Hi, my wife is trying to apply for a family permit from China so she can come to the UK and apply for an EEA2. I'll tell you our situation in a few words in case it helps you answer my questions later on.
- We've been together for almost 2 years. We studied an MSc in the UK together and finished in September 2013. Her visa expired this January so we've basically been apart for the past 7 months. We got married last month in China. I work in the UK for the past 7 months and she's been working in China for the past 4 months. I got my Residence Permit (EEA1) last week as we read that it helps with the application. -
It would really help us if you could answer some questions about the application:
1) According to the government site it has to be done online but the documents can be sent by mail or they have to be delivered in person? Does she have to book for an interview before submitting the documents?
2) A section in the online application asks for sponsor details. I assume that refers to me? A field in that section is "What is their status in the UK?". Am I considered a Permanent Resident since I'm a Residence permit (EEA1) holder or am I an EEA national? There is also a field asking "What is their relationship to you?" but there's no option for spouse/husband only "Other Relative". Either something is missing or that's not a section for spouse..?
3) The section for English language asks "Are you exempt from the English language requirement?" In what circumstances is someone exempt? My wife finished an MSc in the UK with me, does that make her exempt? Also does she need to fill the field "How did you meet the English language requirement?" either way?
4) She works in China so she gets paid in yuan. In the employment details I assume we fill it in as British pounds?
5) What could be added in the "Additional information" field that might help with the application?
6) In the "supporting documents" website (
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... permit.pdf) it mentions a document that's needed from her employee that verifies she's been given time off work. Is that needed? I've asked some agents and they told us that's for a different visa.
7) Any other suggestions about the visa process in general? Anything we could do differently to increase our chances of success? How long does this 6 month Family Permit usually take to be issued?
I apologise if some of these questions sound silly but we've heard quite a few stories of people getting rejected for missing details so we're trying, as best as we can, to avoid that. Thank you.