Spouse Visa -v- Family Permit

[SuzMcFluz]

Hi Guys

I would really appreciate some advice/thoughts on the following:

I am a British Citizen and my husband is Albanian. We applied for a spouse visa in Albania in Febraury 2008. His visa was refused on the grounds that they do not believe we are in a "genuine and subsisting relationship". We have appealed this decision and our hearing is on 3 September 2008 in the UK.

I left the UK in September 2007 to be with my husband and we now live toghether in Greece (where my husband has been living for the past 6 years). Since our Spouse Visa application I have discoverd the Non-EEA Family Permit and I am now exercising my Treaty Rights in Greece and am putting together paperwork to apply using the Surindar Singh ruling.

We would like to go to the UK in October 2008.

My questions are:

Should we apply for the Family Permit before our hearing in September?

If we apply before the hearing and are sucessful in getting the Family Permit can we still appeal the Spouse Visa refusal?

As a British Citizen the Spouse Visa is the best route for us, my husband will only have to wait 2 years before making an application for ILR, instead of 5 years with the Family Permit and we wont need to worry about the additional paperwork that is involved with applying for a residency permit.

All that said, at the end of the day we will be very grateful for either, we just want to start our life together in the UK.

Thanks in advance.


Suzanne

[thsths]

I left the UK in September 2007 to be with my husband and we now live toghether in Greece (where my husband has been living for the past 6 years). Since our Spouse Visa application I have discoverd the Non-EEA Family Permit and I am now exercising my Treaty Rights in Greece and am putting together paperwork to apply using the Surindar Singh ruling.

I think you can apply for a Family Permit without harming the appeal for the visa, because the two are based on different laws. This is really a technicality (or an oversight of the legislator), so you may want to confirm this with a lawyer.

Generally I think that your chances for an appeal are quite good, if you can prove that you are living together. The decision also depends on your future plans: the European law gives you more certainty, while the UK law has a faster path to ILR, but that may as soon as next year. Personally I would choose the European law, but that is a question of priorities.

Tom

[SuzMcFluz]

Thanks for your reply Tom.

I'm going to submit our application to the British Embassy in Athens in the next couple of days and hope to get an appointment early August.

I was reading the ECO guidelines for appeals yesterday and it clearly says that there is nothing stopping someone applying for a visa again, either in the same category or a different one, so that's answered my question on that.

I've got a couple of questions on the family permit, if you don't mind.

If the Family Permit is granted my husband and I can then travel to the UK. Once in the UK I understand that my husband is able to work using this permit and has the same rights in the UK as I do?

He will have to apply for an NI number for tax purposes. Should employs take him on if he hasn't got a tax number but has made an application for one?

I have read a lot of posts about the EEA2 application and the time that it is taking to get. Am I right in saying that this is not a necessary document but without this, if we leave the UK, my husband would have to make a fresh application for a Family Permit each time we wanted to return?

With regards to leaving the UK for holiday's, as my husband is a visa national do we still need to follow the immigration rules for each country we want to visit, even if he has the family permit and residnecy card?

Thanks again

Suzanne

[thsths]

If the Family Permit is granted my husband and I can then travel to the UK. Once in the UK I understand that my husband is able to work using this permit and has the same rights in the UK as I do?

For most purposes, yes. His right of residence is depending on your right of residence, but otherwise it is pretty similar. He can work, and the non-EEA Family Permit should state that. A few people had difficulties convincing an employer, but persistence should usually work.

I have read a lot of posts about the EEA2 application and the time that it is taking to get.

Yes, this is really annoying. On one hand you want to apply as early as possible, to reduce the time you are without a valid visa (which is not illegal, but very inconvenient). On the other hand, you need to passport for all sorts of things, from opening a bank account to registering with a GP.

My recommendation is to send a copy of the passport only. Once the application is being processed, you usually have to submit fresh evidence anyway, and then you can also send the passport.

With regards to leaving the UK for holiday's, as my husband is a visa national do we still need to follow the immigration rules for each country we want to visit, even if he has the family permit and residnecy card?

That is a good question. In theory the answer is no: a residence card grants free travel throughout the EU as long as you travel together. However, not every country will accept this, and even within Schengen there are differences. So it depends on where you land on the continent.

Tom

[86ti]

With regards to leaving the UK for holiday's, as my husband is a visa national do we still need to follow the immigration rules for each country we want to visit, even if he has the family permit and residnecy card?

To answer this question we started another thread on this forum. Most of the information there is valid for the UK . But be aware that some air carriers et al. still want to play it safe and may refuse boarding.

[Plum70]

To answer this question we started another thread on this forum. Most of the information there is valid for the UK . But be aware that some air carriers et al. still want to play it safe and may refuse boarding.

Checked out the thread 86ti and it's very helpful. Great initiative people!

[SuzMcFluz]

Thanks for your replys. This forum is really great.