EEA Family Permit for American

[amirbaz]

Hi all,

My wife is American, but she has been studying in France for the last 4 years. I am British and we got married last August. I spent the last year in France with her while she finished her Masters. Our plan was to come to the UK for a year with her on an EEA Family Permit, which means she could keep her french residency card (catre de sejour) and her place at University for when she begins her doctorate in sept. 2008.

We had numerous conversations with people at the british embassy in paris who were well aware of the situation but today she was told that she was not eligible for a Family Permit and was given no reason apart from that and the people who dealt with her were rude and insensitive to the situation.

Can anyone please advise as to what we should do, or why in fact she was not eligible when our situation was made clear well before we went to apply in person. We are both very upset and disappointed.

Many thanks in advance.
Amir and Rachel

[Docterror]

What was the reason that they gave for your wife's ineligibilty of the EEAFP? Also what were you doing during your time there in France?

[limey]

Normally an EEA Family permit is for a non-British EU national to move to the UK under the EU Freedom of movement treaty rights.

However, there was a test case called Surinder Singh where a British citizen lived in another EU country and then returned to the UK with their spouse and they won that test case. Maybe this will apply to you? You will have to read up on it.

See here...
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front ... 6679156328

21.4.8 Surinder Singh cases
The ECJ case of Surinder Singh states that nationals of a Member State who go with their non-EEA family members to another Member State to exercise a Treaty right in an economic capacity, (as a worker or self-employed person) will on return to their home state, be entitled to bring their non-EEA family members to join them under EC law. (For example a British national and his non-EEA national spouse/children who have lived in Germany and exercised an economic treaty right and are now returning to the UK).

The Surinder Singh judgement is now incorporated into the EEA Regulations in Regulation 9.

It is confined to those cases where a British national has exercised an economic Treaty right and the Non-EEA national family member can demonstrate their lawful residence in a member state. (see section 21.4.1 on applications made from another Member State for more information on lawful residence requirements).

It does not matter if the only reason the British national went to another Member State to exercise an economic Treaty right was so that he/she could come back to the UK with his/her family members under EC law.

The non-EEA spouse will be eligible for entry into the UK under the Surinder Singh ruling provided that the marriage is valid and that the couple are not formally divorced. This applies even in cases where the non-EEA national spouse has not lived with the British national for the whole period during which Treaty rights were exercised. You may, however, find along with other evidence that this leads you to believe it to be a marriage of convenience.

Evidence that the couple have lived together may include:

a registration certificate/residence card issued by the Member State;
tenancy agreements; or,
joint bank statements.

You should seek advice from ECO Support where you are unsure about the decision to be taken in applying the Surinder Singh judgement.