Gabriella2305 wrote:Thank you for both your help, sorry i had to get you to re-clarify things. I just want to be extra sure about the whole thing.
I think il get the registration certificate anyway because there is no harm in having that-it can only benefit me.
quickly to remind you your steps:
1) Apply for a Certificate of Approval from the Home Office, otherwise you cannot get married in the UK, it costs around 300 quid or smth. and takes a month to get. To get the COA you need to have been initially granted a visa for longer than 6 months (which you have been) and where there is still more than 3 months left on it to run (which there is till Dec 09)
2) Make sure you BOTH live at the same address, as you'll need to give notice of indended marriage to the Registrar and wait 15 days before getting married. It's important you both live at the same address!!!
3) When you get married, you AUTOMATICALLY have the right to be wherever your husband is in Europe. If he's here as a worker, even better.
4) the EU Family PERMIT is the initial stage, is valid for 6 months and would eventually have to lead to the Residence Card which is valid for 5 years. You are lucky you are already here in the UK, as the Family Permit is just like an entry clearance if you, for instance, married in S.Africa and wanted to JOIN your husband here, so don't worry about that. You cannot apply for FP here or for a RC in S.Africa- they are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE!!!
5) As it takes donkey's years after application to get the RC and you are imprisoned in the country, be wise enough to first apply for the RC by sending all the docs and get in the queue. After that you can clearly request your passport back for 'urgent' travelling and when you go back to S.Africa, you still can come back to the UK on your current Student Visa! Moreove, as a wife of an EU national it is your right and not the UK's choice whether to let you back in and the RC is just CONFIRMATION of you right!!! So, nothing to worry about, make sure you apply first, before travelling, as you don't want to lose time. Once you're back, simply send the docs to the HO and that's it. Nothing to worry about.
6) before you apply, make sure you make COPIES of EVERYTHING, EVERY SINGLE PAPER!!! you send them, so you have proof of what they MIGHT lose!
