my 5month for my RC card and I went over my FM validity? or maybe just generally what if one stays over the 6 month validity? I was under the impression you have to get the 5 year RC to then be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain. What if i skipped the whole RC section, what exactly would I need to do in the 6 months? THIS really confuses me.
* How does one 'prove' they did SS? we didnt get a letter. We just got our PP back and our supporting documentation returned.

Sorry I know my questions sound extremely dumb, I genuinely don't understand the procedure once my husband and I enter the uk, what happens after 6 months, what do we need to do in those 6 months, what if we exceed 6 months?

Thank you everyone for your patience and guidance.

Pro tip: until Board gets organised with a guide to acronyms you can always google them;
add 'EEA' or 'UK immigration' to give google a bit of context.

Request a SAR from UKVI via UK Gov website;
Didn't someone say documents from their SS sojourn were lost; if so, a SAR may help you piece together missing gaps, dates etc, from your immigration history - depending on what is stashed away on you in the HO CID databanks deep in the bowels of HO HQ.

For a married couple a RC is optional.
In general a direct family member (FM) dependent doesn't need a RC in order to acquire PR;
the dependent just needs a qualifying person sponsor or sponsor with PR; or, for those on SS route, a BC sponsor.

The dependent on SS route simply has to live in UK for 5 years and not divorce their sponsor. As simple as that.
Remember you are working towards PR not ILR.

To apply for confirmation of PR, in the absence of the letter you mention, all the SS evidence needs to be submitted with the application for confirmation of PR.
Did I mention a SAR may come in handy if anything is missing.

Forget about the "6 months", the validity of FP is fairly irrelevant now you are back in UK.
Just sit out the 5 years. Ofcourse with all the wild talk of Brexit you may not have 5 years available to you in which to acquire PR - but that's another story.

Hi again noajthan,

That's really interesting, I didn't realise the UK residence card is optional for a married couple (if one partner is a British right?)

So for me (I'm the BC) as long as my wife (the non-EU) lives with me in England for 5 years and we don't get divorced, that's all there is to it?

(Sorry to hijack this but I think the OP will benefit from my reply here )

If the above is true, I wonder what will happen after brexit happens

Cheers again

mattk1 wrote: I didn't realise the UK residence card is optional for a married couple (if one partner is a British right?)

The Residence Card is optional for married couples if one partner is an EEA citizen.

Under Surinder Singh, a returning British citizen is treated as if (quasi) EEA citizen.

If the British citizen and spouse were applying under the UK Immigration Rules, holding a BRP would be obligatory as that is the only proof that non-EEA spouse has of leave to remain in the UK.

A Residence Card would of course also be needed to prove that your non-EEA wife has the right to reenter the UK if she ever takes a trip abroad and needs to reenter. Lack of Residence Card is theoretically fine so long as she never leaves the UK. Even then, the government is making it a requirement to prove that you have the right to live in the UK to carry out day-to-day things like banking, driving, renting a house, etc. Lack of a Residence Card will make it much harder for her doing many day-to-day actions.

Also, the lack of a Residence Card makes it harder to prove your status as a SS beneficiary, because you (the sponsor) are a British citizen. With an EEA citizen, it is much more straightforward. With a British citizen, you have to demonstrate that you went through the SS route and the Residence Card takes care of that.

I agree with Noajthan that in spite of the fact that it is not a mandatory requirement for EEA citizens (and quasi EEA citizens like yourself) under EU law, it would be best to apply for an acquire the Residence Card as soon as possible, given that transitional provisions under UK Immigration Rules (which will likely kick in with Brexit) take account of the date on which documentary proof was either issued or applied for and not residential status.

The Residence Card may not be required under EU law, but the date it is issued may well be important under UK law post-Brexit. So, get it asap.

Hi secret.simon,

First of all I want to say thank you so much for you in depth reply and the information contained within it. This is so useful not only to me but for the OP too

I will take your sound advice and get applying for the UK residence card as soon as we have acquired some proof of living together in the UK (even though the guidance notes do say if you have no bills or anything with join names on, then a letter from a friend or relative we have been staying with is fine.

Taken from the guidance notes:

"If you and your sponsor are, or have been, living with relatives or friends, and you do not have any bills or other documents addressed to you, please provide a letter from the relative(s) and/or friend(s) confirming you are/have been living with them."

We are going to be living at my parents place for a while when we first go back to the UK.

One thing I'm still not 100% clear on (the OP too) is whether to apply basically as soon as we arrive back in the UK.

Do you think this advisable?

I have been exercising my treaty rights in Spain but got made redundant after only 4 months working for the company who are in dire financial straits. This will be my reason for us going back to the UK as the work options in Spain are very limited for me and I can get a better paid job there.

Cheers again

British SS-ers do not have to exercise treaty rights in UK. Case law of Eind.

So no need to wait until you are!

Hi noajthan,

So just go straight ahead and apply yeah?

Interesting, just been reading a bit about the Eind case. Had not heard of that one until you mentioned it.

mattk1 wrote:Hi noajthan,

So just go straight ahead and apply yeah?

Interesting, just been reading a bit about the Eind case. Had not heard of that one until you mentioned it.

Apply when you have evidence of residence.

Yes, Eind is your friend.