Having Residency in Latvia

[Kastidis]

I am from Turkey but live in UK. I have on the spot fine(a fixed penalty) in UK given by the police but no criminial record after an incident in ASDA in early January 2013. My wife is from Latvia and we would like to relocate to Latvia in three months time. Is the penalty I have here going to affect me in Latvia if I apply for residency to live there? Please your answers are highly appreciated

[Obie]

Provided you wife has been working in the UK, or exercised treaty rights here, i dont think it should be a problem

[Kastidis]

Thanks Moderator Obie. I appreciate your answer. However, I still want to know now that both of us are in UK and in I understand that she has to be in work in Latvia before I can apply for residency there even though we both worked here in uk. We intend to open our own biz there. I am planning to send her back to Riga and look for job to enable me to apply. But that will take too much time. I don't want to stay too long far away from my wife and children. Can I apply to stay there without her having a job yet?

[logical_1]

Your wife doesn't have to be working in Latvia if you want to apply for residency in Latvia based on EU Law.As long as she has worked in the U.K for some amount of time,provided that you were living together in U.K and have all the evidence,you can apply on the basis of Surinder Singh.
If you have the Residence Card for Family Member of EU Citizen,you can both move together to Latvia,and apply for residency the day you arrive.It's that simple.

[Obie]

On the basis of an ECJ judgement called Eind, she does not need to be working for you to gain residence. As Latvia is an EU country, these laws apply there too.

[Kastidis]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the responses. It has ecouraged me more. If I knew this, I should have done it long aga because we have been living here for 6years now and I thought it was the other way round

Thanks

[flyboy]

Provided you wife has been working in the UK, or exercised treaty rights here, i dont think it should be a problem

Obie is correct. As long as the latvian citizen has exercised treaty rights - not necesarily exercising treaty rights as a worker or self employed.
The UK however, seem to insist that a UK national should have been exercising treaty rights as a worker or self employed in another member state , to make use of EU law on their return to the UK.

You can read more at the following link:

http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/service/EU/

and i quote:

Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council applies to the given Latvia’s citizen, i.e. the given Latvia’s citizen is starting to use or has used his/her rights to move freely within the territory of the Union, and he/she is travelling to a Member State which is not the state of his/her citizenship, or is already residing here (irrespective of the objective and length of residence), or he/she is returning to the state of his/her citizenship while is permanently residing in another Member State (irrespective of the objective and length of residence), or if he/she is returning from the state of his/her citizenship after having resided in another Member State (irrespective of the objective and length of residence);
a family member accompanies a Latvian citizen (travels with him/her) to the destination Member State or joins the Latvian citizen in the destination Member State (travels at a later time).

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Has your wife been working in the UK?

Do you presently have a Schengen visa?