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Advice needed for EEA2 Application.

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 3:17 pm
by iamcompletelymad
Hi, I am a 22 year old Indian citizen living in london. My student visa expired in november 2011. I married my girlfriend of 2 years in jan 2012 ( who will be turning 21 in august) who is a polish national . I want to apply for an eea2 residence card. She is living with me in london and currently employed.

I had a few questions.
Can her age really make any difference with my application as she is still not 21 ?
Can my visa status cause any problems with my application as i have overstayed?
IS there a same day service for eea2 application in croydon or anywhere else?
how long will the application take?
I am employed as well and i was wondering if I should attach my own payslips as well if it makes the application stronger.

Should i attach any covering letter with my eea2 application?

I appreciate all advice that will be given.. Thank you

SK

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:59 pm
by Jambo
I'm sorry to say but an overstayer marrying a EU citizen just after his visa expired would for sure flag this marriage as suspicious.

I suggest you provide as much proof as you can about your relationship. The application can take upto 6 months and can only made by post. I would imagine the HO would take sometime to investigate your relationship.

What is important is what your wife is doing. Is she working? Studying? Your rights are derived from her activities. What you do is irrelevant. I would also not send your employment details to the HO in case you have worked there when you overstayed. This would just bring trouble to your employer.

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:23 pm
by alekos
Congratulations!
As long as your wife is exercising treaty rights in the UK you have a right to be here. So, you are legally here since the day you got married if that's the case.

1. Her age does not make a difference.
2. Your "visa" status is irrelevant as long as the relationship is genuine.
3. No. Postal application only
4. It can take up to 6 months.
5. Don't. This information is irrelevant. EEA national evidence of traty rights in the UK is all you need to post.

I recommend you get a "certified copy" of your passport before sending it off the UKBA, just in case you need to prove your ID while you wait for your Residence Card.

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 1:33 pm
by iamcompletelymad
alekos wrote:Congratulations!
As long as your wife is exercising treaty rights in the UK you have a right to be here. So, you are legally here since the day you got married if that's the case.

1. Her age does not make a difference.
2. Your "visa" status is irrelevant as long as the relationship is genuine.
3. No. Postal application only
4. It can take up to 6 months.
5. Don't. This information is irrelevant. EEA national evidence of traty rights in the UK is all you need to post.

I recommend you get a "certified copy" of your passport before sending it off the UKBA, just in case you need to prove your ID while you wait for your Residence Card.
Thank you so much alekos for ur advice.. Yes, my relationship is 150% genuine, and i have several evidences such as text messages, emails, photos,facebook messages, blogs, letters, friends who know about it.

should i attach any evidence with my application or should I wait for them to ask for it?
Can you please tell me how i can get a certified copy of my passport/?
thank you

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 1:44 pm
by iamcompletelymad
Jambo wrote:I'm sorry to say but an overstayer marrying a EU citizen just after his visa expired would for sure flag this marriage as suspicious.

I suggest you provide as much proof as you can about your relationship. The application can take upto 6 months and can only made by post. I would imagine the HO would take sometime to investigate your relationship.

What is important is what your wife is doing. Is she working? Studying? Your rights are derived from her activities. What you do is irrelevant. I would also not send your employment details to the HO in case you have worked there when you overstayed. This would just bring trouble to your employer.
Hi jambo, Thanks for your advice. I totally understand that it looks suspicious but i am a law abiding citizen who just wants to be with someone but the visa limitations left us no other option but to take that step. The only strong point i have in my case is that My relation is crystal clear and genuine. And i can prove it succesfully. Yes my wife is working here. My employer understands my position and knows that i will achieve legal status , thats why he is supporting me.

