EEA family permit application - need advice!

[nordiclatina]

Hi all!

I've just stumbled across this board, I hope you can help. My husband and I are going to submit an application for an EEA family permit on Monday morning and I want to make sure that we have everything in order.

He's Cuban. I have a Finnish passport but have lived in the UK since I was three (except the last 2 years, more on that below.) We're both 28.

We want to travel to the UK in February for 10 days for a friend's wedding and to scope out potential jobs etc, because we then plan to move to London in June (ish).

The EEA Family Permit is valid for unlimited entry/exit for 6 months right? Or should he be applying for a visitor visa for February?

Assuming we’re going with the family permit, how much evidence do we need to submit to prove our relationship is genuine etc if we have been living together for a year and a half, married for 14 months?

We met in Havana in February 2006 and I lived in Costa Rica April-June 2006 (We have something like 300 emails from this period. There’s no way I’m printing all that off, it would cost me $150. do you think they’ll accept a CD with pdf copies?)

We've been living together in Havana since July 2006 and we got married on 19th October 2006. We are currently still living together in Havana. So our trajectory from first meeting to marriage was a bit quick by normal standards but I think the fact that I’ve been living here and working for a salary of 80 GBP per month (yes eighty!) shows that we genuinely want to be together. I’ve said as much in my supporting letter but is this enough?

We have a ton of photos from the wedding, where there were also lots of my friends and family who came over from europe. But we don’t have so many pictures of our daily life.. a few from parties and the beach, but who takes pictures of themselves having breakfast?! What else should we include?

I’m also a bit worried that because I’ve been out of the UK and not employed there for nearly 2 years, and we earn basically nothing at the moment, they might reject him on the grounds that we won’t be able to support ourselves.

I have 2500gbp in savings (statements going in with application) and my mum says we can live with her rent free when we move. She’s sent a letter confirming that, in which she also says she is willing to support us financially till we get on our feet, plus bank and mortgage statements to back that up, plus certified copy of her finnish eu passport. Is this enough?

And lastly do I need to prove that I am/was resident in the UK? I have recent bank statements and a 2006 P60 all addressed to me at my mum’s address.. but not much more than that. What else to include?

My family and I were on diplomatic visas for the first 6 years in the UK, then we were granted ILR, then Finland joined the EU in 1993 so since then we've had no stamps in our passports, ie I have no evidence of my childhood ILR status. I've written this in my letter but maybe I should just not mention it?

Sorry I’ve written an essay (i guess you can see why we have 300 emails from a 3month period... we’re both a bit word-happy!)

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read it, all advice appreciated. Cheers!

[thsths]

My husband and I are going to submit an application for an EEA family permit on Monday morning and I want to make sure that we have everything in order.

The main problem is that you are applying from outside of the EU. In this case, the Home Office/BIA/CEO handles your application according to the UK entry criteria, and not according to EU law. I am not sure whether that is completely legal, but there is a certain logic to it. Anyway, if you have any problems with the visa, it may help to get a visa to your home country first, and apply from there. Even a tourist visa should be sufficient.

The EEA Family Permit is valid for unlimited entry/exit for 6 months right?

Yes, it is, and I think it is the right kind of visa (especially because it is free). The only potential problem is that you cannot extend the EEA Family Permit in the UK, and the alternative (residence card) takes about 6 months to get. So if you want to travel a lot, you should time it well.

Assuming we’re going with the family permit, how much evidence do we need to submit to prove our relationship is genuine etc if we have been living together for a year and a half, married for 14 months?

I think if you have shared bank statements or bills for this period, that should be sufficient.

We met in Havana in February 2006 and I lived in Costa Rica April-June 2006

I would not bother with this evidence. The time before your marriage is not really relevant for the application.

I have 2500gbp in savings (statements going in with application) and my mum says we can live with her rent free when we move. She’s sent a letter confirming that, in which she also says she is willing to support us financially till we get on our feet, plus bank and mortgage statements to back that up, plus certified copy of her finnish eu passport. Is this enough?

I am not sure whether 3rd party support is still allowed, it has certainly be restricted a lot. The free rent should be ok, as long as the house is not overcrowded. Still money could be an issue. You need to demonstrate that you are employable, and that you can earn enough to support the two of you. You can take his income into account.

And lastly do I need to prove that I am/was resident in the UK? I have recent bank statements and a 2006 P60 all addressed to me at my mum’s address.. but not much more than that.

Technically you do not need this, but it may be useful as a guideline for how much you would earn.

[nordiclatina]

Thanks for all your advice thsths, that's really helpful!

I don't really know how to prove our cohabiting since bills and bank statements don't exist here. That might turn out to be a problem I hadn't thought of.