Urgent help needed with ROR(Retention Right of Residence)

[sleven]

Hello everyone
I would like to congratulate you all as you are all very active and committed in helping with valuable advices to fellow members.

I am in a very stressful situation and I hope someone can shed some lights on this issue for me before going to spend the £200 to £300 hourly rate(which I dont have lying around) solicitors are asking me in order to help with my case.

I got married in with my wife(who's an EEA national) in November 2010 and moved to UK in January 2011. I found a job, where I'm still employed in March 2011 and my wife started work in May 2011. I applied an received my Family Member of EEA national Residents Permit in September of the same year.

We had a baby last summer and baby has EEA passport. She hates it here in the UK as she is used to getting everything done by her mother back home and mother kept telling her everyday to go back as UK is not good for baby(weather, food, growing up etc) basically nonsense.

The main reason we moved here is to build a better future as for an entire year I couldn't find even a job as a dishwasher due to high unemployment and beloved where she comes from. I have always tried to reason with her because going back to live with her mother is not a solution especially now with a baby. I am studying here and got a fulltime job which provides for us. If things got better and we were able to find jobs there I would move straight away.

I don't want to annoy you all with our personal problems so I will cut it short.
She used to go back to the mother every few months and since she is meant to be going back to work in mid June when her maternity leave is over, she said she wanted to spend few months in her country so the baby can enjoy some sun beach and good weather. Which is totally fine.. poor kid was most of the time indoors due to poor UK weather so totally agree.

A few days after she arrived in her country she says she wants to file for divorce because being back has made her think of lot of things and her future will not be in the UK nor with me. She is seeing solicitors and wants to come and collect her stuff next week. I found out she has giving in her notice at work telling them she wont be coming back.
It feels like I have been hit by a train.. I miss my son badly and there is no way to reason with her. Shes left me with debts and bills and alone in this country.


So my question is

1)Can I qualify to apply for ROR as I want to be able to provide for my son and here I have a stable job, income and prospective for a good future.

2)Can I apply only through solicitors?

just to recap
- married for 2.5 years (3years in November 2013)
- lived 2years 4months together in UK
- we have both been employed 2 years in the UK in the same jobs
- we have a 10month old baby who is with her

Bear in mind in her country where we got married, you have to file for separation first and only after 3years you can file for divorce.

I dont know where I stand and I feel totally lost.

If it helps I have my mother, father and 2 brothers who are living in UK for 5years now and are all EEA nationals. (I am not because when they applied for passport I was already 18years and the laws of the country doesn't qualify me)

Can they be of use in helping me retain ROR?if yes in which way?

Thanks a lot guys

[fatimahh]

If they divorced goes ahead and the RoR conditions are met (3 years of marriage, proof of one year living together in the UK and proof that your wife exercised treaty right then you can apply for retention of rights.

Good luck

[sleven]

Thanks for the quick reply fatimahh
My problem is I'm 6months away from 3years of marriage and my wife has quit her job days ago so thats the dilemma..

[Obie]

The difficulty with your situation is, you will cease from having a right of residence, when she officially terminates her eemployment. This means you will be unable to demonstrate she was a qualified person at time of divorce.

You can overcome the 3 years hurdle, if you can show you have a child together, and there is a court order that states, access has to take place in the UK.

[fatimahh]

hi Obie!!! Any update on this??? [u][b]Does time off to look after new born affect worker status.[/b][/u]
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=119478
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... highlight=

[Obie]

This matter is still before the court. It will not have any effect on the case on this thread.

The Op's wife is seeking to tell her employer,; that she wants to terminate her employment and leaving the UK.

This is not a case where she continued to stay in the UK to look after her children,; and cease working to care for her children.