and regarding my visa , i was a bit unlucky abt what happend to me.. i had applied for renewal last year but it got refused cos of a stupid postal error that they dint receive my bank statement which i send after the application cos i had to order it from overseas.. so i appealed against that refusal decision but the unfair judge said that they cant accept any document at the time of appeal.. I was treated very unfairly but my girlfrend stood by me and we tried to fight for it... but it all went in vain. Solicitors asking for lot of money for consultation after that .. no one was ready to fight my simple case for less than 2 grand. :(
. The only way we could be together was marrying each other.. :(

I know its hard to understand but thats the truth jambo.. I honestly appreciate your help and will request you to stay around advice as i go through this application. I will let you know how it goes..
Take care

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:23 pm
by alekos
You will need evidence of your relationship, a marriage certificate will do. Your passport and your wife's passport plus evidence of your wife exercising treaty rights in the UK. Don't forget to attach passport style photos.
Follow the guidance for EEA2 application form from the UKBA website, but bear in mind the form itself is not needed, in fact a short cover letter asking for the issue of the Residence Card will do.

I got a certified copy of my passport at the consulate where I renewed it, so it is worth asking if your consulate can do the same for you.

Your employer should know that once you're legally married to an EEA national who is exercising treaty rights in the UK you, non EEA national, have an automatic right to live, work, study, do nothing in the UK, wether you have a RC or not is, legally speaking, irrelevant.

Also look at, http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:37 pm
by iamcompletelymad
alekos wrote:You will need evidence of your relationship, a marriage certificate will do. Your passport and your wife's passport plus evidence of your wife exercising treaty rights in the UK. Don't forget to attach passport style photos.
Follow the guidance for EEA2 application form from the UKBA website, but bear in mind the form itself is not needed, in fact a short cover letter asking for the issue of the Residence Card will do.

I got a certified copy of my passport at the consulate where I renewed it, so it is worth asking if your consulate can do the same for you.

Your employer should know that once you're legally married to an EEA national who is exercising treaty rights in the UK you, non EEA national, have an automatic right to live, work, study, do nothing in the UK, wether you have a RC or not is, legally speaking, irrelevant.



Thank you so much alekos.. I have posted my application. I will let u know how it goes and if i need any more advice.. Take care. I really appreciate your help..


Also look at, http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 2:37 pm
by uberto
alekos wrote:I got a certified copy of my passport at the consulate where I renewed it, so it is worth asking if your consulate can do the same for you.
Can you clarify a little more here?
This certified copy of the passport is like a real passport or are copies with some stamps to assess their authenticity?
I'm italian national and I just moved in London with my wife (we got married 2 years ago).
My only problem is submitting the eea2 request is that without passport my wife won't be able to travel for 6 months and she already booked and planned a professional course in Berlin this Summer.

I also wondering if asking the help of some agency or sollecitor would speed things up.

thanks in advance.

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 3:16 pm
by Jambo
uberto wrote:Can you clarify a little more here?
This certified copy of the passport is like a real passport or are copies with some stamps to assess their authenticity?
I'm italian national and I just moved in London with my wife (we got married 2 years ago).
My only problem is submitting the eea2 request is that without passport my wife won't be able to travel for 6 months and she already booked and planned a professional course in Berlin this Summer.

I also wondering if asking the help of some agency or sollecitor would speed things up.

thanks in advance.
I believe he was referring to the consulate stamping photocopies of the passport to certify the photocopy.

Your wife can ask for her passport back and this will not affect or delay the application. Better to ask for the passport when you receive the CoA (letter of acknowledgement - you should get it about a month after application is submitted).

See instructions how to request the passport back at the bottom of this page - How to apply for residence documents as the non-EEA family member of an EEA national.

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:33 pm
by uberto
Jambo wrote:
uberto wrote:Can you clarify a little more here?
This certified copy of the passport is like a real passport or are copies with some stamps to assess their authenticity?
I'm italian national and I just moved in London with my wife (we got married 2 years ago).
My only problem is submitting the eea2 request is that without passport my wife won't be able to travel for 6 months and she already booked and planned a professional course in Berlin this Summer.

