Where to apply for EEA Family Permit

[Juanma]

Hi,

I am a citizen from Spain living with my Australian wife in Mexico. We want to move to the UK in a few months.

We saw online that she will need the EEA Family Permit.

We know that we need to apply online and then submit the application in a Visa Application Center (VAC). Our problem is that where we live there is no VAC. One the government websites they don't have the answers that we need.

We need to know these things.
Does she needs to me a resident of the country where she submits her application?
Can we apply from Los Angeles, California?
How or where can I find application centers locations? Or I can do it in any consulate?
If we can't in the US our best option is in the embassy in Madrid, Spain. Is that possible even she will be in Spain as a tourist?

Hope you can help me. Thank you so much.

[vinny]

See also Where to apply: ECB05.

[chaoclive]

She doesn't need to be resident. I can't find the link to somewhere that states this but I remember it's true. I had thought about having my partner apply in Spain (on a tourist visa) and people on here said that would be ok. I didn't do this after all but it is still an option.

Hope someone will come back with a link that proves this. I can't really navigate the new gov.uk site yet.

You can always contact the nearest consulate and ask them. They should have an email address/ph number.

[Jambo]

Although the HO likes to create the impression that a visa is needed, legally it is not.

Get on a plane (being Australian there is no need for a visa) and when you land, she should enter as a wife as a EEA national (not as a tourist). You just need to show your passports and a marriage certificate. Nothing else. She will get a stamp called Code 1A valid for 6 months which will allow her to work. Simple.

[JulianaV]

Although the HO likes to create the impression that a visa is needed, legally it is not.

Get on a plane (being Australian there is no need for a visa) and when you land, she should enter as a wife as a EEA national (not as a tourist). You just need to show your passports and a marriage certificate. Nothing else. She will get a stamp called Code 1A valid for 6 months which will allow her to work. Simple.

I will do this same thing next week. In fact I'm already in UK - I just entered with my wife, but I stay quiet and the guy give me a tourist visa.

Anybody knows if the marriage certificate must be a certified translation ? Also, we are together for 10 years already and our son will be with us in this adventure. I've a plenty of photos from me, my wife and my son that i've plans to print too.

The gov.uk says that the officers need to give a reasonable time for the couple to proof that they are really married. I believe that our 6 years old could be enough - But what if I'm not right ?

btw, I'm the husband and Juli is my wife

[Juanma]

Get on a plane (being Australian there is no need for a visa) and when you land, she should enter as a wife as a EEA national (not as a tourist). You just need to show your passports and a marriage certificate. Nothing else. She will get a stamp called Code 1A valid for 6 months which will allow her to work. Simple.

Really? So it could be an option for us to fly from Mexico to the UK with no visas and she will still able to work for 6 months? Could she also apply for the resident card once she is there? I have plans to stay for a couple of years.

Meanwhile I got and answer from the consulate in Los Angeles and they say that they don't handle or process any visa. Sounds weird since they are a big city. Where the people from the US go for that? New York and Washington? That sounds wrong.

Thanks for the respond.

[Jambo]

Yes. Really. Don't spend money on getting something she doesn't really need.

See 3rd paragraph on the second page in the letter from MP Damian Green.
Also I re-entered with expired Family Permit (non-VISA national).
Also Q1 in EEA FAQ and the links there.

[Juanma]

Thanks mate!

[Juanma]

Hi,
Everything I read says that to submit your EEA Family Permit application you can go to any UK embassy or consulate.
For example this website says so in the second paragraph http://www.ukmarriagevisa.com/eea-family-permit
I contacted the consulate in Los Angeles which is the closest for me and my wife and they answered me the email saying they don't handle or process any visas. Also if you call they the automatic message says the same about their office.
Is there any possibility that the Family Permit has different conditions and maybe that would be the only permit I can process in there? Maybe the misunderstood my email and they think we need an UK visa.
Do you guys have any idea about that. If at the end Los Angeles is not possible, where can I find a list of Visa Application Centers?
I can't find the answers I need online.

I posted before in this website and they gave me great info about if you need to be a resident of the country where you apply so no more questions about that. Also they told me that you don't really need the EEA Family Permit to work in the UK, but my wife prefers to have it, she feels more secure.

Hope you guys can help me and hope my English was good enough for this post.

Regards,

[Jambo]

You can apply at any consulate that offers visa services. In the US only the NYC consulate offers visa services (as most of US citizens don't need a visa).
So feel free to spend money to travel to NY for something you don't need and can receive in 5 minutes at the border.

[Juanma]

You can apply at any consulate that offers visa services. In the US only the NYC consulate offers visa services (as most of US citizens don't need a visa).
So feel free to spend money to travel to NY for something you don't need and can receive in 5 minutes at the border.

No no New York is not an option for me, too expensive just to stay there. My options where Los Angeles because we have friends there so we have a place to stay. And Madrid where my family will have us so we will not spend money on that. Also Madrid is close to the UK so the flight option is not bad.
I am trying to convince my wife to go directly to the UK and get the stamp at the border. Can you help me where to find more info about that option? Will they give me any document at the border that says she can work? And then use that to proof when she gets her National Insurance Number or when employers ask her?
Thank you very much you are helping me allot.
Regards,

[Jambo]

Just click on the three links I provided in previous post. That will give you all the information you need.

The stamp would allow her to work (to be precise won't state she is not allowed to work). There is no letter that comes with the stamp.

[obormot]

You do not need to go to New York to apply - they do not accept applications in person anyway. One has to send them application by post, and then they send you your documents back. Family Permit is free, so the only thing you pay is postage fees. It is also a priority, usual processing time is less then 3 weeks total.
I am not sure how they will treat your application though. I remember that they state that they need to see your citizenship or green card and would not deal with a tourist - but it is a generic statement. By law, it should not apply to FP. I guess you just mention this law in the cover letter.
On the other hand, instead of sending all those documents for FP, you could simply take all the same documents with you when fling to UK (your wife is not a visa national, so air-company would allow her to board the plain), and then ask border control to put stamp A1 in her passport.
For the purposes of employment, FP visa or A1 stamp are equally good (or equally bad)