Working while waiting for EEA2 Residence card

[lily7]

Hello,

I am a non-European citizen and my husband is of Bulgarian National. He is working in a company in UK and I am here on EEA family permit. I applied for Residence card on 6th January 2016 and on 20th January 2016 I received the CoA stating "at this stage we are unable to confirm your right to work…..". My EEA FP expires on 8th March 2016((i,e in next 35 days). Please help me in clearing my doubts

1. I already started searching for job and have applied in few companies. But since CoA states that they cannot confirm my right to work..can I still continue with my job search or should I wait for HO decision on my residence card? (My interpretation of "at this stage we are unable to confirm your right to work….." is that they cannot confirm my right to work but also they have not denied it. Please let me know if my understanding is wrong)

2.I understand that EEA FP should be enough for Employers to offer job but now my Passport is with the HO and I have only the CoA which doesn't confirm my right to work. If in case I do get a job offer can I request back my passport from HO just to show my employer the EEA FP?

2. My EEA FP expires on 8th March 2016 (i,e in next 35 days) and I understand that it takes approximately 6 months for RC. So can I continue to stay in UK even after the EEA FP expires?

3. In the worst case scenario if I stay in UK even after my EEA FP expires and my residence card application gets denied then what do I do? If then I try to leave UK will the UK Border police create problems?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[noajthan]

Hello,

I am a non-European citizen and my husband is of Bulgarian National. He is working in a company in UK and I am here on EEA family permit. I applied for Residence card on 6th January 2016 and on 20th January 2016 I received the CoA stating "at this stage we are unable to confirm your right to work…..". My EEA FP expires on 8th March 2016((i,e in next 35 days). Please help me in clearing my doubts

1. I already started searching for job and have applied in few companies. But since CoA states that they cannot confirm my right to work..can I still continue with my job search or should I wait for HO decision on my residence card? (My interpretation of "at this stage we are unable to confirm your right to work….." is that they cannot confirm my right to work but also they have not denied it. Please let me know if my understanding is wrong)

2.I understand that EEA FP should be enough for Employers to offer job but now my Passport is with the HO and I have only the CoA which doesn't confirm my right to work. If in case I do get a job offer can I request back my passport from HO just to show my employer the EEA FP?

2. My EEA FP expires on 8th March 2016 (i,e in next 35 days) and I understand that it takes approximately 6 months for RC. So can I continue to stay in UK even after the EEA FP expires?

3. In the worst case scenario if I stay in UK even after my EEA FP expires and my residence card application gets denied then what do I do? If then I try to leave UK will the UK Border police create problems?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

1) Good understanding.

2) Yes you can & (according to other members posting in forum) it's quite quick & easy to do.

2) (- again!) Yes, as you are the spouse of an EEA national who is exercising treaty rights as a qualified person;
ie you are a direct family member.

Having a RC in your case is actually 'optional'.

3) No problems with police of any sort. No deportation etc.
As per 2) above, RC is optional so you don't have to have one.

[vinny]

Agree.

If you supplied evidence that your husband was working, then ask them why they didn't follow their procedures and issue you with a correct COA?

[lily7]

Hello vinny,

Sorry for late reply.

On the COA it was mentioned that they cannot confirm my right to work in UK because I did not submit originals of
1. current valid ID document for my sponsor
2. sufficient evidence of my sponsor exercising Treaty rights.

I had submitted copy of my husband's national ID card which was stamped by a solicitor as his ID document and his employment proof from his employer.
Since my husband is an EEA national he doesn't need any Residence card to prove he is exercising Treaty right. He is working in UK past 16 months and been out and in of UK several times in this duration and nobody has asked him to show any kind of Residence card.
Anyways after getting this COA we thought it would be good for my husband to apply for UK residence document which can serve as an evidence of Treaty right. We applied for his UK residency document and submitted his Original ID card. Along with his application we submitted a letter to process my and his documents together and to issue me a correct COA stating my right to work in UK since they have all the original documents now.

Unfortunately they neither issued any new COA to me nor they gave any response to my letter but my husband received his UK residence document few days back along with all the documents he had submitted( including his national ID card).

I am getting multiple job offers and I want to start working but I don't know if I have right to work as my EEA family permit has expired and I am still waiting for UK RC.
its been more than 3 and half months since I submitted my application for RC card and I hope I get it soon.

[Richard W]

I am getting multiple job offers and I want to start working but I don't know if I have right to work as my EEA family permit has expired and I am still waiting for UK RC.

Despite threats from the Home Office, it is perfect legal for you to be employed. Unfortunately for you, there aren't many employers who are brave enough to employ someone without the approved documents.

If you have an EU marriage certificate to hand, the quickest and surest solution would be a day trip by the two of you to France by boat or train. That should get you an "EEA Regulations" stamp in your passport from UK Immigration, a copy of which will protect an employer from a fine for unwittingly employing someone not permitted to work; it works and lasts like a family permit. As your husband is provably exercising his treaty rights, this 'visa run' as it is known in some parts of the world is lawful and neither you nor your husband cannot be expelled for using it. There is a ploy to get a CoA admitting the right to work which doesn't require you to leave the country, but I can't remember the thread, and we don't know how reliable the ploy is.

I am worried that the Home Office might not know that it has seen your husband's ID card and that you will need to submit it for your case. In law, they don't actually need it. It may be worth sending the Home Office a copy of your husband's registration certificate to back up what you sent earlier, as they seemed not to believe he was working. Sending 3 months' pay slips might also help.

[Richard W]

There is a ploy to get a CoA admitting the right to work which doesn't require you to leave the country, but I can't remember the thread, and we don't know how reliable the ploy is.

I've found the thread, but it may not be as helpful as I thought.

[vinny]

As a direct family member of a qualified EEA national, you may legally work. Unfortunately, without the confirmation of your rights to work from the UKVI, employers may be reluctant to hire you due to the threats of large fines.

With the rights to work being more and more complicated, even Immigration ministers may be caught out.

[lily7]

Hello,

I requested my documents back 2 weeks ago. On the website it was written that I will receive my documents within 10 working days but still I haven't received them. So I filled in another form to report that I haven’t received my documents..again no respond from HO. So I called HO to check why I haven't received my documents and they said I have to wait for more 10 working days.

Any idea why is it like this?