I also wondering if asking the help of some agency or sollecitor would speed things up.

thanks in advance.
I believe he was referring to the consulate stamping photocopies of the passport to certify the photocopy.

Your wife can ask for her passport back and this will not affect or delay the application. Better to ask for the passport when you receive the CoA (letter of acknowledgement - you should get it about a month after application is submitted).

See instructions how to request the passport back at the bottom of this page - How to apply for residence documents as the non-EEA family member of an EEA national.
Thank you very much for the clarification. In the site it's specified that certified copies are not accepted in place of the passport.

Now the problem for me it's that I cannot give away my passport for even a months considering my job requires weekly flights to Germany. One possibilities is to require an italian ID card (my current one is expired) and give that together with my wife application.

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:23 pm
by Jambo
The EEA application requires original documents. The advice given about certifying passport photocopies was so you have some evidence with you while your passport is with the HO in case you need to prove your identity (to show to employer etc).

National ID card would be a good solution.

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:36 pm
by EUsmileWEallsmile
uberto wrote:
Jambo wrote:
uberto wrote:Can you clarify a little more here?
This certified copy of the passport is like a real passport or are copies with some stamps to assess their authenticity?
I'm italian national and I just moved in London with my wife (we got married 2 years ago).
My only problem is submitting the eea2 request is that without passport my wife won't be able to travel for 6 months and she already booked and planned a professional course in Berlin this Summer.

I also wondering if asking the help of some agency or sollecitor would speed things up.

thanks in advance.
You can ask for passports back at the same time as the application is made. If you have a valid (that's important) Italian ID card, you could use that. If your passport is not with the home office at time of decision, the residence card will be issued on an A4 piece of paper.

An agency or solicitor would charge a fee and would have no influence over the time taken to reach a decision.

I believe he was referring to the consulate stamping photocopies of the passport to certify the photocopy.

Your wife can ask for her passport back and this will not affect or delay the application. Better to ask for the passport when you receive the CoA (letter of acknowledgement - you should get it about a month after application is submitted).

See instructions how to request the passport back at the bottom of this page - How to apply for residence documents as the non-EEA family member of an EEA national.
Thank you very much for the clarification. In the site it's specified that certified copies are not accepted in place of the passport.

Now the problem for me it's that I cannot give away my passport for even a months considering my job requires weekly flights to Germany. One possibilities is to require an italian ID card (my current one is expired) and give that together with my wife application.

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:39 pm
by EUsmileWEallsmile
Don't know where the words I wrote went above, so will write it again.

You can ask for passports back immediately at time of application. Though risk having card issued on an A4 sheet of paper. A VALID Italian ID could be used in lieu of passport.

A solicitor or agent could be used to make the application. They would charge a fee and would have no influence on the application's timeline.

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:42 pm
by iamcompletelymad
Hi Guys, can u pls tell me how long it takes to recieve COA?? :(

Its been 2 weeks i filed my application but havent recieved any kind of acknowledgement... should I wait longer or contact them?

Thanks

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 2:12 pm
by sikaba
iamcompletelymad wrote:Hi Guys, can u pls tell me how long it takes to recieve COA?? :(

Its been 2 weeks i filed my application but havent recieved any kind of acknowledgement... should I wait longer or contact them?

Thanks
As a matter of fact you should receive the COA immediately after an application is lodge but it takes about 4 weeks for the HO to send it.So i guess you still have a whole 14 days to wait.If after the 4 weeks period and you still dont get nothing in the post you should proceed in sending them emails and phoning them requesting that they should send you your COA.All the best

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:47 am
by iamcompletelymad
i called the home office today to ask about my COA as its already been almost 4 weeks. The lady said that she cant see anything on system the application has not been validated and that i need to wait another week or something. she had no idea if my coa was posted or not. i had also left them an email before a few days asking the same but no reply..what am i supposed to do? i need to give it to my employer to prove my right to work !! :(




EEA2 Applied: 23/3/2012
HO received: 26/3/2012
No COA received !!!