EEA Family Permit

[swillisam]

Hi

I am currently trying to figure out what UK visa / permit I can get. I have found the UK email help desk pretty unhelpful so I was hoping this forum would be more helpful.

My situation is as follows:

- I'm 26 years old, living in NZ and I have a NZ passport
- My girlfriend is 26 years old, living with me in NZ and has a NZ and Polish passport
- We intend to stay in the UK to live, work and travel for 2+ years
- We have been going out for 3.5 years, live together for 3 years

My plan was to apply for an EEA Family Permit and then apply for a Residence card so that we can remain in the UK for more than 2 years. I was filling out the application and found that I need a EEA National Registration Certificate number from my girlfriend which she currently does not have. She is under the impression that she needs to be living in the UK for 6 months before applying for the number. If this is the case then I will be unable to get a Family Permit as we don't want to travel separately. Has anyone had any experience with this and can anyone provide any guidance?

If I can't get a Family Permit / Residence card I was thinking of getting a Tier 5 visa (for 2 years) and then transferring over to a Family Permit / Residence card to stay more than 2 years. However I read on the UK website that you can't transfer over to another visa. Since the Family Permit is a Permit, the black letter of the law approach seems to suggest that I should be able to transfer over however I'm not sure if the UK identifies a Permit and a Visa as the same thing.

Can anyone please help with clearing things up for me?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[rosebead]

The UK deliberately makes the EEA FP form confusing. Since you and your girlfriend are not currently residents of the UK, then all that you need provide is your and your partner's passports and at least 2 years proofs of your relationship because you are not married. You have to know that as her boyfriend, you do not have automatic rights of residence in the UK - only spouses do - and that your admission into the UK will be solely at the discretion of the UK from examining your individual circumstances. Obviously if you've had a long relationship or a baby together this would increase your chances of getting entrance.

For you to be eligible for the EEA FP, your girlfriend is not legally required to reside in the UK beforehand, nor do you have to provide her Registration Certificate number because first of all it's not compulsory for an EU citizen to register in the UK and second of all she would only be allowed to register if she were already residing in the UK, so just write N/A or leave blank.

If you are here as a Tier 5, you can still apply for the Residence Card for the family member of an EU citizen if you wish (form EEA2) - there are no rules against it - however once again because you are a partner and not a spouse your right of residence is not automatic and is at the UK's discretion. You cannot apply for an EEA FP in-country as it is only an entry visa.

It might be easier if you both got married now before coming to the UK if you had planned to get married one day anyway.

[swillisam]

Firstly, thank you very much for your reply, it is greatly appreciated.

My partner and I have been together for 3.5 years and we own a house together so hopefully those facts and some documentation is strong enough evidence to accept my application.

Family Permit
In regards to the Registration Certificate Number, the following question is mandatory for the application “What is the EEA National Registration Certificate number for the EEA National?”. Since I have to answer it and she doesn't have a number, would I be best to write "n/a" against this?

Tier 5
Great, so if I go for in under a Tier 5 visa I can eventually apply for a Residence Card (albeit I'll be tied to her etc).

Visa timeframe
It should also be noted that we are hoping to leave in just under 3 months which is the maximum time needed for a visa application. In peoples experience, how long does the Family Permit or Tier 5 take?

[rosebead]

Just write N/A for Reg Cert No, or if the online form won't allow you, just write zeroes or your passport number. As I said, your partner is not legally obliged to answer that question. By EU law, EEA FPs are meant to be issued for free and under an accelerated procedure. European Commission guidelines consider more than 4 weeks to issue the visa is unreasonable. More reasonably the EEA Family Permit should be issued within 15 days. Currently it appears in EU countries anyway the FP is being issued on time.

[swillisam]

Just write N/A for Reg Cert No, or if the online form won't allow you, just write zeroes or your passport number. As I said, your partner is not legally obliged to answer that question. By EU law, EEA FPs are meant to be issued for free and under an accelerated procedure. European Commission guidelines consider more than 4 weeks to issue the visa is unreasonable. More reasonably the EEA Family Permit should be issued within 15 days. Currently it appears in EU countries anyway the FP is being issued on time.

