Question re Family Permit

[Elhanko]

Good evening,

I am an Irish citizen and my wife is Mexican. We received an EEA family permit in July 2015 just before moving to the UK. My wife's application for a residence card was refused due to the Home Office being unable to verify my employment. We re-applied in January and I presumed incontrovertible proof of my employment. My wife recently received her Certificate of Application confirming her right to work while she awaits the decision on her new application.

We asked for our passports back shortly after re-applying as we plan to travel to Ireland next week, but the letter accompanying them said "If you have requested a return of a passport in order to travel, please note that family members of an EEA national, who are not themselves EEA national, wishing to return to the United Kingdom should apply for an EEA family permit before returning." My wife's family permit expired in January, but she does not normally need a visa to enter the UK as a Mexican citizen. When I called the Home Office for clarification, I was told that my wife would indeed need to apply in the British Embassy in Dublin, but that she would receive her family permit that same day. I have just checked the average visa processing times in that embassy and it appears that family permits are in fact issued in 5-10 days - this is longer than we plan to stay in Ireland.

My questions are: 1) can my wife return from Ireland to the UK without first getting a new family permit?; 2) If so, could this affect her application for a residence card?; 3) Am I correct in thinking that the British Embassy will not process a new family permit on the same day they receive our documents?;

I should also mention that we plan to be in Ireland for a week and we are traveling together. Another point worth mentioning is that we have a spare original marriage cert, but our certified English translation is with the Home Office as part of the residence card application.

And advice would be very much appreciated as I am not convinced that the Home Office will provide me with accurate guidance.

Many thanks,
Elhanko

[vinny]

If she meets an Immigration Officer, then he may admit her under 11(4).

[Elhanko]

Thanks Vinny. This provision sounds like it could be open to interpretation which is a little worrying. Does anyone know what happens in practice in such situations? We do not want to be told that my wife cannot board her return flight (I don't think she will have any problem upon arrival as there is no passport check when flying from Ireland to Manchester).

Basically, if the law gives my wife the unequivocal right to re-enter without a family permit, we will travel. Likewise if we are almost certain to receive a new family permit within a week. If not, we will cancel our trip.

[wish_uk]

If she meets an Immigration Officer, then he may admit her under 11(4).

11(4) Before an immigration officer refuses admission to the United Kingdom to a person under this regulation because the person does not produce on arrival a document mentioned in paragraph (1) or (2), the immigration officer must give the person every reasonable opportunity to obtain the document or have it brought to him within a reasonable period of time or to prove by other means that he is—

(a)an EEA national;

(b)a family member of an EEA national with a right to accompany that national or join him in the United Kingdom;

does every family member have right to accompany without having a family permit?