EEA Family Permits from British Embassy in China

[limey]

Hi, I am a dual Irish/British citizen (having lived in the UK all my life) and want to bring my Chinese wife (married Dec 2004 in UK) into the UK on an EEA Family permit using my Irish citizenship.

She was in the UK on a student visa when we married and we lived together for 7-8 months in the UK and I have also been to China for 6 weeks earlier this year.

In China the British Embassy uses a third party to process visas and they also charge a fee even for EEA Family Permits! (About £30 - 40 I think. ILLEGAL!) My wife contacted them and they said we need to provide the following documentation.

1. Your Irish passport ( copy is ok)
2. My two photos
3. My valid passport
4. Proof of living in Ireland. (Is this legal?)
5. Marriage certificate
6. Accommodation proof in UK ( House related documents)
7. Bank saving
8. Payslip
9. Normal expense proof (Whatever that is?????)

This is more documentation than the EEA Treay rights specify. Namely my passport, marriage certificate and covering letter from me. Surely they don't have any right to ask for more than that!

How do you think I should approach this? I have emailed them and will also contact/ring them on Monday for further clarification. Thanks for any responses.

PS: Just to add, it is our aim to moveto Ireland in a year or so. But first we need to both be resident in the UK for at least 6 months.

[archigabe]

In China the British Embassy uses a third party to process visas and they also charge a fee even for EEA Family Permits! (About £30 - 40 I think. ILLEGAL!)

Is that VFS courier in China as well? They are an Indian company which started as a courier service in Madras for the U.S embassy 5-6 years ago because the U.S embassy couldn't handle the crowds in front of the embassy. This company seems to have turned into a global monopoly/hegemony. The employees seem to be under the illusion of being embassy employees and were more arrogant than any visa officer I've met. They have their own ideas of which documents I should enclose in my application and crushed and disfigured the certificates which I had enclosed.Sorry to hijack this thread,but in my opinion if you can find a way of avoiding these people, it would be better for your mental equilibrium. You should definitely complain about the processing fees you are forced to pay.

[Platinum]

The on-line application at the British Embassy in Dublin asked for all sorts of information for an EEA family permit, as well. I e-mailed the Embassy saying that, as far as I was concerned, they were only allowed to ask for passports and a marriage certificate. They wrote back saying, Yes, that is true, and that I could just put "not applicable" on any of the questions I didn't feel I had to answer.

They also added, however, that it could only help my case if I provided things like bank statements that showed we had enough savings and therefore wouldn't need to rely on public funds.

Archigabe: the UK Embassy in Dublin is switching over to a separate company to handle visa applications as well. I'm glad now that I made sure to get my application in before the switchover!

[sakura]

Hi, I am a dual Irish/British citizen (having lived in the UK all my life) and want to bring my Chinese wife (married Dec 2004 in UK) into the UK on an EEA Family permit using my Irish citizenship.

She was in the UK on a student visa when we married and we lived together for 7-8 months in the UK and I have also been to China for 6 weeks earlier this year.

In China the British Embassy uses a third party to process visas and they also charge a fee even for EEA Family Permits! (About £30 - 40 I think. ILLEGAL!) My wife contacted them and they said we need to provide the following documentation.

1. Your Irish passport ( copy is ok)
2. My two photos
3. My valid passport
4. Proof of living in Ireland. (Is this legal?)
5. Marriage certificate
6. Accommodation proof in UK ( House related documents)
7. Bank saving
8. Payslip
9. Normal expense proof (Whatever that is?????)

This is more documentation than the EEA Treay rights specify. Namely my passport, marriage certificate and covering letter from me. Surely they don't have any right to ask for more than that!

How do you think I should approach this? I have emailed them and will also contact/ring them on Monday for further clarification. Thanks for any responses.

PS: Just to add, it is our aim to moveto Ireland in a year or so. But first we need to both be resident in the UK for at least 6 months.

The charge....mightn't that be for courier costs?
As for the additional documents they're asking for, you could print a copy of the EEA rules/directive - the section pertaining to required documentation - and send it with your application with a note saying that what they're requesting is illegal and contravenes EU/EEA regulations regarding the EEA family permit. Ergo, you will not be submitting any additional documents not listed on the EEA list.

The problem? Dunno if they'd buy that.

[smalldog]

Hi Limey,

I went through exactly the same process as you nearly two years ago and I'm happy to say it all went pretty smoothly. The application centre people didn't know a lot about family permits (not surprising as I had checked the statistics and only about 20 had been issued in China the whole of the previous year) so they assumed they knew what I was doing and just submitted the application as I had prepared it. I just supplied passports, marriage cert, a covering letter and some bank statements and the visa came back within the week. I'm pretty sure I remember having to sign a form listing the recommended documents and stating that applying without all of the documents is at my own risk -- implying that they will accept incomplete applications as long as you sign the disclaimer. If they ask for extra documents, just show that you know your rights and insist on submitting the application anyway.

I did complain to the Beijing embassy and the Foreign Office about the illegal fees (about 13 pounds at the time) but didn't get anywhere and gave up pursuing it.

Good luck!

[limey]

Thanks for your responses everyone.

I'm not sure which company is handling the applications in China but it adds another layer of bureacracy to the process.

One very good thing about this though, is that there are many visa processing centres around China including in Shenzhen and Guangzhou which makes it very convenient for my wife to visit in person.

Smalldog, that is a very good point. As you say, I think they just may not be used to handling Family Permit applications in China. That is why I sent an email to them containing the rules to forewarn them and allow them to read up on it. After all, it is their job to know the rules.

Platinum: I think the bank statements are a good idea as it shows self-sufficiency as well.

If work allows then I will go over in person in November to ensure things go smoothly.

I will post any feedback I receive from them here.

[limey]

I received a quick response to my email from the UK visa processing company in China and they have acknowledged that the EEA Family Permit is FREE after originally telling my wife there would be a charge. But they have not answered my query regarding documentation required for the EEA Family Permit application. So I have sent another email to them quoting the EU Treaty directive rules.

Their response (The English is not brilliant)...
Cause dual nationality is mentioned by your wife, we've explained the choice of whether to come under the Immigration Rules or EC law but made clear that evidence of EEA nationality (for example EEA passport) will be required. Apart from the documents mentioned on the consulate's checklist you could submit any other additional documents which you feel would be relevant to the application.

If your wife chooses to apply under EC law, her application will be free of charge. Please feel free to contact us if further information is needed.

[limey]

Update: My Chinese wife got her UK Family Permit from Guangzhou in China. She had to wait 5 days (it was posted out) and it was free despite them initially saying there would be a charge.

We provided the marriage certificate, legal copy of my Irish passport, cover letter.

Also we provided extra documentation than the Family Permit rules state, (at my wifes insistence and for her peace of mind) i provided details of my savings, a few payslips, uitilty bills & details of contact between us.

So it went quite well for us!

PS: Pity the Irish system is not as efficient and just!

[yankeegirl]

Brilliant news!