Great thankyou very much for your help. Hopefully everything goes smoothly.

[swillisam]

Am I able to travel freely under both the Residence Card and Family Permit without my girlfriend? Or what restrictions are there? For example can I go for a 'Boys Trip' to Monaco weekend without my girlfriend or does she need to travel with me everywhere.

I see that there are some limitations for non Schengen countries and that I won't be able to travel there under the Residence Card / Family Permit freely. Would I need to apply for a visa for these areas / would I get in under a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa?

[chaoclive]

You're a NZ passport holder right? Therefore, you will be able to travel anywhere in Europe on your own merit. You can stay for a period of up to 3 months in every 6 months.

[swillisam]

Thanks very much for your help. Very useful. I've applied for the EEA family permit and am now waiting for a reply. In the meantime I'm wanting to sort out my timeline of what I need to do when I arrive in the UK. At the moment I believe I should do this:

- Arrive in the UK under an EEA Family Permit (6 month timeframe)
- After 3 months I get my unmarried partner to apply for a Residence Number (EEA1) (I understand this can be done in one-day)
- I apply for the Residence card (EEA2) which takes up to 6 months to be processed

My issue is that I will be sending off my EEA2 application 3 months into my 6 month family permit and the application processing time can be up to 6 months for EEA 2. Therefore if my application takes 6 months to be processed I will be 3 months overdue under my family permit time allowance. I understand I can apply for my EEA family permit to be renewed however I assume I would need to get my passport back from my EEA2 application to do so. How do I solve this issue?

[swillisam]

Any one have any advice to give?

[Jellybean105]

Once you enter the UK on a valid EEA family permit you don't need to renew it. You can reside in the UK even if your permit expires. Even EEA2 resident card is optional although its recommended to make it easy to prove your status for work etc, so don't worry about your status in the meantime.

You only need to re-apply for a EEA family permit if you plan to leave the country and re-enter before obtaining the resident card. If you do need to travel, you can always request your passport back without withdrawing the application.

[swillisam]

Once you enter the UK on a valid EEA family permit you don't need to renew it. You can reside in the UK even if your permit expires. Even EEA2 resident card is optional although its recommended to make it easy to prove your status for work etc, so don't worry about your status in the meantime.

You only need to re-apply for a EEA family permit if you plan to leave the country and re-enter before obtaining the resident card. If you do need to travel, you can always request your passport back without withdrawing the application.

Great thankyou very much.

Also what if my EEA Family Permit start date is 11 September and I want to arrive a little earlier as our circumstances have changed eg arrive on 6 September. Can I do this / how do I do that?

[Jellybean105]

When my husband applied, we gave a date of 3 months later for the application and they issued the card within 7 working days and it was valid from that date..you will most probably get it soon so you'll be able to travel earlier.

[swillisam]

When my husband applied, we gave a date of 3 months later for the application and they issued the card within 7 working days and it was valid from that date..you will most probably get it soon so you'll be able to travel earlier.

Brilliant thankyou. Hopefully I get some kind of notification soon as I sent my application on 21/06/14 and haven't heard anything since.

[swillisam]

Thankyou everyone for the initial help. I now have my EEA family permit.

[rosebead]

Congratulations, glad it went smoothly. By the way, it isn't compulsory by law for your girlfriend to get an EEA1 but she can get one if she wants - she can work with or without one. For you, an EEA2 is essential as you will need it to provide proof to employers that you are legally allowed to work. You can apply for an EEA2 as soon as your girlfriend can produce one payslip. An EEA Family Permit also proves your right to work, however it expires after just 6 months.

[swillisam]

Congratulations, glad it went smoothly. By the way, it isn't compulsory by law for your girlfriend to get an EEA1 but she can get one if she wants - she can work with or without one. For you, an EEA2 is essential as you will need it to provide proof to employers that you are legally allowed to work. You can apply for an EEA2 as soon as your girlfriend can produce one payslip. An EEA Family Permit also proves your right to work, however it expires after just 6 months.

Thanks for your help on this.

I'll definitely be applying for an EEA2 as soon as my girlfriend gets a payslip.